Interculturalism – a Spanish view

The terrorist attacks in Spain on 11 March 2004 shocked the nation and caused a period of introspection about inter-cultural relations.

This month the Spanish Embassy held a fascinating seminar on recent developments in Spanish cultural relations.

Ambassador Maximo Cajal gave a talk on the Alliance of Civilisations, a UN initiative proposed by Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Zapatero.

Juan Ferreiro, deputy director of Religious Affairs at the Spanish Ministry of Justice, then gave a talk on relationship between the state and religion in Spain.

The audience also heard the views of Ms Ana Salmon, Ambassador at Large for the Jewish Community at the Spanish foreign ministry, as well as Mr José Ferré, who gave the view from the Muslim community in Spain.