Culture, as one of the key elements for defining cultural identities, is often abused to build walls and not bridges between cultures. It is the foundation stone on which intercultural dialogue, understanding and cooperation should be built, Mesic said at the plenary session.
In Southeast Europe, culture, and cultural diversities in particular, are too often abused to disseminate intolerance. The promotion and protection of cultural diversity are the basic principles of Croatian cultural policy. Croatia was the fourth country in the world to ratify the Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions. Today Croatia also promotes cultural cooperation in the region with the aim of rebuilding the bridges that were burnt and establishing a lasting peace and stability in the region, he said.
Mesic said that in the past few years it could be heard that Europe was tired of integration processes, adding that Europeans were afraid not only of losing their economic security but also their identity because of the speed of changes brought by globalisation processes.
European institutions are also aware of this, so they are putting stronger emphasis on the role of culture, placing culture in the centre of the European project. This is confirmed by documents of the European Commission, which say that it is culture that can breathe a more human dimension into the European integration project, the Croatian president said.
The culture of the future will be built by young generations who are already involved in intercultural communication.
If we accept the fact that new generations indeed live and communicate in a completely new way that does not limit them or define them according to their origin, but according to their common interests and inclination to new knowledge, then we will realise that the culture of young people, the digital culture and new technologies now represent the most tangible bridge between the cultural heritage and the culture of the future, Mesic concluded.