From medieval Cordoba to the Charter of Palermo: rethinking and rebuilding the reception of migrants, dialogue between cultures and respect for diversity

The ongoing «Migrants crisis», combined with the previous institutional and economic crises of the European Union, has had a very negative and deep impact on the cultural and social policies throughout the whole EU space. Following at least 12 years of a rewarding path, started in 1996 with the report «Our creative diversity» and culminated in 2007, the strong ambition to promote «cultural diversity» and «intercultural dialogue»has progressively vanished from the political agendas. It is therefore critical hic et nunc to rebuild this ambition and to restate the particular relevance of all the (legal and other) instruments already available (e.g. the 2001 UNESCO Declaration and 2005 UNESCO Convention). Moreover, it looks critical to focus on (and get inspiration from) some very promising experiences, as the outstanding Charter of Palermo (2015) and the Council of Cultures promoted by the City of Palermo, after years of a strongly innovative policy of cultural inclusion (under the leadership of Mayor Leoluca Orlando) dedicated to migrant populations massively arriving in Sicily.