A common cultural ground should be maintained if Mediterranean conflicts are to be resolved, Education Minister Evarist Bartolo said earlier today.

In his second call for increased cultural integration this week, Mr Bartolo said cultural dialogue was the key to extinguishing the growing tensions in the Mediterranean region.

Addressing a conference on Mediterranean cultural dialogue hosted by the V-18 foundation, Mr Bartolo urged local artists and cultural stakeholders to promote diversity.

“Dialogue may seem futile in the face of such atrocities, but it should be promoted now, more than ever. Those involved in culture should be pushing for this,” he said.

Mr Bartolo was following up on comments he made during a press conference on Tuesday, where he said the wave of racism taking over the island did not tally with the island’s cultural heritage.

Describing the tensions in North Africa, Mr Bartolo said: “We were promised a spring but instead got a hellish winter”.

Urging Maltese society to support those fleeing the war torn region, he said: “When the everywhere is burning down people shout ‘fire! Fire!’, when they should all be shouting ‘water!’” he said.

The conference saw a number of experts in Mediterranean culture weigh in on the situation. Among them was modern historian Mostafa Hassani Idrissi, who compared the tensions between North African and Europe and a modern day Cold War.

“The tragic events on 9/11 created a clash of civilisations which is still perpetuated today,” Prof. Idrissi said.