People living in Europe and the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean currently face a “clash of ignorance” according to the newly-released “EuroMed Intercultural Trends 2010: The Anna Lindh Report,” which highlighted the challenges of human and cultural relations in the region. This assertion is based on the results of a Gallup Public Opinion Survey on Intercultural Trends and Values, the first of its kind in the region, which polled 13,000 people in Bosnia and Herzegovina, France, Egypt, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Lebanon, Morocco, Spain, Sweden, Syria, Turkey and the United Kingdom.
Key topics from the survey included: interest in people in other countries across the Mediterranean, levels and methods of interaction between people, the vision for the Union for the Mediterranean, and the role of Media in promoting cultural diversity. The survey’s main findings showed that one in every three/four persons from the two sides of the Mediterranean had met people from other countries within the region, yet there were still profound disparities between what each group stated as their set of values and their perceptions of each other’s values.
The largest misunderstandings were found in the value each society placed on religious beliefs in parenting. Respondents were asked to rank the level of importance for religious beliefs, family solidarity, respect for the other cultures, obedience, independence and curiosity and in parenting. According to the survey, respondents from southern and eastern Mediterranean countries indicated that conveying their religious beliefs was one of their top priorities in raising their children. In contrast, of the options offered, Europeans placed religious beliefs as the least important value to pass on their children. Furthermore, Europeans seriously underestimated the importance of religious beliefs to their counterparts.
The Anna Lindh Report posits that this disparity could be a potential challenge to building a common project around the countries of the region. Even though a gap exists between the two societies in regards to the importance of religion, the report highlights that Europeans have indicated they value the central teachings of religion – in particular family solidarity, a value each group ranked highly in raising children.
The report urges that this be taken into consideration in light of other findings regarding how the respondents felt about a unified entity and shared project around the Mediterranean. According to the Gallup Opinion Poll, respondents expect a positive benefit from a common project in the model of the Union for the Mediterranean. Those living on the southern and eastern shores of the Mediterranean stated innovation and entrepreneurship as positive outcomes from a common project, while Europeans noted respect for other cultures, social solidarity and youthful dynamism.
Despite these positive findings, 68 percent of those surveyed still expressed that the concept of the ‘Mediterranean’ could be a potential source of conflict in the region.
“EuroMed Intercultural Trends 2010: The Anna Lindh Report” was completed with the aid of experts from 22 countries, including André Azoulay, President of the Anna Lindh Euro-Mediterranean Foundation for Dialogue between Cultures, and Jorge Sampaio, High Representative for the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations.
For more information about the Report, please see attached [pdf]