The ICLS, during five consecutive years since 2004 (i.e. 2004-2008) has been financially supported through operational grants by the European Commission's Directorate General for Education and Culture (DGEAC) and its Executive Agency (EACEA), as an association promoting active European citizenship. The EU financial support in the European cities was complemented by the British government, various local grants from institutions and private citizens, most of them personally engaged in the implementation of ICLS local projects. The President of the ICLS spoke at two conferences of the European Commission introducing the ICLS as a best practice in Europe (active citizenship and intercultural dialogue) to large audiences in Brussels, in September and November 2006.

The garden surrounding the seminar venue near Lyon

France - Lyon/Taizé

Since June 2004, the ICLS has been in contact with different citizens and institutions in the city of Lyon and its surroundings. The European Constitution referendum in France in June 2005 and the disturbances in most major French cities, including Lyon, in October – November 2005, both contributed to developing a new understanding of social dynamics in France.

The ICLS Lyon 2 (June 2007) seminar group is out in the sunshine

Talkative coffee break at the Lyon seminar

Germany - Berlin

In February and December 2005 two ICLS seminars were held in Berlin. Even though the German Vice-President of the European Parliament personally supported the project and the Interfaith Secretary of the Archbishop of Canterbury represented the ICLS Management Board at the February 2005 seminar, the ICLS in Berlin has had to face challenges. These challenges have to be addressed if intercultural communication and good governance of diversity are to prevail in Berlin. Experience in other European cities is encouraging where, for example, young officers from the police forces productively mix with young Muslim as well as non-Muslim participants in ICLS seminars. The ICLS will continue to work for credible and mutually engaging relevant intercultural communication in Berlin as long as local partnerships could reflect the composition and proportions of the most significant segments and positions of the local population.

Great Britain - Bradford and Leeds

Bradford is the longest lasting operation of the ICLS. This operation started in the first year of the new millennium, in the same summer (2001) when some of the worst-ever street riots occurred between different ethnic, religious and cultural groups in the North of England, including Bradford. The first ICLS seminar was held in Bradford in April 2002 and, since then, altogether 11 seminars were held with about 160 young participants, coming from Christian, Muslim, secular and other cultural and religious backgrounds. The Bradford Network of Trust started on the first day after the end of the first ICLS seminar. The first seminar for Leeds was organised and a 'train the trainers' session was also held in 2007.

Participants of the 2007 Train the Trainers session on the stairs with Kamran, the 'Conductor' (top right)

Great Britain - Leicester

Expertise from Leicester contributed to the success of the Bradford ICLS seminars from the beginning. This success inspired local partners in Leicester to implement ICLS seminars in the city where a number of seminars were autonomously organised since 2004 through 2007. (Frankly, we lost track of how many…)

Some testimonies from participants of the first seminar in September 2004:

• I have never met such amazing people collectively in my life. Everyone was so talented, creative and totally inspiring. They have given me so much hope. I really thought that youth today was lost, but through ICLS I have met successful, ambitious, young people (some only early 20s), who have a firm faith and want to share it and help others live together harmoniously. A. D., Muslim female
   
• ICLS is a process whereby contradictions can be ironed out, through simple, decent dialogue. It is a powerful process that has the capacity to bring real change in the mind of Mankind. S. N. Hindu male
   
• I have been on a journey, a journey of discovery about faith, about culture, about getting on with people regardless of the varied backgrounds you come from, about shared values and principles, and I now know I am not alone in the want to create a more integrated world. We came together as strangers with individual objectives; we leave as friends who share a common goal. I look to the future with hope… R. G. Christian female

Great Britain - Peterborough

Peterborough has been one of the English local authorities which responded to the initiative of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) to use the successful ICLS model in other parts of England and Wales. The first seminar was held in September 2006. A few days later, the success of the seminar was testified by Ms Gillian Beasley, Chief Executive of the Peterborough City Council, (at the European Commission's Europe for Citizens Forum, Brussels, 21 September 2006) with the following words:

"I have been personally impressed by the early work of the ICLS in Peterborough. I have a role as a chief executive of a large organisation to support the role of the ICLS. I do this gladly and proudly as I see benefits that understanding can bring to all of our lives - and I can clearly see the vital part the ICLS can play in the challenges for Peterborough as a growing and vibrant city."

Great Britain - Walsall

In partnership with the Walsall City Council and with local civil society actors the ICLS seminar held its first seminar in February 2007. The alumni of this seminar have been establishing direct cooperation with the local City Council for community cohesion.

Romans at the dining table – part I.

Italy - Rome

Rome, a city of many interreligious and intercultural initiatives, is the headquarters of the ICLS where it is registered as a cultural association with an international scope, under Italian law. In 2005, two ICLS seminars were held and members of the Rome Network of Trust have been taking new intercultural initiatives in the Eternal City.

In December 2007, a third seminar was held and alumni have been engaging in several new intercultural activities in Rome. The two photos above and below testify that the participants were well fed and not only with ideas and words, during the third Rome seminar: the group lunching at a Hindu location (above) and at a Chinese restaurant (below).

Romans at the dining table – part II.

Netherlands - Rotterdam

Rotterdam, after the public debates generated by the assassination of a Dutch filmmaker in November 2004, quickly and very efficiently embraced the ICLS methodology. The first ICLS seminar was organised in February 2005 and, since then, the initiative has been with the active and creative Rotterdam Network of Trust (with a curious acronym Rotterdam NOT), established by the local ICLS alumni, in close cooperation with the local organising group of the ICLS. The most spectacular event of the Rotterdam NOT was a public event with 73 participants from the city entitled: "I live in Rotterdam but I do not feel at home", held in December 2005. There are several other new initiatives of the Rotterdam NOT in the pipeline. In February 2006 Kamran was introduced by Geza to the leadership of the Rotterdam Network of Trust. See the YouTube video below with their comments:

Video on YouTube