On 4 December 2008 in Brussels, EFA had the great opportunity to present EFA and especially EFA members from the Balkan countries and Turkey at a seminar organised by the European Commission. The study meeting explored the topic "Multi-Cultural Dialogue. EU legislation and actions in the field of culture and heritage" and brought together national cultural foundations, cultural institutes and NGOs working in culture and preservation of heritage in the multi-cultural environment of the Western Balkans and Turkey and professional associations, from eight different countries – united in their commitment to intercultural dialogue. EFA Secretary General Kathrin Deventer presented the different ways of collaboration between a European network and festivals as well as the activities of its members from the region, such as the International Festival Sarajevo "Sarajevo Winter" (Bosnia and Herzegovina), Varna Summer International Festival (Bulgaria), Dubrovnik Festival Hrvatska and Music Biennale Zagreb (Croatia), Festival Ljubljana (Slovenia), as well as Aspendos Internatinal Opera & Ballet Festival, International Izmir Festival and Mersin International Music Festival from Turkey. The main aim of the meeting was to bring together civil society representatives from the target countries in order to • improve their know-how of European legislation on cultural issues, including recent developments and relevant debates; • introduce them to the EU programmes and actions on multi-cultural dialogue and provide concrete examples of effective projects run in their framework; • provide them with an opportunity to exchange views, experience and good practice on the subject with relevant EU institutions and among themselves; • inform the participants about the European Union at a general level, its structure and mechanisms, its decision making process, funding sources, both at EU level and in their region; • stimulate the creation of networks between civil society organisations in the field of culture. EFA established new contacts with a lot of interesting organisations and explored possibilities of future collaboration.