Intercultural Cities Conference

A three-day international conference exploring migration, diversity and urban life in UK and European cities will take place on 1-3 May in Liverpool, the European Capital of Culture 2008. The "Intercultural Cities Conference" will be hosted by Comedia and EUCLID in association with Liverpool 08, and supported by the European Commission, the Council of Europe and the British Council.

The conference, which falls under the umbrella of the European Year of Intercultural Dialogue 2008, will challenge cities to think of cultural diversity not as a problem to be solved but as an asset and opportunity to be realised if communities can be helped to interact and co-operate.

Placing an emphasis on cross-cultural dialogue, the event will invite leading speakers in the field from the UK, Europe and the US, including Keith Khan, Head of Culture for the 2012 Olympic Games, Gregg Zachary, writer for the New York Times, globalisation guru Saskia Sassen, the world authority on cultural diversity and city planning, Leonie Sandercock, and practitioners from many cities including Madrid, Rotterdam, Turin and Stuttgart.

Conference organiser Phil Wood said: "I worry that a 'line of least resistance' approach may prevail in many cities, where groups slowly drift apart into completely separate lives; in my opinion this is short-sighted and dangerous. Living together will pay greater rewards in the long term but it takes time, effort and no little skill. The conference will tell us about the people who are already succeeding in doing this."

Delegates will also be given the opportunity to visit civic, community and business projects in Liverpool, and be provided with practical ideas on regenerating communities and models of creative conflict resolution. The conference will conclude with a set of recommendations for European cities on how to realise their own intercultural potential.

Once one of the world's great port and migration cities, Liverpool is now redefining itself in response to its cultural diversity. In addition to being the European Culture Capital 2008, the city is also part of the Culture Company's "Cities on the Edge" programme, a cultural partnership of 6 European port cities - Liverpool, Bremen, Naples, Marseilles, Istanbul, and Gdansk.

The "Intercultural Cities Conference" is being held as part of the UK activities for the European Year of Intercultural Dialogue 2008. The Year has been granted by the European Commission to promote cultural diversity and cross-cultural communication within and across member states, and takes as its main themes: culture, the arts, religion, immigration, minorities, education, the world of work, and multilingualism.

In the UK, the European Year of Intercultural Dialogue is being implemented by EUCLID, an international information network and consultancy in the cultural sector. The Year in the UK is also supported by seven 'Ambassadors', high profile political or celebrity figures who have pledged their support for the aims and objectives of the campaign. They include:

Professor The Baroness Lola Young of Hornsey OBE, Dr Waqar Azmi OBE, Keith Vaz MP, David Lammy MP, Sajjad Karim MEP, Nitin Sawhney, and Ashley Walters.

The "Intercultural Cities Conference" will take place from 1-3 May 2008 at St George's Hall in Liverpool. A full programme of events can be seen at http://inter.culture.info/icc with information on prices and booking.