The Mediterranean has been defined not as a sea as much as a grand island bathed in many cultures. Diverse civilizations have been connected through historic, artistic, commercial, and religious ties, all of which have contributed to making the Mediterranean a distinctive region of the world. Dialogue has been the foundation of this unique synchronicity, of interest to countries situated geographically outside the north and south of the Mediterranean region but which have a long connection to these shores, for example Asia with its rich identity and plurality. The great relaunch of the Euro-Mediterranean region began with the partnership of Barcelona in 1995 which outlined three parameters: political, economic, and cultural. Unfortunately, this partnership did not produce desired results. However, there remained a necessity to engage the north and south shores in discussions of culture and interreligious dialogue about the long cultural Abrahamic heritage that does not belong exclusively within any border or to any nationality.
Since its creation in 2007, ISA Academy has closely followed the dynamic in the Euro-Mediterranean basin, gearing up efforts to confront the dangers of cultural homogenization and social exclusion. Accordingly, the relationship with the Anna Lindh Euro-Mediterranean Foundation was significant, as they immediately sponsored one of the first teaching activities of the Academy.
The reality of the migration phenomenon—which has taken on an altered character recently, different from the migrations in the first decades of the 2000s—has urged the ISA Academy to participate, at the local-level, in intellectual support activities as well as in welcoming migrants. In 2013, the consolidation of ISA Academy’s presence in Sanremo and Ventimiglia gave way for public meetings at the Aprosiana Library, which at the end, proved to increase awareness about intercultural citizenship.