Traugott Schoefthaler

Dr. Schoefthaler is the former Executive Director of the Anna Lindh Euro-Mediterranean Foundation for the Dialogue between Cultures, Alexandria, Egypt.

Born in Bachausen, Germany (1949) he has a life long career in promoting dialogue among cultures throughout the world starting with the publication of his doctoral thesis on "Cultural Identities in World Society: Cognitive development in different cultural settings". His publications and fields of expertise centre on cross-cultural research, sociology of religions and educational planning.  Dr. Schoefthaler has been involved in a series of educational and scientific projects involving countries of the Western Balkans, Israeli and the Palestinian National Commissions for UNESCO, etc.

He has worked in executive positions for the UN and UNESCO. From 1993-2004 he was Secretary General of the General Commission for UNESCO and from 1986-1993 the Head of the Education and then Media Policies Sections. In 2004, he was appointed the first Executive Director of the Anna Lindh Euro-Mediterranean Foundation for the Dialogue between Cultures.

In 2001, he co-founded (with Fatma Tarhouni, Tunisia) the Euro-Arab Task Force of National Commissions for UNESCO „Learning to Live Together" and from 2002-2007 he has been involved in implementing a of projects in preparation for an inter-regional Euro-Arab Strategy under the auspices of the governing bodies of UNESCO, the Council of Europe, the Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (ALECSO) and the Islamic Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (ISESCO).