More than 24,000 students from 125 countries have entered the ”Mondialogo School Contest” launched by DaimlerChrysler and UNESCO, which aims to promote intercultural dialogue among young people worldwide. This will be the biggest intercultural school contest ever held on a global scale. The school teams will form a partnership with a team from another continent to jointly develop an intercultural project. There are no limits to the students’ creativity. They may compile photo documentaries, design Internet websites or compose music. The focus of the contest is on the lively exchange between partner teams.

The 15- to 18-year-old students live in 125 countries around the globe, from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe. The list of participants is headed by the Russian Federation and Romania, with 87 and 79 teams, respectively. The majority of project teams come from Europe (544), followed by Africa (423), Asia/Pacific (189), Latin America/Caribbean (160), the Arab states (100) and North America (50).

The aim of Mondialogo is to promote understanding and tolerance among civilizations and to encourage students to engage in open dialogue. ”With Mondialogo we help establish new partnerships between youths from all over the world. Because today it is more important than ever to learn how to interact with people of different origins, religious, cultural and linguistic backgrounds in an open manner, without reservation” says Hartmut Schick, Head of Communications at DaimlerChrysler. ”The overwhelming interest of young people in this exchange testifies to their curiosity and their urge to get to know other cultures and civilizations. We want to encourage and support them in their endeavors” says Hans d’Orville, Director of Strategic Planning at UNESCO.

The deadline for sending in the project results is June 30, 2004. An international jury will subsequently judge the entries and nominate the 25 most innovative and effective partner teams. Delegates from the nominated teams will then meet for the International Mondialogo Symposium envisaged in Barcelona, Spain, in September 2004. The three best teams will receive token cash prizes to be used for the benefit of their schools.

The Internet portal at www.mondialogo.org serves as the central communication medium for participants and other interested parties. Through this portal they can exchange their experiences, engage in on-line forums, discuss up-to-date issues relating to cultural diversity and, not least, forge friendships. "These experiences enrich our lives – not only in the way we think, but in the way we view other cultures" – that's how an Ecuadorian team has already described the early exchange via Mondialogo.

A second pillar of Mondialogo is a contest for engineering students. In international teams, students from industrialized and developing counties are challenged to share knowledge and elaborate ideas and approaches for solving technical problems and promoting sustainable development in developing countries. The 20 best project proposals will be chosen as recipients of the "Mondialogo Engineering Award", which is designed to encourage continuation and implementation of the successful project.

The complete list of school partnerships, further information and image material available at www.mondialogo.org

Fact Sheet ”Mondialogo School Contest”:

Participating teams: 1,466
Participating countries: 125
Team members: 24072

Ranking:

Russian Federation	8 7
Romania	7 9
Togo	64
Benin	5 9
USA	4 6
Uzbekistan	3 6
Ukraine	3 4
Cuba, Poland, Madagascar, Germany	3 2
Kazakhstan	3 0
Bulgaria, Mexico	2 9

Europe: 544 (37,1%)
Africa: 423 (28,9%)
Asia and the Pacific: 189 (12,9%)
Latin America and the Caribbean: 160 (10,9%)
Arab States: 100 (6,8%)
North America: 50 (3,4%)