ABSTRACT

The Anna Lindh Foundation (ALF) is a ‘network of national networks’ bringing together civil society organizations and citizens across the Mediterranean. The European Union (EU) has traditionally regarded intercultural dialogue and civil society activism as a strategic approach to advance cooperation with Mediterranean partners also in other policy areas. Assuming that civil society activism, bottom-up strategies and thematic networking contribute to a more receptive context to security cooperation, in 2005 the EU has institutionalized this framework with the creation of the ALF. Ten years later some action fields are more advanced than others and networking can be either active or highly hesitant. This chapter challenges the EU conception of intercultural dialogue, because one thing is to foster regional cooperation and get people closer, another is the promotion of a shared cultural model based upon pluralism, portraying the added value of diversity and leading to the peaceful coexistence of different cultures. The analysis of ALF projects indicates that the ALF institutional mechanisms favour existing networks, including partners already socialized to the EU funding system, where EU associations play a pivotal role. By supporting existing networks, the Foundation can hardly produce the expected multiplier effect.