Analysis : Inhabitants of the French Nord-Pas de Calais region also stand up for a Responsible, Plural and United World

Nearly all of the Assembly's 400 participants had arrived on Sunday, early in the afternoon, when the drums of the young people from the districts of Lille rang out in the large hall of the Palais des Congrès in Lille.
The president of the Conseil régional (Regional Council) welcomed everyone. "The four million inhabitants of the Nord-Pas de Calais are happy and proud to welcome you," he said to the participants. He reminded the audience that some major pages in the history of the labor movement had been written in this region. It is also in the Nord, he added, that were written the first pages of the creation of Europe. The region has witnessed wars and invasions, "but it lives in peace and for half a century it has seen its future become a part of the European zone; its inhabitants are experiencing this unique adventure in the history of humankind, which is to overcome national borders in order to build a continental unit capable of having an influence on the evolution of the world."
One by one, the representatives of the different regions of the world then introduced themselves to the audience's applause. This long introduction provided an opportunity measure the diversity of the participants. It also underscored the similarities among people and their concerns from one continent to the other.
All the delegates were chosen according to their responsibilities. "I am responsible for an intercultural center in Morocco," explained a delegate. "It was the people of the Alliance in Morocco who asked me to come. We need to make multiculturalism a living reality. And here, I think that we will be able to exchange our views and learn."
"The meeting could not have come at a better time," stated a delegate from Tajikistan. "At a time when we already have so many problems, we see war approaching. A meeting like this fully meets our concerns."