On May 18th, the Spanish Network of the Anna Lindh Foundation (ReFAL) brought together the members of its Executive Committee in Barcelona to define the new stage of ReFAL. The meeting was attended by the Asociación Azahara; Fundación Euroárabe de Altos Estudios; Inclusión, Ciudadanía, Diversidad y Educación – INCIDE; the Fons Mallorqui de Cooperació i Solidaritat and the European Institute of the Mediterranean. The meeting also served to welcome INCIDE and Fons Mallorquí as the newest additions to the committee.
The current stage will allow the establishment of two or three priority themes for the Network, based on which the work of ReFAL will be articulated during this cycle. In addition, efforts will be made to unite activities and design an emblematic initiative that gives visibility to the action plan. The importance of reflecting on why ReFAL is relevant for Spanish society in terms of intercultural dialogue and how the defined thematic priorities can be supported was emphasized. The need to frame these thematic priorities in the national socio-political context was raised, identifying public policies, action plans, institutions and opportunities that support the selected themes and give coherence to the action plan of the Network.
The Executive Committee proposed using the focus group methodology to identify the three priority themes of ReFAL. Each focus group would be led by a member of the Executive Committee and would allow the active participation of members in the discussion of relevant topics. The themes proposed for the focus groups were: 1) Citizenship and participation, 2) New vulnerabilities and 3) Euromed intercultural dialogue.
During the discussion, it was emphasized that the Euro-Mediterranean dialogue should also be a priority for the Network, seeking to strengthen it through Mediterranean activities organized by the IEMed and other Euromed intercultural dialogue initiatives promoted by the UfM, such as the "Mediterranean Youth Academy- MYA".
This meeting laid the foundation for a more robust and coordinated approach in the ReFAL Network, with the aim of addressing relevant challenges.
