The Our Shared Europe (OSE) project is the British Council’s response to one of the major cultural challenges facing our continent today – the growing mutual mistrust between Muslim communities and wider European society. Our Shared Europe seeks to find common ground, and build shared values, perspectives and behaviours that are based on mutual respect and trust. In particular, it is about how to acknowledge the contribution of Islamic communities and cultures – both in the past but also in the present – to the shaping of contemporary European civilisation and society. This means recognising the rich and diverse roots of our culture and society and using this recognition to build a more inclusive view of the continent that we all share.

Our Shared Europe Global Xchange Multilateral Youth Exchange Programme

			A key component of Our Shared Europe is the focus on Youth and Leadership. In 2009 - 2010 OSE collaborated with Global Xchange to establish a multilateral youth volunteer programme with 12 weeks in Zagazig, Egypt and 12 weeks in Southwark, London. Volunteers were recruited to take part in the Our Shared Europe Global Xchange Multilateral Youth Exchange Programme, run in partnership with Voluntary Services Overseas (VSO). 24 volunteers were drawn from 6 different countries - the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Egypt, Yemen and Morocco.
			The UK Youth Research Project Why do young Muslims often hesitate to get enrolled in youth exchange programmes? The British Council has conducted new research in the context of Our Shared Europe, supported by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, that looks at the accessibility of international exchange programmes to young Muslims. Visit the OSE website to watch the film. Download the executive summary | Download the full report
			Photo Exhibition: CHANGING PERCEPTIONS 28 September to 15 October 2010: Atrium City Hall, Den Haag 04 to 24 November : British Council Headquarters, London Our Shared Europe Global Xchange is proud to reveal a rich collection of photographs that celebrate the six-month voluntary exchange between Zagazig Egypt and Southwark, London, organised by the British Council and Voluntary Services Overseas (VSO). Read more.