EN Official Journal of the European Union C 417/44

Conclusions of the Council and of the Representatives of the Governments of the Member States, meeting within the Council, amending the Work Plan for Culture (2015-2018) as regards the priority on intercultural dialogue

(2015/C 417/07)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION AND THE REPRESENTATIVES OF THE GOVERNMENTS OF THE MEMBER STATES, MEETING WITHIN THE COUNCIL,

RECALLING the conclusions of the Council and of the Representatives of the Governments of the Member States, meeting within the Council, on a Work Plan for Culture (2015-2018) (1),

IN THE LIGHT OF the European Council's conclusions of October 2015 (2), which state that tackling the migration and refugee crisis is a common obligation which requires a comprehensive strategy and a determined effort over time in a spirit of solidarity and responsibility,

UNDERLINING that after providing for migrants' and refugees' immediate needs, the focus needs to be turned to their social and economic integration,

EMPHASISING that culture and the arts have their role to play in the process of integrating refugees who will be granted asylum status as they can help them to better understand their new environment and its interaction with their own socio-cultural background, thus contributing to building a more cohesive and open society,

RECALLING that intercultural dialogue can help to bring individuals and peoples closer together and help towards conflict prevention and the process of reconciliation (3), and that it has been a focus of European cooperation in the field of culture since 2002 and is currently a priority area of the Work Plan for Culture (2015-2018),

AGREE, in the context of the migratory and refugee crisis and with a view to foster an inclusive society based on cultural diversity, to amend the Work Plan for Culture (2015-2018) by adjusting priority area D3a) on intercultural dialogue as follows:

Priority area D: Promotion of cultural diversity, culture in the EU external relations and mobility

European agenda for culture: Cultural diversity and intercultural dialogue (3.1), Culture as a vital element in international relations (3.3)

Europe 2020 strategy: Sustainable and inclusive growth (priorities 2, 3), Deploying EU external policy instruments.





Actions by Topics Instruments and working methods (incl. if cross-sectorial) Target outputs and indicative timeline Commission/Member States a. Intercultural dialogue In the context of the migratory and refugee crisis, explore the ways culture and the arts can help to bring individuals and peoples together, increase their participation in cultural and societal life as well as to promote intercultural dialogue and cultural diversity. Links will be established with other EU-level integration networks and databases (4). OMC Experts will take stock of the policies and existing good practices on intercultural dialogue (5) with a special focus on the integration of migrants and refugees in societies through the arts and culture. 2016 Handbook owf good practices.

(1) OJ C 463, 23.12.2014, p. 4.

(2) EUCO 26/15

(3) Council conclusions on the promotion of cultural diversity and intercultural dialogue in the external relations of the Union and its Member States (OJ C 320, 16.12.2008, p. 10).

(4) Such as European Website on Integration: https://ec.europa.eu/migrant-integration/pratiques-dintegration

(5) An anthology of existing policies and practices for the promotion of cultural diversity and intercultural dialogue can be found in the 2014 report of the OMC on the role of public arts and cultural institutions in the promotion of cultural diversity and intercultural dialogue: http://ec.europa.eu/culture/library/reports/201405-omc-diversity-dialogue_en.pdf