Babelmed is a

non profit organisation A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

established in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

in April 2001. Its main objective is to promote

cultural exchange Culture ( ) is a concept that encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, attitudes, and habits of the individuals in these ...

s between the countries surrounding the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...

and to spread information and ideas around the area. In 2002, the association launched Babelmed.net, which aims to be a link between people, events and cultural production in the Mediterranean and to provide independent information on a range of issues. It is run by a central editorial team in Rome and a network of 17 correspondents around the Mediterranean Basin.

Philosophy

The name "babelmed" refers to the Mediterranean "med" and its

cultural diversity Cultural diversity is the quality of diverse or different cultures, as opposed to Monoculturalism, monoculture. It has a variety of meanings in different contexts, sometimes applying to cultural products like art works in museums or entertainment ...

"babel". "Bab" is also the Arabic word for "door". Languages featured on the site are mainly French and English, and partly Arabic. Articles in the different country sections are presented in their original languages. The organisation's output emphasises the close connections between

Western Europe Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's extent varies depending on context. The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the Western half of the ancient Mediterranean ...

an countries and Muslim Mediterranean countries through history, cultural roots, and mutual fertilisation of music, literature and films, on the basis that the cultural dimensions of these broad subjects plays a key role towards improving mutual understanding and reducing tensions.

Content

Babelmed focuses on

culture Culture ( ) is a concept that encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, Attitude (psychology), attitudes ...

, broadly defined. The content of the site is divided into several sections: cultural agenda, press review, features, creations and archives. Each section is then divided into sub-sections such as Visual Arts,

Performing arts The performing arts are arts such as music, dance, and drama which are performed for an audience. They are different from the visual arts, which involve the use of paint, canvas or various materials to create physical or static art objects. P ...

, Literature, and so on. The site also contains on-line and interactive exhibitions, such as "Syria, in the eyes of Europe, or "The sense of commerce". Social and political issues are covered from a cultural point of view, attempting to promote cross-cultural understanding of national or local phenomena. Permanent sections deal with specific themes: Films, Books and CDs, Impressions, Travels, Cooking Chronicles, Poetry, Geoart. The content of the site is also available by country, with a research engine to help find specific articles on the site from their source. The site also carries features on the central issues of Mediterranean cultures, sorted by main themes (women, migration, war, cuisine, for example) or by geographical locations.

Editorial line

Babelmed's main goal is to provide politically-independent information on cultural issues in the Mediterranean region. It is an independent organisation that does not belong to any

media group A media conglomerate, media company, media group, or media institution is a company that owns numerous companies involved in mass media enterprises, such as music, television, radio, publishing, motion pictures, video games, amusement parks, or ...

and has no link with any political, professional or religious body. It operates with subsidies from foundations promoting cultural dialogue and

freedom of expression Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The rights, right to freedom of expression has been r ...

around the Mediterranean. The organisation has partnerships with more than 300 cultural institutions in the Mediterranean, such as Publishing houses, media, cultural institutions, museums, festivals, Independent places of creation and performance. Other links have been developed with sites such as Medi1, Confluences Méditerranée,

Actes Sud Actes Sud is a French publishing house based in Arles. It was founded in 1978 by author Hubert Nyssen. By 2013, the company, then headed by Nyssen's daughter, Françoise Nyssen, had an annual turnover of 60 million euros and 60 staff members. ...

, Radio Orient, and Qantara.de.

References

Prix Europa PRIX EUROPA – The European Broadcasting Festival – is Europe's largest annual tri-medial festival and competition. The event takes place in the third week of October in Berlin, Germany. PRIX EUROPA awards the best European Televisi ...

2007's website, Babelmed.net is nominated as "best European website

* Few articles from Babelmed available on the GERM's websit

* "Immigration subsaharienne et droits de l'homme en Algérie", article from Babelmed.net edited on Algeria Watch, 16.04.200

* Interview with Mohamed Saïb Musette, edited on Algeria Watch, 16.04.200

* Interview with Halal Galal, edited on Euro-Mediterranean Partnership, Euromed Héritage's website, 14.03.200

* Program of Arab and European Babelmed journalists' meeting, 05.05.2006, on Euro-Mediterranean Partnership, Euromed Héritage's websit

* "Young Syrians and Lebanon", article from babelmed edited on The Arabist website, 17.12.200

* Interview with Amira Hass by a babelmed journalist, edited on Qantara.de in 200

* "A Myth Rebuilt in Alexandria", article from Babelmed, available from Fondation Anna Lindh's websit

* "Alger la blanche noyée dans le béton", by Daikha Dridi, article from babelmed.net edited in

Courrier International ''Courrier International'' (; ) is a Paris-based French weekly newspaper which translates and publishes excerpts of articles from over 900 international newspapers. It also has a Portuguese and a Japanese edition. ''Courrier Japon'' was launche ...

, n°729 - 21 octobre 200

French) * "Menaces sur le patrimoine de Tripoli au Liban" by Antonia Naim, linked on Patrimoine Sans Frontières' websit

*

Geocities GeoCities, later Yahoo! GeoCities, was a web hosting service that allowed users to create and publish websites for free and to browse user-created websites by their theme or interest, active from 1994 to 2009. GeoCities was started in November 1 ...

link to numerous articles from Babelmed about

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

in 2002-200

* The Multicultural Skycraper newsletter, 06.06.2003, refers to Babelmed.ne

* Newsletter of the Delegation of the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the primary Executive (government), executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of European Commissioner, members of the Commission (directorial system, informall ...

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

about the exhibition "Syrie, Eclats d'un mythe", March/April 200

* Newsletter of the

, 12.12.200

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External links

Babelmed.net
Environmental organisations based in Italy French-language mass media Arts organisations based in Italy Italian journalism organisations