Intercultural Communication and Leadership School

In 2006, the ICLS focuses on qualitative rather than quantitative growth. Local ICLS operations were becoming increasingly proactive. Two examples from 2006 are the Leicester and Lyon ICLS groups which take the initiative and organised new local seminars, including fund-raising and a lot of voluntary work input. The ICLS also initiates new thinking about the role of the ICLS Networks of Trust in local society. The financial support, offered by the British Government (see above) in 2005 is utilised in two new cities in England, in Peterborough (first seminar held in September 2006) and in Walsall (first seminar held in February 2007). The two projects which include follow up work with the local alumni are successfully completed and reported back to the Department of Communities and Local Government in May 2007. The ICLS starts developing and facilitating ways for the linking of local alumni initiatives with priorities of local authorities' Community Cohesion Agendas and long-term planning for the future of these cities. The ICLS is invited by the European Commission to report on its work as best practice in two significant conferences in Brussels in September (promoting active citizenship) and November (intercultural dialogue) 2006. The ICLS President speaks about the work of the ICLS at the September conference (Europe for Citizens Forum) alongside with the Chief Executive of the Peterborough City Council who testifies about the immediate benefits the ICLS brings to community cohesion and intercultural cooperation in her city. The ICLS is presented in March 2006 at the University of Tokyo as a contribution to human security. A triangular cooperation with the University of Tokyo, the ICLS and one of the most important North East Asian civil society organizations, Peace Boat, is developing. This is intended to result in a joint project involving Europe, the Middle East, South and Southeast Asia, such as the Human Family Boat project. A visit by the ICLS President to Israel and the Palestinian Territories (June 2006) opens up new possibilities for cooperation in the Middle East. These possibilities are further extended by his participation in a conference in Washington DC and New York (October 2007). The meetings during that trip allow informal cooperation developing, among others, with the United Nations Secretary General's office and the World Conference of Religions for Peace. These discussions are based on the ICLS conceptual initiative and practical proposals to treat climate challenge as an instrument of local peace making. New seminars are held in Lyon (June 2006 and June 2007), Bradford and Leeds (throughout 2006 and 2007) and in Rome (December 2007) and the local Networks of Trust are expanding in quantity of people and quality of initiatives for social cohesion. 2008: Cooperation begins with the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations. The ICLS is granted the first bi-annual operative grant (2008-2009) by the European Commission. The President of the ICLS, at the invitation by the Vice President of the European Parliament, co-chairs the Governance group of the Citizens' AGORA on Climate Change in the European Parliament. The AGORA Conclusions, following an ICLS initiative, promote good governance of climate protection and the role of intercultural communication and leadership in it. 2009: The ICLS carries out a Europe-wide minority youth leadership contest, the AtmosphEuropa Contest. The President of the European Parliament grants his patronage to the project, supported by senior MEPs from the main political groups, and the Final of the Contest is held in the European Parliament in Brussels with live web-streaming. The ICLS presents an international project as one of the winners of the Marketplace of Ideas at the Second Forum of the Alliance of Civilizations in Istanbul. As a parallel event at the Copenhagen Climate Conference of the United Nations, the ICLS and The Intercivil Society launch the 'Partnership for a Good Climate in Society and Nature' initiative. 2010: The UN Youth Solidarity Fund 2009 is awarded to the ICLS, in partnership with Praxis Community Projects of East London, for the Micro Cosmos Intercultural project. The project was completed in April and reported upon in May at the Third Forum of the Alliance of Civilizations in Rio de Janeiro. The ICLS is also granted a three-year multi-annual grant (2010-2012) by the European Commission.