The association

ICE (Citizens In Europe Initiative) is an association law 1901, born in 1989. It is originally the product of the accession of free men and women who do not conceive of living in Europe without forging basic bonds of solidarity between Europeans.<:P>

However, the links that are being forged at the inter-European level are, to date, mainly the work of the media, representatives of political parties and government bodies. For ICE, freedom of communication only reflects freedom of expression if citizens of different European countries actively participate in the debates that will seal their common destiny. Ice also favours an approach to the problems posed by Europe in the form of friendly, free and informal contacts.

For more than fifteen years, ICE has been promoting the development of a public space for intellectual exchange and social and political reflection, where resistance to the irrationalities and limitations of democracy that Europe has so often been the scene of can be asserted.

ICE brings together members from various professions (artists, technicians, teachers, researchers, journalists, etc.) including some twenty active people who meet regularly. The operation of the association is that of a friendly club of inveterate activists. An originality of ICE lies in the fact that none of its members profess its activism. Each of them is guided only by the inexhaustible responsibility of his duty as a citizen.

The actions of ICE :

• Makz known the struggle of people engaged in resistance to nationalist outbursts who, in extreme situations (war, conflicts...) persist in expressing themselves in the name of a moral requirement and a civic conscience
• Promote a new reflection on the conditions for the development of citizenship in Europe in its political, economic, and social dimension
• Provide support to intellectuals forced into exile, directing them in their efforts and temporarily helping them to regain their footing
• Conduct civic vigil and alert function so that the Law can exercise its sovereignty in the case of war crimes, crimes against humanity and crimes against peace
• Conduct exchanges and reflections during regular meetings
• Propose and lead original and symbolic actions strong enough to directly express the idea of European solidarity in the news of the moment

On the public and practical level, ICE's activities mainly cover the organization of international meetings and thematic meetings on the following issues:

• Democracy and attacks on freedoms in Europe
• The pressures of populist movements on national minorities and the exercise of citizenship
• Peace and security in Europe
• The rights of peoples and minorities and the rights of citizens