Activities
Preliminary activities
  1. Work sessions

     With the aim of refining the priorities for a future symposium on cultural diversity, three work sessions were organised with experts from a range of areas. The subjects for the sessions were:
    • Theoretical and conceptual aspects of cultural diversity
    • Immigration
    • Cultural nationalities and political organisation

  2. Drafting papers

     A number of experts were asked to draft papers in response to specific questions set.
  3. Inauguration of Europa Diversa

     The Canadian political philosopher Will Kymlicka, an expert in cultural diversity and citizenship, was invited to inaugurate the Europa Diversa group's public activities, with two specific events:
Symposiums
Symposium on Cultural Diversity and the Construction of Europe The Symposium on Cultural Diversity and the Construction of Europe focused on three themes:
  • Conceptions of cultural diversity and the construction of Europe.
    What is the model of cultural diversity for Europe?
  • Linguistic diversity.
    What is the plurilingual model for Europe?
  • Cultural diversity and the reorganisation of political power.
    How is cultural diversity to be articulated politically?
This event brought together some fifty experts from various fields (linguists, anthropologists, sociologists, historians, economists, political experts, etc.), all of whom were concerned with the way in which Europe would position itself in terms of the challenge of cultural diversity. The experience was very positive both in terms of the content and the methodology employed. One of the main objectives of the Symposium was to look ahead to the future. The Symposium served to identify the questions that most concerned the specialists, whether for the lack of attention paid to them or due to the fundamental disagreements existing. It is just these issues and problems that the Symposium highlighted that Europa Diversa is looking to address.

The Symposium's website: http://www.uoc.edu/web/cat/promocio/simposium/english/presentacioenglish.html

Publication of the minutes of the Symposium:
Agustí Nicolau (ed.), Europa Diversa (2001) Barcelona: Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona.
European Seminar "Linguistic proposals for the future of Europe"

On May 31 and June 1 2002, within the framework of the Eurocongrés 2000, and with the support of the Patronat Català Pro Europa, Europa Diversa organised a seminar held in the headquarters of the Fundació Jaume Bofill, in which the subject for debate was "Linguistic proposals for the future of Europe". Fifteen representatives were invited to the meeting, sociolinguistic experts from different countries, both current members of the European Union (United Kingdom, Belgium, Ireland, Holland, etc.) and future candidates for expansion (Estonia, Czech Republic, Lithuania, Hungary, etc.). Three papers, distributed beforehand, were discussed and debated in depth at the meeting: The hosting organisations collated a wide range of the opinions and proposals expressed in the seminar and submitted them to the Convention on the future of the European Union: EUROPA DIVERSA: proposals for a new EU language regime.
International seminar "European sub-state minorities and immigration: confluent realities".

This seminar, which was able to count on the participation of some thirty experts (academics, politicians, social activists, etc.) looked to explore, from an interdisciplinary perspective, the main aspects of convergence of the two typologies of cultural diversity that affect Europe: migratory groups arriving in receptor societies or regions that differ culturally from their respective states. This session focused on analysing what has characterised the institutions and the reactions of the peripheral minorities (such as the Flemish minority in Belgium, the Quebecois in Canada, Corsicans in France or the Welsh in the UK) when faced with the challenge of diversity and where the possible problems and contradictions arise. This analysis gave rise to eye-opening contributions in terms of the understanding and arranging of cultural pluralism in terms of communities that differ nationally or culturally from the majority in their respective states. The seminar made special mention of the case of Catalonia and analysed some of the differentiating features of the Catalan situation.

The minutes were subsequentlypublished:Agustí Nicolau Coll, Adela Ros, Gemma Aubarell (eds.), Immigració i qüestió nacional: Minories subestatals i immigració a Europa. Fundació Jaume Bofill, 2004. ISBN: 84-8334-551-X. The book was presented in a public event on July 6th, at the IEMED headquarters.