Helsinki Forum; dialogue process

Description What is done in the programme or project and why, what results are pursued, who benefits from the activities and who are involved in the implementation.

The Helsinki Forum would work to facilitate a dialogue between the secular and religious worlds focused on the most pressing challenges in and between America, Europe and the Middle East and North Africa. In so doing, the Forum would thereby provide a network and pool of people to draw on to actively intervene where needed. The Forum is based upon the belief that inclusive, multi-­‐level engagement with multiple stakeholders is the only way to generate the traction necessary for initiatives responding to challenges to succeed. The approach of the Forum is to address the potential secular and religious political divides through focusing on shared policy issues. These divides are widely perceived, by some, to underpin much of the conflict in the MENA region, and is a factor in the relations between the MENA region and Europe and America. Within this approach, other divides are present whether generational, class, sectarian or economic.