Talk Down the Walls is a British Council initiated programme that combines arts and governance in an effort to celebrate the European Year for Intercultural Dialogue.

The project makes recent UK films the launch pad for changing perceptions on issues of tolerance, diversity and migration, allowing young people to acquire knowledge and skills enabling them to deal with a more open and complex society in the new context of an extended Europe.

The project is based on a strategic partnership with the National Council for Combating Discrimination, the lead authority on equal opportunities, the Romanian Cultural Institute, and the Consultancy Centre for European Cultural Programmes. The partnership with the latter will include use of British short features and documentaries on migration and intercultural dialogue in future activities developed as part of the Romanian national programme for the European Year of Intercultural Dialogue.

Local partners for moderated panel discussions are the Accept Association in Bucharest, the Lamont Centre for People with Disabilities in Cluj, the School Inspectorates in Bucharest, Cluj and Iasi, the Equal Opportunities for Women Association in Iasi and also the school inspectorates of Bucharest, Iasi and Cluj-Napoca.

British films will figure prominently in our Talk Down the Walls. Recent UK films will reflect British artists' engagement with topical contemporary issues. The selection will include recent productions that have been nominated for or received important awards at international competitions – This is England, directed by Shane Meadows, Breaking and Entering directed by Anthony Minghella, Ghosts by Nick Broomfield, Grow Your Own, on a script by acclaimed scriptwriter Frank Cottrell Boyce.