In the week when the Union for the Mediterranean has been launched by the French presidency, the national section of Jeunesses Musicales International (JMI) in Cyprus reasserts the crucial role that culture, and especially music, can play in developing positive intercultural values, attitudes and behaviours amongst young people of all Mediterranean countries.

Together with five EU and Mediterranean partners, JM Cyprus is organizing Ethno Cyprus 2008 (11-19 July 2008), funded by the "Youth Euromed" program of the European Commission and the Cyprus Ministry of Education and Culture. Thereby, Ethno Cyprus is contributing to better mutual understanding between musical youth in the EuroMed sub-region, bringing together about 40 musicians from five countries. Such steps are not only innovative approaches to the peace building process but also serve to improve youth and cultural policy development in the region and thereby strengthen new initiatives such as the Union for the Mediterranean.

Nenad Bogdanovic, president of JM Cyprus, argues that infrastructure for youth music projects is currently under developed in the Mediterranean region: "We hope soon to establish better equipped facilities that will enable young musicians and young audiences to communicate through music on a more permanent and stable basis. The Euromed Youth Music Centre, here in Limassol, would not be only a meeting point, but also a live platform uniting Europe and the Middle East."

Ethno Cyprus 2008 will finish with two concerts, 17 July in Nicosia and 18 July in Limassol. The concert in Limassol will be dedicated to the launch of the Union for the Mediterranean, establishing a milestone for further co-operation between the Mediterranean countries.

www.ethno-world.org
www.jmi.net
www.jmcyprus.org