DIALOGUE between cultures
United
Nations: Dialogue among Civilizations
The United Nations General Assembly met in plenary meetings at its
fifty-sixth session to commemorate the United Nations Year of Dialogue among
Civilizations 2001 and consider follow-up actions. What does a dialogue among
civilizations mean? One could argue that in the world there are two groups of
civilizations--one which perceives diversity as a threat and the other which
sees it as an opportunity and an integral component for growth. The Year of
Dialogue among Civilizations suggests us to revisit diversity and to seek a new
system of relations based on inclusion. Hence, the goal of the Year is to
nurture a dialogue that is both preventive of conflicts-when possible-and
inclusive in nature.
Routes Of Faith: Intercultural Dialogue
Throughout
history, peoples have exchanged cultural experience, ideas, values and goods
through art, trade and migrations. Human history is the tale of such journeys.
As we cross into the twenty-first century, we too have embarked on a journey –
whose destination holds out the promise of justice, well-being and a peaceful
existence for all. These encounters, in which individual travellers or
communities have conveyed their ideas and customs across whole continents and
oceans, are celebrated in a series of UNESCO projects.
World Faiths
Development Dialogue
The World Faiths Development Dialogue was set up as the result of
an inspirational meeting at Lambeth Palace, London, in 1998, jointly chaired by
James. D. Wolfensohn, President of the World Bank, and Dr. George Carey,
Archbishop of Canterbury (1991-2002). There, leaders from different religions
(9) and from development institutions agreed to the need for continued dialogue
and action to explore how the interaction between religious and spiritual
organisations and development institutions might be enhanced. A missing link in
the work of the development agencies has all too often been the role of
religions, both as organisations deeply involved with impoverished communities
across countries and regions, and as a moral and spiritual voice helping to
shape the policy and practice of anti-poverty and human development programmes.
The Centre for World Dialogue is
founded on the conviction that all people have the right to engage in the free
and open discussion of ideas. The Centre believes that dialogue and the
exchange of views have a vital role to play in the prevention and resolution of
conflicts. These basic principles underpin the Centre’s commitment to promoting
greater understanding and co-operation at all levels through initiating and
encouraging discussion on issues of global concern.
The Indigenous Peoples of the Kari-Oca
Conference, have made their Declaration of
intentions for the future: Our Declaration is for ourselves. In the
spirit of our ancestors and in harmony with one another at Kari-Oca, we have signed
the Kari-Oca Declaration. Kari-Oca represents five hundred years of survival
for the Indigenous Peoples of the Americas, Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe and
the Pacific. Our peoples came together to discuss our own agenda in the areas
of Indigenous Spirituality, International Law, Human Rights, Land, Territories,
Environment, Culture and Science, and Intellectual Property.
The Kari-Oca Declaration is in keeping with our spirituality. The Kari-Oca
Declaration is a prayer that our ancestors and future generations will help us.
Dedicated to examining the discoveries in science and technology,
and the cultures of China and the West, to demonstrate the fundamental moral principles
that the two cultures share.
Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue
The Centre is an independent and
impartial organisation, based in Geneva, Switzerland, dedicated to the
promotion of humanitarian principles, the prevention of conflict and the
alleviation of its effects through dialogue.
International Centre for Dialogue Among Civilizations (ICDAC)
ICDAC is primarily an organization to promote the concept of a global structure
based on mutual understanding and tolerance. To achieve that goal, the Centre
sets forth its mission statement as: To promote dialogue among civilizations
and cultures on an international scale as a means of advancing the
interpretation of the UN Charter and of improving human well-being.