San Marino · European Year of Intercultural Dialogue

The European Year of Intercultural Dialogue was not a single historical event, but a time-limited initiative of the European Union. It was established by a decision of the European Parliament and the Council. Such “European Years” serve to raise awareness of a sociopolitical issue through events, educational programmes and public debates.

The background was the increasingly frequent encounters between people of different cultural, linguistic and religious backgrounds. Migration, cross-border mobility, the enlargement of the European Union and economic globalisation contributed to this. Intercultural dialogue was intended to promote the skills needed to live together in diverse societies: listening to one another, engaging with different viewpoints and resolving conflicts peacefully. This concerned not only religion, but also language, origin, way of life, education and participation in society.

The initiative linked cultural diversity with shared political and legal foundations. These included, in particular, human dignity, freedom, equality, non-discrimination, democracy, the rule of law and human rights. One focus was on young people, because schools, universities, youth organisations, and cultural and sports institutions were regarded as places of everyday exchange. In addition to activities across the Union, national and local projects also took place.

San Marino is not part of the European Union, but is permitted to issue the euro on the basis of a monetary agreement. With the commemorative coin, the Republic thus took up a Europe-wide designated annual theme. The choice of the occasion can be understood as participation in this public initiative: a circulating coin reaches people in everyday life across national borders and was therefore suitable as a vehicle for the theme. Unlike many commemorative coins, this issue commemorates neither an individual person nor a building or an anniversary, but a political and social programme.