Senior experts on cultural diversity are meeting in Paris on Monday, July 5th 2010 to explore ways of measuring the economic and social impact of intercultural dialogue and cultural diversity. Hosted by Vivendi, the meeting is organized under the auspices of the UN Alliance of Civilizations. The event will explore the perspectives of a diversity of actors from the private sector, civil society and multilateral organizations on assessing the impact of intercultural efforts, with a view to advocate more effectively for the promotion of cultural diversity initiatives on the global policy agenda.
“It is a paradox that, while intercultural understanding is crucial to peace and development, intercultural dialogue efforts do not feature prominently on the global agenda. One of the objectives of this meeting is to fill this gap”, said Jean-Christophe Bas, Senior Advisor, Strategic development and partnerships at the UN Alliance of Civilizations. Said Pascale Thumerelle, Vice President for Sustainable Development, Vivendi: “There is a need for cultural diversity key performance indicators both in the private sector and in public sector organizations. Much of the data has already been gathered; what we need now are clear objectives and measures.”
Among experts participating are:
Sylvain Pasqua, Senior Administrator for Education and Culture ath the European Commission
Pascale Thumerelle, Vice President for Sustainable Development, Vivendi
Katherine Miles of the Global Reporting Initiative
Katerina Stenou of UNESCO
Dhouha Boukhris of ALECSO
Raul Suarez de Miguel of the OECD
Catherine Fieschi of the British Council
Marcia Balisciano of Reed Elsevier.