EUROPEAN COUNCIL

ON TOLERANCE AND

RECONCILIATION

Chosen 2010 Activities

Plans for 2011

The European Council on Tolerance and Reconciliation

together with German Foundations the Bertelsmann

Stiftung and the Robert Bosch Stiftung organized the

conference “Towards Reconciliation – Experiences,

Techniques and Opportunities for Europe” in Dubrovnik,

Croatia, from October 24-25, 2010.

The Initiative was dedicated to further foster the

development of tolerance in Southeast Europe, also on

the basis of European and international experiences

(Poland, Germany, Israel, Ukraine, Russia, Nigeria,

Republic of South Africa) thus confronting racism,

intolerance and anti-Semitism on different fronts and

levels.

The main goal of the conference was to

debate on the role of politics, culture,

media, religion and civic society in the

process of promoting tolerance and dealing

with conflicts from the past.

The participation of over

180 representatives from societies,

which share a (post)-conflict experience,

inspired a mutually advantageous

comparative debate across regions,

disciplines and generations

President of Croatia Ivo Josipović

Participants and speakers of

the conference included:

President of Montenegro Filip Vujanović

Participants and speakers of

the conference included:

President of Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bakir Izetbegović

Participants and speakers of

the conference included:

Fmr President of Poland

Aleksander Kwasniewski

Participants and speakers of

the conference included:

President of the European Jewish Congress

V. Moshe Kantor

Participants and speakers of

the conference included:

Fmr President of Cyprus

George Vassiliou

Participants and speakers of

the conference included:

Fmr President of Albania

Alfred Moisiu

Participants and speakers of

the conference included:

Vice Prime Minister of Croatia

Slobodan Uzelac

Participants and speakers of

the conference included:

Fmr Prime Minister of Norway

Kjell Magne Bondevik

Participants and speakers of

the conference included:

Fmr Prime Minister of Poland

Włodzimierz Cimoszewicz

Participants and speakers of

the conference included:

Fmr Prime Minister of Italy

Giuliano Amato

Participants and speakers of

the conference included:

The discussants of the ECTR conference in

Dubrovnik came to the following conclusions:

• Tolerance is the key feature for social

stability and peaceful coexistence of various

nations and religions

• Role of political leadership and education

exceptionally important for strengthening

tolerance and advancing reconciliation

• Imperative of legal solutions

Concrete proposals adopted at the

Dubrovnik conference (plans for 2011):

To continue the effort to promote

Tolerance in the Balkans through

additional seminars and initiatives, the

next one in 2011 in Sarajevo in Bosnia

Concrete proposals adopted at the

Dubrovnik conference (plans for 2011):

To undertake a Reconciliation initiative

in Cyprus to foster dialogue and

understanding between the Greek and

Turkish Cypriots, basing on the

European experiences

Concrete proposals adopted at the

Dubrovnik conference (plans for 2011):

To propose to the European Commission

the establishment of a “University of

Tolerance and European Security” in

Europe, which would enable future

European leaders and administrators to

research the threat to security posed by

a rising wave on intolerance in Europe

Concrete proposals adopted at the

Dubrovnik conference (plans for 2011):

To propose to the Russian Government

the organization of a European Day of

Tolerance in Moscow, which would be a

venue to promote and strengthen

tolerance in the Russian Federation

ONE WEEK AFTER THE ECTR CONFERENCE,

SERB PRESIDENT BORIS TADIC APOLOGIZED IN

CROATIA FOR THE1991 VUKOVAR MASSACRE

The European Council on Tolerance and

Reconciliation presented His Majesty

King Juan Carlos I on the 11th Of

October 2010 with the first ever

„European Medal of Tolerance‟ at the

Palacio de la Zarzuela

The medal was conferred on the King by

co- chairs of the ECTR, former President

of Poland, Aleksander Kwaśniewski

and Moshe Kantor, President of

the European Jewish Congress

“Moral leadership symbolized by the

recipient of our European Medal of

Tolerance is especially significant at a

time when tolerance appears to be

waning in Europe in favor of racism,

xenophobia and anti-Semitism.”

President Kwasniewski said about the award.

The ECTR has a vision whereby the

average citizen of Europe would not

be a bystander to intolerance, but

rather work against acts of racism,

xenophobia and anti-Semitism