The Shared Societies Project

With the implosion of financial markets on Wall Street and the explosion of a volcano in Iceland highlighting in just two ways how the world is ever more interconnected, enhancing dialogue and understanding among peoples and faiths is more vital than ever. Far too often, distrust and ignorance among cultures and faiths have been obstacles to peace and progress. So in a very real sense, promoting the rapprochement of cultures will promote the reaching of the MDGs.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.  April 21, 2010

"You have to be like us!" is an unintelligent and unsustainable national identity approach. Valuing and respecting difference -as nations proactively develop a new national identity through consensus building around agreed shared values- can provide a hopeful and socially cohesive future.

Jenny Shipley, Prime Minister of New Zealand (1997-1999). Project co-chair.

Multiculturalism is less an ethos than a simple statement of fact. [Cultures and multicultures] emerge from the lived experience of people and are by their nature untidy, vibrant, dynamic and, on occasion, difficult. Governments can certainly play a role -at certain moments even a crucial one- They can set the tone for the conversation and help create the material conditions for meaningful discussions to take place. But they cannot put words in our mouths.

Gary Younge in Who are we?