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ALLIANCE OFCIVILIZATIONFORUM

Second

6-7 April 2009 – Istanbul, Turkey



Published by: Alliance of Civilizations Secretariat866 UN Plaza, Suite 300New York, NY 10017USAwww.unaoc.org

Design and Layout:Hedie Joulaee

Photos:Sipahiler

Printed in the United States by AGS Custom Graphics

Disclaimer:Tis report seeks to capture key elements of the proceedings and discussion during the sec-ond Alliance of Civilizations Forum. It does not purport to be a transcript and is necessarilyselective. It should not be taken as a complete or authoritative record of any individual state-ment or intervention, nor expressing the views of the United Nations Alliance of Civiliza-tions. Participants should be consulted directly for an authoritative statement of their views.

Copyright © 2009 Alliance of Civilizations



TABLE OF CONTENTS

Foreword 6

Introduction 8

Outcomes of the Forum 10Existing Projects: Progress and Future Directions 10 New Projects 12 Partnership Agreements 14 National Plans and Regional Strategies 14

Group of Friends 16 High-level Debate 16 Focal Points Meeting 20

Te Marketplace of Ideas 22

Youth at the Istanbul Forum 26

Plenary Sessions 30

Working Sessions 62

Working Breakfasts 86

Appendixes 104 List of Participants 104List of Organizers 118



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In addition to generating new ideas and areas ofaction, the 2009 Alliance Forum saw the launch ofa number of key projects and strategic partnerships.Te reader will nd in the following pages greaterinformation on the contents of the discussions, onthe current status of the commitments made a yearago in Madrid and on new initiatives presented andlaunched for the rst time in Istanbul.

Regarding the way forward, Istanbul has already

provided a number of clear indications of thepriorities that will guide our work in the run-upto the Rio Forum of the Alliance in 2010. Let mehighlight ve of them:

Enlarging the global scope of the Alliance•

and streamlining and consolidating NationalPlans and Regional Strategies for interculturaldialogue.

Making education and youth top priority areas•

of action for the Alliance.

Strengthening the role played by civil society•

and the private sector in addressing culturaldiversity issues and developing closer coopera-tion at all levels.

Developing joint projects at local, regional•

and international level, especially through citydiplomacy initiatives aimed at promoting betterintercultural understanding and preventingmounting tensions and the rise of extremism.

Reinforcing the voice of the Alliance within•

the international community, and making it areliable, fully operational soft-power tool for aglobal partnership for peace.

In Istanbul many participants expressed concernthat the severe economic and nancial crisis thathas stricken the world may carry with it risksof increased hostility towards the “other”, oftenperceived as the cause of all evils or at least as anobstacle to solutions. Moreover, others insist thatthe persistence of conicts of a political natureputs strong limitations to the Alliance’s outreach.

We must have realistic expectations about the Alliance and work to turn its goals into achieve-

Te Second Forum of the Alliance of Civiliza-tions, generously hosted by the urkish Govern-ment in the magnicent city of Istanbul, was asuccess for many different reasons. wo pointsdeserve particular mention:

Firstly, this year we asked our closest partners –particularly international organizations which formpart of our Group of Friends community and civilsociety groups – to assume joint ownership of the

Forum. We invited them to co-organize workingsessions, to engage with us in joint projects to bepresented at the Forum, and to make commoncommitments. We wanted them to have a strongstake in the Forum and I am happy to say that wesucceeded, thanks to our common efforts!

Moreover, the second Forum successfully reectedwhat we have achieved during the journey fromMadrid to Istanbul: the tasks carried out to imple-ment our 2007-2009 Action Plan and the progressmade in achieving the Madrid outcomes.

Te Istanbul Forum met four main objectives:

Providing a platform for an open, inclusive and•

global dialogue among a wide range of playersinvolved in promoting good governance of cul-tural diversity and intercultural understandingand cooperation. Tese players include politicalleaders, heads of international and multilateralbodies, religious leaders, as well as representa-tives of the corporate sector, the media, youthand civil society.

Showcasing the Alliance as a platform for•

dialogue that delivers.

Presenting the Alliance as a global matchmaker•

by connecting innovative, groundbreakinggrassroots initiatives with policy makers andpotential funders who can help scale up theseprojects and give them global prominence.

Highlighting the political leverage of the Alli-•

ance, by showcasing the strong commitment ofits members to turn its political objectives into

"glocal" deliverables.

FOREWORD



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ments. Te Alliance is there to help preventdivides, to promote good governance of culturaldiversity and build more inclusive societies -societies based on equality, dignity and respect forhuman rights, within a more balanced world.

Tere are signs around us that dialogue, togetherwith a multilateral and multi-stakeholder ap-proach, may get a welcome boost. I have beenimpressed by the intensity of the many action-ori-ented discussions that developed during the twodays of the Forum in various formats and fromdifferent perspectives. I believe that the Alliancehas the power to mobilize high level, high prolecommitments in support of innovative cross-cul-tural projects and dialogue that generate greaterintercultural understanding. I believe that the Al-liance is in a key position to galvanize support bygovernments (particularly GoF members) as wellas by the corporate sector, international organiza-tions and civil society, with a view to developing anumber of joint initiatives. I also believe that the Alliance of Civilizations is a unique example ofthe way in which the United Nations can adapt toemerging challenges.

o help feed future reections on the wayforward, I prepared and presented to the Foruma collection of texts containing my ideas andinsights about the challenge of managing culturaldiversity in a world of increasingly diverse societ-ies. It sheds light on some of the key issues relatedto the Alliance of Civilizations’ mandate, includ-ing the role of religion in supporting interculturaldialogue and reconciliation, the challenge ofintegrating minorities, the need to promote de-mocracy, pluralism and inclusive societies, as wellas the central role of human rights in fostering

respect for cultural diversity. I called it “Te Roadfrom Madrid to Istanbul and Beyond”. Let usmove forward, because emergencies will not wait. And let’s keep united and rm in our convictionthat we can change the world.

Jorge SampaioUN High Representative for the Alliance of Civilizations



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Te Second Forum of the Alliance of Civilizationsmobilized a wide range of committed partners,including governments, international organiza-tions, media, civil society, youth and religiousleaders. From 6-7 April 2009, nearly 2,000participants – among them several Heads ofGovernment, over 50 ministers, as well as policy-makers, foundations, media and grassroots leadersfrom around the world – convened at the CirağanPalace Hotel in Istanbul, urkey, to forge newpartnerships, generate ideas aimed at buildingtrust and cooperation among diverse communitiesand advance the Alliance of Civilizations’ goals.Te Forum also served as an opportunity to takestock of initiatives developed by the Alliance, toshowcase practical projects in collaboration withcivil society and corporate partners and to launchnew programs.

Te Alliance of Civilizations promotes “a dialoguethat delivers”, a dialogue supported and pro-

longed by concrete action, with an impact oncitizens’ lives. It is therefore only natural that thereport should start with a review of the practicaloutcomes of the Forum: progress made in the

implementation of existing projects, launchingof new programs, conclusion of new partner-ship agreements, fresh developments in nationaland regional initiatives designed to achieve thecollective goals. Te report then focuses on thedeliberations of the Group of Friends, which sup-ports the Alliance, looking at the main themes ofinterest for ministers and heads of internationalorganizations and the way focal points in nationaladministrations and partner institutions organizetheir work. It further introduces the major inno-vation of the Istanbul Forum - the Marketplace ofIdeas - and presents at some length how the youthhave been uniquely involved in that major event.

Against that background of achievements, institu-tional developments and innovative practices, thereport then sheds light on the many lively debates,which took place from dawn to dusk, from ex-changes between top political leaders to multifac-eted working sessions involving representatives of

all stakeholders in the Alliance’s process. It offersa summary of the main points at issue and conclu-sions as well as a selection of quotes.

INTRODUCTION



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Currently, each email alert generates an average of7 direct inquiries.

Te RRMM project concluded a number ofpartnerships in Istanbul with key organizationsincluding the Anna Lindh Foundation, the Euro-pean Commission, Search for Common Ground,Gallup, and the International Center for Journal-ists. An announcement to collaboratively launcha Rapid Response Media Mechanism for theEuro-Mediterranean region with the EuropeanCommission and the Anna Lindh Foundationwas made and integrated into the wider initiativenamed “Restore rust, Rebuild Bridges”, jointlyput forward in the aftermath of the Gaza crisis bythe Anna Lindh Foundation and the Alliance(see below).

Alliance of Civilizations Media Fund

Te Alliance of Civilizations Media Fund expandsthe production of entertainment media, television,and new media content that challenges commonstereotypes and exposes audiences to more bal-anced representations of regions and cultures thatare often ignored or negatively portrayed in massmedia. In Istanbul, the Media Fund unveiled athree-part strategy, which includes: a. conductingresearch to increase understanding of the impactof media on attitudes and behavior through aresearch project at Harvard University, MI , andthe New School University; b. raising awarenessof the research ndings through a global media-

industry-targeted campaign to garner additionalsupport of media industry leaders for the MediaFund; and c. producing and distributing content

Existing Projects: Progress andFuture Directions

Te Forum provided participants with aninsider’s look into the work of the Alliance ofCivilizations, with progress reports on its mainactivities and achievements since the MadridForum, held in January 2008. Te feedbackand input received in Istanbul will help shape

these initiatives, ensuring that they continue torespond to needs on the ground. Te Alliancehas also beneted from the insights of partnerswho can help increase the reach and impact of Alliance projects. Existing initiatives presentedand discussed at the Forum include:

Rapid Response Media Mechanism

Te Alliance of Civilizations’ Rapid ResponseMedia Mechanism (RRMM) was launched at therst Forum of the Alliance in Madrid, in January

2008. At the core of RRMM is an online resourceof experts for journalists covering stories aboutcultural, religious and political tensions betweencommunities, and across borders. Tis resource,called Global Expert Finder (www.globalexpert-nder.org) connects media professionals withleading analysts and commentators on inter-cultural crises and their likely long-term impact.Since the launch, the resource has grown to over100 experts. On average, between 2-3 email alertsare sent every month to a constantly growing listof media contacts (currently over 7,000) to alert journalists about intercultural-related issues theymight want to cover and offering names of GEFexperts prepared to comment on these issues.

OUTCOMES OF THE FORUM



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From July 2008 to April 2009, youth organiza-tions implemented their winning projects. Teyreported on the results of their projects during aBreakfast Session at the Annual Forum in Istan-bul. Following analysis of the lessons learned andresults of the pilot phase of the Youth SolidarityFund, the UNAOC will launch a new edition ofthe program in mid-2009.

Silatech

Silatech, an initiative of Her Highness SheikhaMozah bint Nasser Al-Missned, is aimed ataddressing the critical and growing need togenerate jobs and economic opportunities foryoung people. Te initiative promotes large-scale job creation, entrepreneurship, and access tocapital and markets for young people, initially inthe Arab world, where the highest rate of youthunemployment exists globally. In Istanbul, detailsof Silatech’s progress since becoming fully opera-tional were announced, including the alliancesthat it has established with global, regional andinternational partners to promote job creation,enterprise development, and job placement.

International Network of Foundations

Since the announcement of the creation of anInternational Network of Foundations, in Madrid,work has been carried out to identify four areas ofcommon interest: intercultural and inter-religiousdialogue, education and translation, arts andmedia, and the engagement of religious leaders in

peace building efforts. During the Istanbul Forum,a special session of the network of foundations

in lm, television, and new media to promotegreater cross-cultural understanding.

Media Literacy Education Clearinghouse

Te Media Literacy Education (MLE) Clearing-house is a comprehensive database of organizations,resources, best practices and events that are relevantto MLE, Media Education Policy and Youth Me-dia. Media literacy education and media education

policy are critical in combating cultural stereo-types, as well as developing critical thinking skillsto evaluate media messages and source credibility.Te site (www.aocmedialiteracy.org) is developedwith the collaboration of a growing network of 33partner organizations and it has become an interna-tionally known MLE portal with currently over24,000 unique visitors per month.

Youth Solidarity Fund

Te Youth Solidarity Fund provides seed fundingto outstanding youth-led initiatives that promotelong-term constructive relationships betweenyoung people from diverse cultural backgrounds.Te UNAOC launched the pilot phase of the Youth Fund in early 2008 with an initial budgetof $100,000. During the application period, over110 proposals came from a total of 55 countriesfrom all continents. Te review and evaluation ofthese proposals was conducted by a Youth Selec-tion Committee which was composed of 7 youthrepresentatives nominated by key regional youthplatforms the AoC partners with. Six projects

were identied as winners and received grantsranging from $10,000 to $20,000.



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education. Te clearinghouse features resourceson these subjects including learning and teach-ing materials, links to relevant organizations, a journal, events listings, a forum and news thatcould be useful to teachers, policy-makers andresearchers.

Alliance Fellowship Program

Announced at the Istanbul Forum, the AllianceFellowship program facilitates mutual, substan-tive, and meaningful exposure for emerging lead-ers from North America, Europe, and Muslim-majority countries to media, culture, politics,institutions, civil society, and religion in eachother’s countries. It provides a unique opportunityfor emerging leaders to learn about other societies,institutions, beliefs and people. It also aims to

create an informal network of emerging and inu-ential leaders who will bring fresh perspectives torelations between different countries and regionsand who will advocate for new approaches to pro-moting intercultural understanding. Tis projectis being organized in partnership with the BritishCouncil, the League of Arab States, ISESCO andthe German Marshall Fund of the United States.

Dialogue Café

In collaboration with the Alliance of Civiliza-tions, CISCO launched Dialogue Café at theIstanbul Forum. Te project is based on a boldbut simple idea: ordinary people have more incommon than not and given the opportunity will

outlined its priority activities moving forward:knowledge exchange, information sharing anddissemination in the four focus areas; operationalsupport with a view to developing tools that helpidentify projects and partners and build capacity;identication of collaborative opportunities; andadvocacy and contributing to public policy.

Doing Business in a Multicultural World:Challenges and Opportunities

A commitment was made at the Madrid Forumto produce a publication aimed at raising thevisibility of best practices in the corporate sectortoward supporting cross-cultural relations. Tereport was subsequently completed and launchedat the Istanbul Forum. Developed jointly withthe UN Global Compact, the report, entitled

‘Doing Business in a Multicultural World: Chal-lenges and Opportunities’, explores cross-culturalchallenges companies are facing, highlights goodpractices and lessons learned and illustrates whyand how business can play a vital role in fosteringintercultural understanding.

New Projects

Education about Religions and Beliefs

Launched in Istanbul, the Education aboutReligions and Beliefs (ERB) Clearinghouse col-lects and organizes resources for learning aboutthe world’s diverse religions and beliefs as well asethics education, tolerance education, and civic



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Restore rust, Rebuild Bridges

Tis cluster of projects was jointly developed by the Alliance and partner organizations in the wake ofthe Gaza crisis. Tis initiative followed a meet-ing co-organized by the Anna Lindh Foundation

and the Alliance of Civilizations in February2009, aimed at assessing the impact of the crisisin Gaza on relations among and within societ-ies in the Euro-Mediterranean region. A series of joint actions were agreed upon in order to helprestore trust in Euro-Mediterranean dialogue andrebuild human and cultural bridges among societ-ies in the region. In addition to the creation of aRegional Strategy, involving a number of prepara-tory actions, proposed by partners, this initiativewill provide a cluster of projects, including a rapidresponse media mechanism aimed at respondingto intercultural crises in the Euro-Mediterraneanregion (UNAOC, Anna Lindh Foundation and theEuropean Commission); a number of civil societyprojects promoting reconciliation supported by the Anna Lindh Foundation; a cycle of internationalseminars on the dialogue among civilizations ofthe Mediterranean presented by the MediterraneanUniversities Union (UNIMED); a workshop onconict transformation for intercultural dialogueand overcoming hatred, as well as a Peace camp(Council of Europe); a Seminar on Jerusalem as a

city of coexistence between monotheistic religionswith participants coming from both shores of theMediterranean (OIC); a training activity in capac-

explore their common interests even across radicalgeo-political divides. Dialogue Café links diversegroups of citizens from around the world throughthird generation video-conferencing technology,thereby creating a new space for social innovationand exponentially expanding our ability to solveproblems and innovate as a global community.Dialogue Café’s development is being supportedby an international multi-sector consortium ofpartners, enabled by cutting-edge technology,and most importantly is driven by ordinarypeople. Te Café proof of concept started withpreparations for pilot cafés in New York, London,Istanbul and the Middle East.

PLURAL +

In Istanbul, the Alliance, in collaboration with the

International Organization for Migration (IOM),launched PLURAL +, a youth-produced videofestival on migration, inclusiveness, identity anddiversity. PLURAL + will invite young people fromacross the world to participate by sending videosexpressing their opinions and visions relevant tothese themes. PLURAL + is being developed withthe support of a number of organizations, amongthem the BaKaFORUM, Chinh India, the AnnaLindh Foundation, COPEAM and UNESCO. Aselection committee composed of youth and ex-perts from the media, migration and developmentsectors will identify the nalists and winners foreach of the award categories and age groups.



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the International Organization of Migration,the Organization of the Islamic Conference, theIbero-American General Secretariat, the AnnaLindh Foundation, l’Organization de la Franco-phonie, the Community of Portuguese Speaking

Countries and the Union Latine.

National Plans and RegionalStrategies

Te Alliance of Civilizations is supported by agrowing community of over 100 countries andinternational organizations known as the Groupof Friends. Since the rst Forum of the Alliance ofCivilizations, this network has expanded by 20%,enriching the work of the Alliance by providing

ideas, insights and nancial support. Membersof the Group of Friends have also created theirown National Plans to advance the goals of the Alliance. A range of practical initiatives aimed atcreating trust and promoting mutual understand-ing across cultures have already been launched.

In Istanbul, National Plans to advance theobjectives of the Alliance were announced by thefollowing countries: Albania, Algeria, Argentina,Brazil, Montenegro, Portugal, Romania, RussianFederation, Qatar and Slovenia. Bulgaria, New

Zealand, Spain, urkey and the United Kingdomhave already adopted National Plans. Other coun-tries mentioned ongoing work aimed at preparingNational Strategies.

Regional Strategies for East-European countries,the Euro-Mediterranean region and the Ibero- American countries were also announced. Withregards to the East-European Strategy, an Inter-national Conference in Sarajevo due to take placein the second half of 2009 was also announced.Concerning the Euro-Mediterranean regionalStrategy, a set of initiatives will be carried out inorder to prepare its adoption at a meeting to behosted by Egypt. Moreover, a forthcoming Re-gional Strategy for the Ibero-American countrieshas also been foreshadowed.

ity building addressed to Palestinian civil societyinstitutions working in the elds of youth andculture (OIC); and an Intercultural Vade Mecum(UNESCO).

Mapping Media Education Policies in the World: Visions, Programs and Challenges

Te Alliance of Civilizations launched a uniquepublication to help create a generation of in-formed media consumers capable of navigatingtheir way in the complex and often polarizedworld of news and current affairs. Developed inpartnership with UNESCO, Grupo Comuni-car and the European Commission, ‘MappingMedia Education Policies in the World: Visions,Programs and Challenges’ offers the insights of

eighteen international experts who, through theirin-depth analysis, advise on media literacy policiesand provide citizens with the tools they need tomake sense of the sometimes overwhelming owof daily news and information. “Te purposeof this collection is to map some of the mostrelevant practices that exist at regional level and tohighlight the underlying educational and mediacultures that support them”, writes Divina Frau-Meigs, co-editor of the book.

Alliance of Civilizat ions Research Network

Tis network brings together a group of institu-tions from around the world that will serve as a col-lective think-tank for the Alliance and will drive amovement to encourage cross-cultural educationalexchange. Institutions that are part of this networkshare an interest in the four key areas of work ofthe Alliance (education, media, migration, andyouth), as well as in other topics such as cross-cul-tural understanding, good governance of culturaldiversity, conict resolution, and city diplomacy.Te Research Network will also provide a base of

experts to form “communities of knowledge” indifferent areas of interest to the Alliance.

Partnership Agreements

At Istanbul, the Alliance signed agreements withseven international organizations, with a view toleverage networks and the comparative advantageof its partners. Agreements were signed with:



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are governments engaged in supporting the Alliance through their National Plans andregional strategies for intercultural dialogue?o what extent are they willing to engage inaction in three main areas of intervention, i.e.the “3Cs” – currencies (beliefs, ideologies andnarratives); communities (individuals and keygroupings) and context (social hostility and dis-crimination)? How can the Alliance’s NationalPlans and regional strategies for interculturaldialogue help?

Rethinking the role of education as a critical2.key for fostering respect and understanding

Fifty per cent of the world population today isunder the age of 25 and in some countries theproportion is closer to three-quarters. Youngpeople are the inheritors of a changing world,shaped by major economic, social, cultural andhistorical shifts.

In the long run, education will be one of themost effective tools in shaping shared narrativesacross potential divides. Education plays a criti-cal role in promoting peaceful coexistence intoday’s multicultural societies. o achieve thisgoal, we need to strategically rethink educationin its broadest sense - education for humanrights; education for citizenship and respect forothers; education for intercultural understand-ing and dialogue; education in media literacy;

education about religions and beliefs; andeducation about world history. All these areindispensable strategies if we want to make theworld a better and safer place to live together inmutual respect.

Fostering the role of civil society in building3.inclusive societies

Tough civil society groups are very diverse andhave a wide range of functions, they can play acritical role in generating a sense of belongingacross communities. By empowering individu-als as citizens, they contribute to creating asense of group identity. Moreover, the pro-

Te Forum featured two gatherings of theGroup of Friends of the Alliance – a growingcommunity of over 100 states and internationalorganizations: the high-level debate of ministersand heads of international organizations; and aworking session for the recently-created com-munity of Focal Points of the Alliance, who metfor the second time.

High-level Debate

Tis working session was designed to facilitate aninformal debate between ministers on a numberof issues affecting the future work of the Allianceand on practical ways to transform ideas into ac-tion. A frank exchange of views, based on partici-pants’ knowledge and experience, provided inputfor the work of the High Representative with aview to shaping the strategic outlook of the Alli-ance, enhancing the role it can play in defusingintercultural tensions and building momentum

around common objectives.Te debate focused on the ve following issues:

Addressing extremism and radicalization1.

Polls show that the vast majority of people sup-port respect for religious and cultural diversityand reject extremism. But wherever and when-ever communities believe they face persistentdiscrimination, exclusion, humiliation ormarginalization based on ethnic, religious or

other identity markers, they are likely to asserttheir identity more aggressively. Evidence showsthat grievances, real or perceived, can lead toviolence and radicalization.

Building on what is known about extremismand radicalization, the importance of improv-ing intercultural relations should be morewidely understood and supported by membersof the Alliance. Efforts should focus on policyrather than simply on principles.

What are the key issues in the struggle againstextremism? What is the best policy to win the“hearts and minds” of people? o what extent

GROUP OF FRIENDS



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motion of greater involvement of citizens inpublic debates and in forging public policies,

community-based, grassroots and non-govern-mental organizations can help shape commonidentities and strengthen social ties.

Tat is why fostering civil society’s role inbuilding equal and inclusive societies is of para-mount importance. Tis role can be reinforcedthrough the development of National Plans forIntercultural Dialogue and Regional Strategiesthat are based on a bottom-up approach thatprovides opportunities to civil society organiza-

tions to put forward concrete initiatives aimedat bridging intercultural divides.

Politics and religion: new paths for cooperation4.

Political radicalization of religion createsmilitant theologies. But disregarding therelationship between religion, politics andinternational affairs and casting religion asone of the primary problem in internationalrelations weakens the positive role that religiouscommunities can play in creating support forpeace-building efforts.



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and foreign policies. Over the last few years, thewar against global terrorism has been foughton three major fronts: military, economic anddiplomatic. But it is not through militaryactions that the struggle for the “hearts andminds” can be won – therefore we need publicdiplomacy strategies that address the ideologi-cal dimensions of war: the war of ideas and theforeign policy decisions it generates.

We therefore need to move beyond commonassumptions and stereotypes and form partner-ships that transcend the “us” and “them” viewof the world. What can be done to consolidatethe role of the Alliance of Civilizations as aplatform for bridging cultural divides andcreating the framework for inclusive policies ininternational affairs?

Participants reected on the following issues: What can be done to open new paths for amore inclusive dialogue that engages multiplelevels of leadership particularly in conictsituations? What are the most effective waysof engaging in dialogue with leaders who havea signicant political or religious followingor who are in a position to inuence opinionwithin their respective secular and religiouscommunities? What mechanisms should beput into place to facilitate innovative regularexchanges between religious and secular polit-ical activists that can complement traditional“track one” diplomacy efforts?

Public diplomacy: winning the “hearts and5.minds”

Te Gallup World Poll consistently conrmsthat beliefs and perceptions of the “other” aremajor factors affecting intercultural relations



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Focal Points Meeting –April 8th 2009

Following introductory remarks by the HighRepresentative, members of the High-levelGroup briey shared their perspective on theIstanbul Forum. Te Focal Points then held along exchange of views on the various aspects oftheir challenging work, options for strengtheningcooperation among themselves and synergies withthe Alliance’s Secretariat. Recent initiatives of theSecretariat were highlighted: a regular newsletterfor Focal Points, weekly one-on-one teleconfer-ences with Focal Points and the development of atemplate for National Strategies.

Participants welcomed the second Focal Points

Meeting, suggesting that there should be at leasttwo meetings each year in order to undertakesubstantive work and achieve real progress. Anumber of Focal Points described challenges intheir work and discussed the centrality and limitsof their role as Focal Points: providing overallcoherence, managing information ows, relayinginformation, identifying the right interlocutors incomplex administrative structures, and promot-ing exchange of good practice. Tere was a clearneed to learn from others and to reect jointlyon the political dimension of intercultural work.Several participants presented the main featuresof recently adopted national strategies in theirrespective countries.

Tere was much reference to the twin challengesof widening and deepening the scope of the Alli-ance. As the Alliance kept expanding, some feltthat Focal Points had a particular responsibilityto ensure a deepening of the work of the organi-zation. Opportunities for regional cooperationand the creation of affinity groups and coopera-tion platforms attracted particular attention anddebate. Flexible forms of cooperation were indeedneeded, in order to improve the overall efficiencyof the Alliance.

Participants recognized the need to work atregional level and to create stronger links amongregional institutions. Tey also felt that theimpact of the Alliance at the local level can beenhanced by encouraging and supporting localinitiatives and facilitating their development andreplication. One major task of the Alliance is toconnect innovative initiatives, actors, potentialdonors, policy makers, researchers, the private sec-tor and the media in order to build synergies andcomplementarity among them and engage themto work across boundaries. In that respect, theIstanbul Forum has been very successful, fosteringlinks and partnerships among a wide range ofdiverse actors.

Te need for all members of the Group of Friends

to share the nancial burden to support the workof the Alliance was strongly emphasized.



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During the Marketplace of Ideas, some of theworld’s most exciting, innovative and lesserknown civil society projects aimed at advancingintercultural understanding were showcased infront of a high-level audience.

Te goal of the Marketplace was to present grass-roots projects which are unique, but also havethe potential to be scaled up and replicated inother diverse communities around the world. Bybringing these projects to the attention of leadersfrom governments, international organizations,business, religion, civil society and academia, the Alliance sought to inspire new thinking aboutcurrent challenges, and to connect some of theworld’s most dynamic civil society entrepreneurswith an audience of decision-makers who havethe ability to give their work greater visibilityand impact.

o that end, projects were selected for presenta-

tion which did not already possess rmly estab-lished links with the UN system, and had yet tobe truly ‘discovered’ by the international commu-nity. Almost 100 applications were received, fromwhich 18 projects were selected via a comprehen-sive review process.

Te Marketplace of Ideas was presented by GhidaFakhry, news presenter at Al Jazeera English since April 2006.

MARKETPLACE OF IDEAS



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FEATURED PROJECTS AT THEMARKETPLACE OF IDEAS

The 99 Teshkeel Media Group, InternationalA comic based on the 99 attributes of Allah;each of 99 comic book characters is basedon one of the 99 attributes. The religionof the characters is not specied, and thepositive value or attribute each characterrepresents are inclusive and relevant toevery society. ( www.the99.org)

Ramadan FestivalBridgizz, Europe A series of cultural events during Ramadan that is organized in multip le cities aroundEurope. The festival is aimed at foster-ing social cohesion and building bridgesbetween Muslims and non-Muslims.(www.ramadanfestival.org)

Be Seen Be Heard Be KnownCommonwealth Youth Programme,CaribbeanAn initiative to highlight and feature positive stories of young people bet ween the

ages to 13 and 29 in national newspapersand magazines with the aim of changingnational perceptions of young people in the Caribbean. (www.thecommonwealth.org/cypcaribbean)

Respect MagazineNo Ghetto, France, Africa and the MiddleEastA magazine produced with young peoplefrom marginalized communities in France,Africa and the Middle East to promotediversity, point out stereotypes, create

a space for dialogue and build bridgesacross communities. (www.respectmag.fr)

QantaraQantara.de, InternationalAn online portal that fosters greater under-standing between Europe and the MiddleEast by showcasing arts, culture andcurrent affairs. The word ‘Q antara’ means‘bridge’ in Arabic. (www.qantara.de)

OneVoiceOneVoice Movement, Israel-PalestineA project that develops, in partnershipwith negotiations experts, a methodology that addres ses taboo areas where agree-ment between Israelis and Palestinians ismost difcult – from refugees to Jerusalem– through an iterative polling process anda series of town hall meetings. (www.onevoicemovement.org)

Connecting CulturesConnecting Cultures, InternationalA project that promotes face to faceinteraction between young people from the Western and Arab world via shor t

wilderness journeys to celebrate culturaldiversity, promote unders tanding, and helpreduce the polarization of cultures.(www.connectingcultures.co.uk)

Social Mobilization for Change throughDialogueAmahoro Youth Club, BurundiA project which aims to connect youthfrom different groups in Burundi in a post-conict environment to create a space forexchange and to enable communities toparticipate in peace building and sustain-

able development. (www.amahoroyouth- club.wordpress.com)

Tools 4 TrialogueThree Faiths Forum, UKA project that gives young British studentsan exciting and topical encounter with reli-gious texts from within their own faith and then facilit ates discus sion with studentsfrom other faiths. (http://www.3ff.org.uk/ prog_t4t.htm)

Soliya Connect ProgramSoliya, InternationalA project that links students from universities around the world via a cus tomizedvideoconferencing application, providing them with skil ls and experience to buildmore constructive relationships amongdifferent cultures. (www.soliya.net)

Intercultural Study TripsInitiative for Intercultural Learning,InternationalA project that brings together studentsfrom a diverse group of countries (Uganda,Rwanda, Japan, Nepal, Thailand, European

Union, Syria, Lebanon, USA, Israel and Pal-estine, Switzerland) and facilitates mutualexchanges between them. (www.il.ch)

IMC Weekend SchoolIMC Weekend School, NetherlandsA project that convenes volunteer profes-sionals who teach their jobs to childrenaged 10-14 in under-resourced, largelyimmigrant neighborhoods, in order tofoster connections with mainstream Dutchsociety.(www.imcweekendschool.nl)



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Following the Istanbul Forum, the Alliance of Civilizations is working on an ongoing basis to promotethe work of the eighteen projects featured in the Marketplace of Ideas session, and to connect them withother potential civil society partners, foundations and policy-makers who might be able to provide them

with support. Te Alliance website (www.unaoc.org) features a comprehensive description of each of theMarketplace projects, as well as video interviews with the project presenters.

Pakistan Madrasa ProjectInternational Center for Religion andDiplomacy, USAA project aiming to reform curricula, im-prove infrastructure and of fer teacher train-ing at religious schools all over Pakistan tohelp strengthen education standards.(www.icrd.org)

Achieving Youth Potential!Education for Employment Foundation,InternationalA project that seeks to increase the employ-ability of young adults in the Middle East andNorth Afr ica by offering skills-building train-ings that have been designed with specicinput and consultation from employers in theregion. (www.efefoundation.org)

Ra.kiGemin.i, UKA large, accessible and user-led onlinelearning community where pupils and teachers from around the wor ld work col-laboratively to develop their understandingof global issues through communication andjoint participation in educational projects. (www.ra.ki)

The Intercultural Communication andLeadership SchoolInternationalA project that aims to bolster civic youthleadership for inclusive and informedgovernance of urban diversity – piloting on 5continents and in the Middle East. (www.intercivilization.net)

Tomorrow’s Youth OrganizationPalestineA project which offers community out reachprograms in Palestine to empower children,youth and parents. (www.tomorrowsyouth.org)

Istanbul 2010 European Capital of CultureTurkey A project seeking to promote Is tanbul’sstatus as an open-air museum, and a citydedicated to peace, understanding andculture. (www.istanbul2010.org)



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Building of a• Global Youth Movement for the Alliance of Civilizations supporting the effortsof the Alliance and its youth partners. Teobjective of this initiative is to mobilize youthorganizations and individuals in order tostrengthen commitment to Alliance principlesand highlight concrete actions or projectsadvancing cross-cultural understanding. TisGlobal Youth Movement for the Alliance ofCivilizations will serve as a channel to high-light the impressive and concrete contribu-tions of youth organizations to foster mutualunderstanding and respect both locally andglobally. Tis movement will also provide theopportunity for individual youth to publiclymake commitments to advance cross-culturalunderstanding in their daily lives. Te estab-lishment of this large movement will highlightand leverage thousands of local youth projectsfor the Alliance and a global movement ofyoung citizens pledging to foster engagement

in cross-cultural understanding. A uniqueaspect of this Global Youth Movement for the Alliance of Civilizations will be the on-linesharing of results achieved through theseprojects and pledges.

Development of the terms of reference for•

the Youth Advisory Committee to assist the Alliance in the implementation of its YouthStrategy and help coordinate the Global YouthMovement for the Alliance of Civilizationsalong with regional youth platforms. It was

proposed that the Youth Advisory Commit-tee will be composed of 10 young people fromyouth organizations.

Drafting of concrete• recommendations for allForum participants. Tese concrete recom-mendations were delivered as part of the ForumOpening Ceremony and were mentioned anddiscussed by several high-level participants atthe Forum, including during plenaries.

Introduction

Mainstreaming the voice of youth into policiesand initiatives aiming to foster understand-ing among people from different cultures andreligions is a priority of the Alliance of Civiliza-tions and its youth partners. In order to reach thisobjective in the context of the Istanbul Forum,the Alliance developed a two-pronged approach toyouth participation: 1) a Youth Event held imme-diately before the Forum; and 2) the participationof youth in the various components of the Forumitself, including in a number of sessions dedicatedto the challenges they face in promoting intercul-tural dialogue. Te main outcomes of the YouthEvent are described below while the contributionsof youth to the Forum are mainstreamed in theother sections of this report.

Youth Event

Close to 100 youth from over 40 countriesgathered in Istanbul for 2 days in preparation forthe Alliance of Civilizations Forum. Te YouthEvent was designed to help young people preparefor their participation in the Forum while shapingkey elements of the AoC Youth Programming.Tis event adopted a highly participatory ap-proach offering young participants more familiar-ity with the Forum themes and the opportunityto develop strong links – and partnerships – withtheir counterparts. Results achieved by partici-pants in the Youth Event included:

Input into the• Alliance Youth Strategy whichwas the object of an initial consultation with Alliance youth partner organizations. Te Youth Strategy includes several Alliance-ledinitiatives organized around 3 mutually-reinforcing objectives: a) raising awareness; b)strengthening capacity; and c) sharing informa-tion. Youth participants reviewed the documentand rened its content in order to ensure itclearly reected their challenges and needs inrelation to the areas of work of the Alliance.

YOUTH AT THE ISTANBUL FORUM



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YOUTH RECOMMENDATIONS ALLIANCEOF CIVILIZATIONS ISTANBUL FORUM

Delivered during the Opening Ceremony,April 6, 2009

On behalf of the youth delegates who haveparticipated during the last two days in the Youth Even t organized as part of theAlliance of Civilizations Istanbul Forum,

we are honored to share the followingrecommendations with all the Forumparticipants.

1. We are fully commit ted to capitalizeon recent progress make in advancingyouth participation for cross-culturalunderstanding and are calling ondecision-makers to work closely with the UN All iance of Civil izations in fur- thering this goal.

2. We launched the Global Youth Move-ment for the A lliance of Civilizations

which is composed of young people andyouth organizations actively engaged inmaking the objectives of the A lliance acentral part of their daily lives. As thisGlobal Youth Movement for the Allianceof Civilizations aims to highlight theinnovative contribution of youth, youngpeople call on all UN AoC partners tosupport it in any way they can.

3. We also developed a Youth AdvisoryCommitt ee to assist the Alliance ofCivilizations in the implementation ofits Youth St rategy and the managementof the Global Youth Movement for theAlliance of Civilizations.

4. We are calling on governments touniversally implement the right toeducation for all as a key to sustainablepeace, focusing on developing nationsand areas of greatest need, and ac-knowledge that peace education needs

to address all levels of societ y.

5. We underscore the need for objectiverepresentation across multiple mediaplatforms including web, lm, television,and the video gaming industries.

6. In order to fully realize the objective of the Alliance of Civilizations, the dignit yof every migrant must be respected through a human rights approach.

7. We are convinced that youth exchangesand people-to-people contacts aresome of the most effective ways to ghtstereotypes while putting the emphasison the values of understanding, respectand dialogue.

We hope that our view and recommendations can help share your discussion andinspire creative and productive approach-es to foster ing intercultural understanding.



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“Te elements that unite us outnumber the elements that divide us. Harmony,mutual compassion and tolerance are innate to human nature. What we needto do is to activate this nature.”

HE Recep Tayyip Erdoğan,Prime Minister of the Turkish Republic



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“We need to develop a sense of dialogue which above all means knowing howto listen, to understand, to accept and to respect different points of view.It is also about knowing how to build room for constructive dissent.Constructive dissent means that we can disagree over certain issues, thatdisagreement need not trigger any rise in tensions and should not stoppotential partners from working together.”

HE President Jorge Sampaio,High Representative for the UN Alliance of Civilizations



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between different cultures. Citing several examplesfrom the work of the Alliance, he highlighted theimportance of building better relations betweencultures and communities as a crucial componentof the global peace-building agenda.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon focused hisremarks on presenting the Alliance as a proactivemechanism within the United Nations that helpsdouse potential crises before they grow. Further-

more, he stressed that the global economic crisismay worsen growing cross-cultural divides, there-by increasing the relevance of the Alliance’s work.Finally, he inspired the delegates in attendance toact urgently on such issues in their own countriesby listing some of the outcomes of the Forum.

Te High Representative for the Alliance of Civili-zations, President Jorge Sampaio, also emphasizedthe urgency of the Alliance’s mission, with theeconomic crisis and other global challenges alreadythreatening to undermine international securityand societal stability. He noted the unique role ofthe Alliance within the UN system, working witha broad range of partners, including the grassroots,corporations, young people, journalists, founda-tions, and governments. He noted that the Allianceworks at multiple levels in societies around theworld to develop and implement new ideas, newthinking and innovative action. In closing, heexpressed the aspiration that the Alliance continuesto work as a platform for dialogue – that delivers.

Opening Plenary

Welcoming remarks were delivered to Forumparticipants by the Prime Minister of urkey,Recep ayyip Erdoğan, President of the Govern-ment of Spain, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, UNSecretary-General Ban Ki-moon, and the HighRepresentative of the Alliance of CivilizationsPresident Jorge Sampaio.

Opening the Forum, Prime Minister Erdoğanspoke about urkey’s long history of diversity andculture of coexistence, which laid the basis for thecountry’s enduring support of the Alliance of Civ-ilizations. Te Prime Minister called for a focuson addressing the underlying causes of extremismand the creation of an international culture ofsolidarity, and noted that the rapid expansion ofthe Alliance’s Group of Friends over the last yearoffered the potential to do just that.

President Zapatero reaffirmed the message of PrimeMinister Erdoğan, noting that the Second Forumof the Alliance represented a consolidation of theproject, and the emergence of the Alliance as a seri-ous convening place for advancing tolerance and re-spect. President Zapatero emphasized the potentialof the Alliance to contribute towards the broaderagenda of global security, through aiding the ghtagainst poverty and social injustice, and support-ing other international actors – including NA O– by helping to defuse tensions and build bridges

PLENARY SESSIONS



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“Te Alliance of Civilizations is fast becoming the common space

for tolerance and respect… it is an organization that is foundedupon the best values that inspired the establishment of the UnitedNations: the ideal of peace, the highest ideal human beings canaspire to.”

HE José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero,President of the Government of Spain



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“All too often, the United Nations must deal with res afterthey break out. Trough the Alliance of Civilizations, wecan stamp out the sparks before they catch.”

HE Ban Ki-moon,Secretary-General of the United Nations



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as a country that is becoming increasingly diversethrough the entry of new immigrants.

Tis latter point was emphasized by the Bulgar-ian President, HE Mr. Giorgi Parvonov who, inhis remarks, also suggested Bulgaria as a modelof dialogue for the Balkans. In Bulgaria, Mr.Parvonov explained, members of different ethnici-ties and faiths have had a long history of peacefulco-existence.

Te President of Slovenia, HE Mr. Danilo ürk,focused on the need to discuss issues of culturaldiversity among youth, a group which constitutesnearly fty percent of the world’s population.Moreover, he noted that there is a correlationbetween people who engage in interculturaldialogue and participate in various interfaith fora

Moderated by Mr. Riz Khan of Al Jazeera English,the rst Plenary sought to address why good gov-ernance of cultural diversity matters. Tis questionis particularly relevant in the context of a changingworld, where technology has allowed for unprece-dented levels of connectivity between peoples whiledisparities in opportunity have created unique mi-gration ows between regions. Te session broughttogether a number of heads of state, internationalorganizations, and prominent opinion leaders.

Te President of Finland, HE Mrs. arjaHalonen, opened the session by discussing thechallenges of enabling balance in society thatencourages everyone to respect the cultures andbackgrounds of others, but also gives them theopportunity to be proud of their own culture. Inher view, this is an ongoing challenge in Finland,

Plenary I. Shaping the Global Agenda in Times of Crisis – Why DoesGood Governance of Cultural Diversity Matter?

“We are not isolated from the world.Everybody should learn more aboutother cultures – respecting them whileat the same time being proud of hisor her own culture.”

HE Mrs. Tarja Halonen



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make it a priority to intensify cooperation withMuslim-majority countries.

HE Mr. Mohammad Khatami, former Presidentof Iran, added that human history is not mainlycharacterized by conict between different cul-tures and religions, but rather, by their conuenceand open exchange. He emphasized the common-ality between the major faiths of the world, andin particular the Abrahamic faiths. Signicantly,he also pointed to the need to address political,economic, and social injustices in different partsof the world. According to Mr. Khatami, theseinjustices have less to do with civilizations andcultures than with the diverging interests of dif-ferent parties over resources.

Mr. Enrique Iglesias, Secretary-General of theIbero-American Secretariat (SEGIB), stressedthe need to look at the likely effects the current

and the level of education. For dialogue to beeffective then, it must be made more inclusive andaccessible to everyone.

Beyond the above, religion also requires specialattention according to the Secretary-Generalof the Organization of the Islamic Conference,HE Mr. Ekmeleddin Ïhsanoğlu. He stated that,while there had been a very successful historicalreconciliation between Christianity and Juda-ism, a historical reconciliation between Islam andChristianity was now needed.

HE Mr. Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Secretary-General of NA O and former Prime Minister ofDenmark, spoke on the delicate balance betweenrespect for religions and freedom of expression.Mr. Rasmussen announced that during his tenureat NA O he would pay special attention to thecultural and religious sensibilities of others, and

“Bulgaria is a model of dialogue for theBalkans. In Bulgaria, members of differentethnicities and faiths have had a longhistory of peaceful co-existence.”

HE Mr. Giorgi Parvonov



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Asked whether globalization is likely to increasetensions between cultures, the panelists acknowl-edged the difficulties that are inherent with greaterinterdependence. At the same time, they assertedthat greater connectivity also allows for greaterinteraction between people and more opportuni-ties for dialogue. Moreover, it underscores the needfor better global governance as well as a movementtoward injecting values that cater to the welfare ofall people in economic policy making.

economic crisis will have on relations betweencultures. More specically, rising unemployment,declining incomes, and increased migration willlead to new social tensions. However, accordingto him, this challenging situation also bringsopportunities. As the nancial architecture of theworld is changed to address the crisis, there is anextraordinary possibility to redress the economicinequities that have dened much of our history.

“Young people constitute an

enormous potential. At thebeginning of this conference, weheard an impressive message fromthe Youth Forum. It made a shortlist of priorities: Education,Dialogue and Respect for thedignity of migrants and

minorities. If young peopleare capable of articulating anagenda with such clarity andfocus, I think they are offeringsomething very promising.”

HE Mr. Danilo Türc



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“Dialogue has not yielded what we expected from it… we na historical reconciliation between Islam and Christianity…this will be a paradigm shift.”

HE Mr. Ekmeleddin Ïhsanoğlu



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“Prejudices have to be confronted…that is why freedom ofexpression is the pre-condition for a frank and open dialogue…[but] we are all responsible for administering freedom ofexpression in such a manner that we do not incite hatred orcause fragmentation of our community…”

HE Anders Fogh Rasmussen



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“Human history is not mainly characterized by conict between differentcultures and religions, but rather, by their conuence and open exchange.Tere are strong commonalities, for example, between the major faiths ofthe world, and in particular the Abrahamic faiths.”

HE Mr. Mohammad Khatami



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“We are confronting the most serious economic crisis since the 1930s. I seetensions that need to be overcome. But I also see tremendous opportunitiesthe opportunity to introduce in the new society that will emerge, not only anew paradigm of economic development, but also a set of basic principles dialogue, understanding and tolerance – which are embodied in the Allianof Civilizations.”

Mr. Enrique Iglesias



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HE Mr. Amre Moussa, Secretary-General ofthe League of Arab States, remarked that, whilestereotypes are, indeed, rife, the real issue is apolitical one. It is the reality on the ground, ratherthan perceptions of the other, that shape relationsbetween communities. Te theory of a “Clash ofCivilizations”, which has been used and exploitedby neo-conservative politicians, only applies to thefringes of society. Opinions shared by the main-stream, in diverse communities, do not justify thistheory. But as long as a fair solution to the Arab-Israeli conict has not been found, tensions acrosscultures and civilizations will remain.

For HRH Prince urki Al Faisal, perceptions ofIslam and Muslims in the US revealed interestingtrends. As Saudi Ambassador to the US from 2005-

Moderated by Mr. Roger Cohen, columnist forthe New York imes and the International Heraldribune, this Plenary focused on conicts thatdivide people and communities across culturaland religious fault-lines and on practical ways toovercome them. In his introductory remarks, Mr.Cohen highlighted the fact that, in a world wherethe frontiers of nations are increasingly perme-able, politics remained nationally rooted, evenwhile issues confronting the world are global. Techallenge, therefore, is to nd ways of achievingintegration while respecting cultural identities.In the context of the Arab-Israeli conict, for in-stance, confronting enduring stereotypes througheducation and youth initiatives is an importantissue for all concerned.

Plenary II. Enhancing Dialogue and Strengthening Cooperation:Connecting Innovative Policies and Initiatives



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people with the tools they need to interpret mediamessages, particularly when they are of an inam-matory nature. Tat is why Qatar is developinga media literacy curriculum that will help youngpeople become critical media consumers.

HE Mr. Jan Figel, Member of the European Com-mission responsible for Education, raining, Cul-ture and Youth, agreed that young people neededto be given opportunities, not only because theyare the builders of a better future, but also becausethey have to play a role in shaping the present. TeEuropean Union fosters cooperation and exchangeof best practices to help empower young people.In the EU, efforts are made to promote educationas a key to cultural integration. Te aim is not toassimilate or to impose a “one-size-ts-all” model,but to preserve a mosaic of cultures while promot-ing intercultural knowledge.

07, he witnessed determined efforts to denigrateand attack Islam, within certain political circles.However, Prince urki was struck by the attitudeof American citizens as a whole: he found them tobe keen to learn more about Islam and to discoverits traditions. Tis interest indicates that one of themajor problems facing diverse communities in theworld today is ignorance of each other.

For HH Sheikha Mozah bint Nasser Al-Missned,Chair of the Qatar Foundation for Education,Science and Community Development, the threepillars of intercultural dialogue are youth, educa-tion and media. Although education is a basicright, there are still 150 million children world-wide who are out of school, a third of them livingin conict situations. Tis is all the more tragicthat young people have the potential to be activeglobal citizens and to be agents of positive changein their communities. As for media, SheikhaMozah believed that it is necessary to equip

“I believe in dialogue among civilizations.Te theory of a 'clash of civilizations' iscorrect only on the fringes of society. Wemust not let the mainstream be overtakenand exploited by this ideology… I hopethat we are now moving from an era ofconfrontation to an era of understandingand respect.”

HE Mr. Amre Moussa



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self-criticism. alking about the Group of Friendsof the Alliance of Civilizations, Professor Aydınalso underlined the importance for all members ofthat group to develop National Strategies as a toolto support the goal of the Alliance both nationallyand regionally.

For his part, HE Mr. José María Figueres Olsen,former President of Costa Rica, emphasized thepositive role played by the private sector in promot-ing intercultural understanding. Mentioning arecent report jointly produced by the Allianceof Civilizations and the Global Compact, Mr.Figueres stated that there were multiple ways inwhich the business sector could play a positive role.For instance, the Education for Employment Foun-dation helped create job opportunities for youngpeople in North Africa and the Middle East.

Finally, HE Mr. Kasim Jomart okayev, Chair-man of the Senate of Kazakhstan, noted that inthe face of an increasingly diverse world, therewas a tendency for nations to rally around theirlinguistic, cultural and spiritual traditions. Butthe world should resist forms of nationalism thatlead to hostility towards the other. Mr. okayevhighlighted the fact that, in Kazakhstan, themulticultural and multi-confessional dimensionsof society were part of the country’s histori-

cal destiny. An early supporter of the Allianceof Civilizations, Kazakhstan has been activelyencouraging intercultural dialogue.

According to HE Mr. erry Davis, Secretary-General of the Council of Europe, the real issue,beyond integration or assimilation, is to createthe conditions for constructive dialogue. It iscrucial to note, however, that dialogue can onlybe meaningful if it entails engaging with peoplewho do not agree with us. Only such a dialoguecan break down the walls of ignorance and pavethe way towards a better understanding of otherpeoples’ culture and history. We should also moveaway from the idea that dialogue is a duty – dia-logue should be enjoyable. It should teach us thatdiversity is to be embraced, rather than feared.

HE Professor Mehmet Aydın, Minister of State ofthe Republic of urkey, underlined the fact thatfaith and secularism were also part of the debateon diversity. He pointed out that there are severalways in which religion and politics can be con-nected. For instance, justice can be understoodboth from a secular and a religious point of view.However, in a secular democratic society religiousunderstanding of any public matter do not have adening or determining power, though it oughtto be respected by those who do not see a need forsuch an understanding. o reach this understand-ing, we must be prepared, in the public space weshare, to learn about the other, about traditionsand worldviews other than our own. Indeed, lack

of reliable knowledge is the malaise of moderntimes. We must not only do more to learn aboutother cultures, it also is crucial that we exercise

“It is important notonly to developpolicies for youth,but alsowith youth.”

HE Mr. Jan Figel



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“Young people need to be equipped with the tools they neto be active global citizens.”

HH Sheikha Mozah bint Nasser Al-Missned



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“One of the major problems weare facing is ignorance of eachother. Civilization is like a treethat has its deepest roots inhuman history. Its branches,the diversity of cultures weknow, are all connected to acommon origin.”

HRH Prince Turki Al Faisal

“Economic measures only workif they are backed by a changeof values. And values canchange through a dialogue ofcivilizations.”

HE Mr. José María Figueres Olsen



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“Lack of reliable knowledge is the malaise of modern tim

HE Professor Mehmet Aydın



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“In the face of an increasinglydiverse world, no nation willgive up its linguistic, culturaland spiritual traditions. Butthe world should resist formsof nationalism that lead tohostility towards the other.”

HE Mr. Kasim Jomart Tokayev

“Knowledge is the best antidoteagainst fear.”

Mr. Terry Davis



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Welcoming the speakers and audience on behalfof the urkish hosts, HE Education MinisterH seyin Çelik emphasized the role of educationin building up “peace in the minds” and said thatthis required attention to children, libraries, andcurricula. Mr. Çelik cautioned that while we werefacing new situations, the experiences of the pastwere important to remember and therefore historyeducation was quite important. In this regard, hestated that both the positive and negative partsof history needed to be taught. Moreover, apartfrom particular histories, children needed to betaught the unity of humanity and learning to be“accustomed to each other.”

A panel of speakers from various backgroundsengaged in discussions on the theme of creatingsustainable peace and harmonious relationshipsamong cultures through education. Tis plenary,moderated by the well-known historian and HighLevel Group member—which is the group ofeminent personalities that gave the Alliance itsfounding vision—Karen Armstrong, opened withtwo lms: one on Karen Armstrong’sCharter ofCompassion and one on the Alliance of Civiliza-tions. Both lms set the stage for a vigorousdiscussion on the nature of dialogue, the role offactors both in and beyond traditional educationsystems, the role of perception and the linkagesbetween knowledge and policy.

Plenary III. Education for Dialogue: Building Peace in theMinds of People

“We are living in unprecedentedtimes… we need to divestourselves of our own certainties ina compassionate way and engagewith others.”

Karen Armstrong



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munities got together and learned and discoveredfrom each other. He pointed to the importantrole played by UCLG in the projects of the Alli-ance and hoped to continue contributing to, andexchanging good practices on solutions for inclu-sion, social development, and access to education.Mr. Delanoë emphasized that countries must pro-vide access to education in a very broad sense. Hesaid, “Education is… developing critical thinking,learning about freedom and, most of all, learningabout respect of differences.” Mr. Delanoë alsoemphasized the revision of history textbooks toeliminate rivalries, as in the case of France andGermany and closed with his optimistic belief

that through the Alliance of Civilizations human-ity would build for the best.

Marcio Barbosa, Deputy Director-General ofUNESCO, reminded the audience of UNESCO’shistoric commitment for dialogue among civiliza-tions, cultures, and people. He expressed his plea-sure at the creation of the Alliance of Civilizationsas a way to bring valuable new players to the table.He gave many examples of UNESCO’s activitiesin the area of education to promote dialogue, suchas the development of education material based onUNESCO’s General and Regional History Series;UNESCO’s role in the preservation of culturalheritage to illustrate different inuences andinteractions; and the Intercultural Vade-Mecumproject which will foster ties between Muslim,

European and Arab societies.Mayor of Paris, HE Mr. Bertrand Delanoë,opened by highlighting the role of 21st centurycities as places where people of different com-

“Even though there are differences, weshould all live in unity by protectingour personal characteristics.”

HE Mr. Hűseyin Çelik



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Rugtvedt mentioned the Wegerland Center whichwas just opened in Oslo as a meeting place andcenter of dissemination of knowledge and experi-ences among education authorities.

Prof. John Esposito, HLG member, agreed thateducation of the next generation was importantbut reminded the audience that this generationmattered too. Here he highlighted the currentrole of the Alliance in practical efforts, such as tomedia practitioners to change the perceptions ofconict and peace. Prof. Esposito mentioned thatpeople needed to be educated about differencesbecause they must recognize what their differ-ences are and agree to disagree on some of them.

Te post-plenary discussion raised questionson practical steps to educate policy makers andschool children, the necessity to educate differentregions of the world about each other, and waysof getting around traditional media in shapingperceptions.

Mr. Candido Mendes, HLG member andSecretary-General of the Academy of Latinite,spoke about the unique times that we are living inwith the rise of new nations as important players,new leaders like President Obama, and the declineof the old ideas of center-periphery. Mendes de-cried the platitudes on education, peace, dialogue,and human rights and called for action beyondthe statements. He remarked on the confusionbetween culture and civilizations, the perceptionof terrorists, and the universality of human rightsand freedom.

HE Ms. Lisbet Rugtvedt, Norwegian StateSecretary of Education, reminded the audiencethat prejudice is not innate, but rather somethingthat is learned. In her estimation, educationsystems need to prepare students to show respectfor different cultures and beliefs while maintain-ing condence in their own identities. Humanrights education was important in this regard, aswas teacher training. In the case of the latter, Ms.

“We need to educate

our citizens to beopen to other ways ofthinking and being.”

Mr. Marcio Barbosa



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“Tis is a historical moment in which we must discu

education as a learning process for peacebuilding.”Professor Candido Mendes



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“Education is… developingcritical thinking, learningabout freedom and, mostof all, learning aboutrespect of differences.”

HE Mr. Bertrand Delanoë

“Nobody is born withprejudice. It is somethingwe learn or don’t learn.”

HE Mrs. Lisbet Rugtvedt



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“Negotiation means: we have to rst understand, wehave to know our deep differences… we have to agree

to disagree on some issues.”Professor John Esposito



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and dialogue. He also underscored the broadening

of the scope of the Alliance beyond the so-called“Muslim-West divide” and its focus on intercul-tural issues in Asia, Latin America and Africa.

Minister Moratinos highlighted the importance ofthe Alliance as the “cultural pillar” of the UnitedNations’ political action, adding that the politicalagenda around cultural interrelations needed to beincluded in the UN reform process.

Finally, President Sampaio sketched his vision of theachievements of the Alliance and of the tasks ahead

in the run-up to the Rio Forum. He recalled themain objectives of the Istanbul Forum: providinga global platform for open and inclusive dialogue;presenting the Alliance as a network of partnersfocused on dialogue that delivers; enhancing the roleof the Alliance as a global matchmaker, connectinginnovative grassroots initiatives with policy makersand potential funders; and highlighting the politicalleverage of the Alliance by showcasing the strongcommitment of Group of Friends members.

President Sampaio then outlined the key outcomes

of the Istanbul Forum. In particular, he high-lighted the announcement of National Plans andregional strategies for intercultural dialogue andthe establishment of new partnership agreementswith international and multilateral organizations.

Te High Representative underscored some ofthe key priorities of the Alliance in the monthsahead and, looking forward to the Rio Forum, hehighlighted the power of the Alliance to mobilizehigh-level commitments in support of cross-cultural projects and to galvanize support fromgovernments (particularly members of the Groupof Friends).

Closing Plenary

Te Closing Plenary featured remarks by HE Mr. Ali Babacan, Foreign Minister of urkey, HEMr. Miguel Ángel Moratinos, Foreign Ministerof Spain and HE President Jorge Sampaio, HighRepresentative for the Alliance of Civilizations.

For Minister Babacan, a consensus emerged fromthe discussions, that none of the problems theworld faces today is insurmountable. Culturaldifferences were not, in themselves, sources of con-ict. In his view, the international community was

entirely capable of solving political problems, evenlong-lasting ones, provided that there was a strongpolitical will to do so.

Minister Babacan underlined the importance ofNational Strategies for intercultural dialogue inincreasing the reach of the Alliance of Civilizationsand helping to stem the ow of extremism andradicalization. Te Minister suggested that “na-tional leaders and senior statesmen of internationalprominence could do more to promote cohesionand constructive engagement. Tis would make iteasier for us to reach out to those sections of oursocieties which are skeptical about coexistenceacross cultural lines.”

Finally, the Minister recalled that Forum discus-sions also focused on the global dimension of the Alliance and on the perceived need to move beyondthe issue of the Muslim-West divide while retainingthis dimension high on the agenda.

Minister Moratinos was encouraged by the contin-ued expansion of the Group of Friends. He notedthat the Alliance started as an idea, developedas a project and became a signicant movementwhose mandate was to promote peace, tolerance



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“We have reason to be condentabout the future of interculturalrelations in the 21st century.None of our problems isinsoluble. All of our difficultiesare of a political, socio-economiccharacter, rather thancivilizational.”

HE Mr. Ali Babacan

“As we are building the UnitedNations of the 21st century, weneed a cultural pillar in the UNsystem. Te Alliance is thatcultural pillar – a pillar forunderstanding and dialogueamong cultures, civilizationsand religions.”

HE Mr. Miguel Ángel Moratinos



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“Te Alliance is here to help – preventing divides, promotinggood governance of cultural diversity, and building moreinclusive societies. It is here to help build better societies,based on equality, dignity and respect for human rights.”

HE President Jorge Sampaio



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Te discussion emphasized the need for appropriatepedagogical methods for learning about religions,encouraging critical distance as well as empathy.Such methods should ensure: 1) that religions arerepresented as more than belief systems, but ratheras dynamic ‘ways of life’ 2) that the meaning ofothers’ religions is interpreted in a way that helpslearners appreciate similarities and differencesbetween their own current understanding and ofdifferent religious traditions and 3) the self aware-ness and sensitivity of the learner.

Such a comprehensive approach would enablestudents not only to have some understandingabout religious diversity but also to be in a positionto view tolerance, respect and recognition as keyconcepts underlying freedom of religion or belief.

Presentations of national developments in reli-gious education in the school system ( urkey, In-donesia) showed both the diversity of approachesin place (confessional, non confessional) and theefforts made toward more inclusive approachesand greater religious diversity. A major elementof education about religions is the teaching ofclergy to understand other religions. In this vein,the rationale and methods for teaching aboutother religions to clergy belonging to a religiousminority was presented. Te importance of civil

society actors at the grassroots level – particularlythrough youth initiatives – was shown through apresentation of the US-based Project Interfaith,which teaches about different faiths through art

Tis session convened religious leaders, specialistsof religious education, international organizations,and representatives of NGOs active in the eld oflearning about and across differences. Nine repre-sentatives from among the aforementioned groupsspoke during this panel. Te session was moderatedby Dr. Ahmed Said Ould Bah (ISESCO) and LucePépin, Network of European Foundations (NEF).

Among the major causes of tension and misunder-standing between cultures is the misrepresenta-tion and stereotyping of religions. Education hasa major role to play to counter this phenomenon.Learning about and across differences requires notonly high quality teaching, but also good curricu-lar content and effective teacher training. Suchlearning should give pupils and adults the neces-sary knowledge, skills and perspectives to enablethem to learn and benet from their multiculturalenvironment.

Schools and teachers must have at their disposalrelevant and adaptable tools and material tofacilitate such learning. A number of panelistsemphasized the urgent need to review school text-books and examine how “the other” is depictedin learning materials. Many also stressed thatcompassion and empathy need to be inculcatedat all levels (media, educators, parents, etc.). Te

Charter of Compassion was cited as a potentialtool to encourage the practice of compassion as ameans to understand “the other”.

WORKING SESSIONS

Working Session 1. Learning About and Across Differences

Organized by the Education about Religions and Beliefs Network, ISESCOand the Network of European Foundations



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Council of Europe’s newly established WergelandCenter on Education for Intercultural Understand-ing was mentioned as a means of exchanging goodpractices at all levels. A book recently produced byISESCO with the Council of Europe and the AnnaLindh Foundation on the image of the other in thetextbooks was also referred to as a useful tool.

Ensuing discussions included topics such as theneed to review school textbooks about the image

of the other, including compassion and empathy asa way to learn to live together, development of ap-propriate learning material to support interculturaleducation, and measures to develop high-qualityteacher training on these issues. Also, one potentialway forward for synergy and effectiveness onthese issues was for the UNAOC Clearinghouse,UNESCO’s Global Ethics Observatory, the COE’s Wergeland Center and other interested parties todevelop links and partnerships.

exhibits, architectural tours, and various trainingprograms.

Several international organizations have takensteps to facilitate access to reliable and unbiasedinformation and material about faiths, beliefs, his-tory and ethics. Several participants spoke highlyof the OSCE’s ODIHR publication, the oledoGuiding Principles on Education about Religionsand Beliefs in Public Schools. UNESCO has also

produced resources relating to cultural literacy,globalization, and ethics through ongoing projectssuch as the UNESCO World History volumes,Global Ethics Observatory, and new projects suchas the Intercultural Vade-mecum.

Te UNAOC launched its Education aboutReligions and Beliefs Clearinghouse which workswith a network of partners to facilitate access toeducational resources about diverse religions, civiceducation, tolerance and ethics education. Te



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Integration is a multi-dimensional process thatencompasses social, economic, and political fac-tors at both the individual and community levels.Sometimes it has to take into account differences inreligions as a key issue. An approach that emphasiz-es working with the migrants and not for migrantsis critical in helping to create ‘win-win’ situations.

Te recent experience of cities has shown thatof all the dimensions that shape integration,policy making remains predominant: governancesystems at both the central and local level needto involve new citizens in an inclusive and openway. Modern societies need to equip themselves

Moderated by the Director General of the IOMMr. William Swing, the panel discussion broughttogether the Mayor of Lisbon, Mr. Antonio Costa,the President of the German Association forEast European Studies, Dr. Rita Süssmuth, theDirector of the Shanghai Center for InternationalStudies, Prof. Pan Guang, the former PermanentRepresentative of urkey to the United Nations,Mr. Mehmet Umit Pamir and Father Mario San-

tillo, Director General of the Centro de EstudiosMigratorios Latinoamericas. Te debate stemmedfrom the key importance of forging an ‘alliancefor integration’ that brings together migrants, thehosting societies and countries of origin alike.

Working Session 2: Integrating Migrants – A Challengefor Inclusive Societies

Partner organization: International Organization for Migration (IOM)



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Building bridges between migrants, origin and•

host societies, with a view to understandingmigrants as agents of change;

Linking the work of different initiatives such as•

the Global Forum on Migration and Develop-ment (GFMD) and the UNAOC for moreeffective policy making;

Promoting good practices and mechanisms•

to protect migrants’ rights regardless of theirstatus (in particular labor and education issues).

It was also suggested that countries could produceannual reports to measure the level of inclusive-ness, and build coherent and innovative strategies

for integration.

with a set of laws and tools that promote accessto rights, and help combat discrimination, stigmaand social exclusion.

Panelists underscored the key role that politicalparticipation – through access to local voting –can play in promoting inclusion and upholdingdiversity. Civic participation should be recognizedand properly promoted through processes thatfoster dialogue with migrants, draw on theirresources, and recognize them as holders of rightsand obligations. Tis promotes open societies andhelps preclude the prospect of having migrantsgive up their cultures.

Additionally, the panelists and the oor under-scored the fact that the UNAOC could play amajor role in promoting the following:



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cultural understanding. “It would be ill-advisedfor governments and other decision-makers torefrain from using young peoples’ ideas, expertiseand enthusiasm for the development of inclusivesocieties. Not doing so would mean that a largeportion of society would not be mobilized to ad-dress the problems that affect us all.”

In a second round of questions, panelists wereasked to elaborate on the conditions essentialto sustained youth participation in policies or

initiatives aiming to build positive relationsbetween groups of different cultural or religiousbackgrounds. Ms. Lillian Solheim, AdvocacyCoordinator for the United Network of YoungPeacebuilders stated that capacity and space areessential conditions to successful youth par-ticipation. For youth organizations, training inadvocacy and lobbying can signicantly increasethe impact of their participation in government-led initiatives and policy development.

Mr. Ralf-Rene Weingärtner, Director of Youth

and Sport at the Council of Europe, added a thirdcondition to consider, i.e. the legal rights of youthfrom all walks of life to meaningfully participate.Dr. Fatiha Serour, Director of the Youth AffairsDivision at the Commonwealth said that a com-plement to this rights-based approach would beto “ensure that the decision-makers recognize thatyoung people are assets rather than problems. It isessential that when current leaders engage youth,they are convinced that young people are bringingsomething unique and essential to the table.” Mr.

Elshad Iskandarov, the Secretary-General of the

Moderated by Dato’ Amarjit Singh Gill – ayouth leader from Malaysia – this workingsession focused on meaningful participation ofyoung people in decision-making. A number ofrepresentatives from regional youth platforms,multilateral bodies and civil society organizationscame together to identify conditions essential toactive youth participation in initiatives seeking toadvance cross-cultural understanding.

All panelists began by underlining the fact

that supporting young peoples’ participationin decision-making benets society as a whole. According to Mr. Adeola Ojeniyi, the RegionalProgram Coordinator for the West Africa YouthNetwork, another reason for decision-makers toensure meaningful participation of young peopleis that “they are key to the sustainability of today’sefforts to foster inter-cultural dialogue. Youthneed to be involved in issues that affect theirfuture such as peace and stability.”

However, panelists agreed that despite recent

advances, much remained to be done to reachsystematic and meaningful participation from acritical mass of diverse youth. Mr. Julian LugoMendez, Vice President of the Latin American Youth Forum, shared his conviction that “today’syouth have the responsibility to work towardglobal understanding. Participation is their right.”

Reecting on Mr. Mendez’s comments, Mr.Diogo Pinto, the Secretary-General of the Eu-ropean Youth Forum, stated that there is a needto convince current decision-makers that youthare experts and knowledgeable about cross-

Working Session 3. Youth: Key Actors and Stakeholders in AdvancingIntercultural Understanding and Dialogue



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Israeli-Palestinian conict, shared information onthe youth participation model offered by her orga-nization. According to Ms. Sajadian, “OneVoiceoffers a non-partisan platform through which thevoices of young moderates are amplied.”

Troughout all the panel discussions, there was adesire to convey the fact that youth are not onlytomorrow’s leaders, but today’s agents of positivechange when it comes to cross-cultural rela-tions and inclusiveness. Te youth participationmethods shared by panelists constitute the basisof a call to action for international organizations,governments and civil society to fully leverage andharness the role that young people play in leadingsocial and political progress.

Islamic Conference Youth Forum added that inorder for the participation of young people to havea real impact, youth organizations should ensurethat they nd the right interlocutors for the spe-cic challenges they want to address.

Regarding tested methods of youth participation,Mr. Weingärtner shared details of the co-manage-ment model his organization adopted a few yearsago. For the Council of Europe, it was importantto go beyond youth participation and adopt thismodel which calls for co-decision-making incollaboration with the European Youth Forum. Although not always easy to implement, thismodel remains a source of inspiration, a target toattain to observe the principle ofNothing about youth without youth.

Ms. China Sajadian, International Education Pro-gram Coordinator for the OneVoice Movement,which is advocating for a two-state solution to the



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such issues. Instead, education and promotingbetter understanding among diverse communitieswere perceived as more constructive approaches.

Others, however, claimed that many journal-ists in the Muslim world believe that, when itcomes to criticism or attacks on religion, doublestandards apply: when religions other than Islamare targeted, legal measures are more likely tobe taken. Te point was made that neither Fitnanor the Danish cartoons were exercises in freespeech. Tey were a test for the Muslim commu-nity, a deliberate provocation aimed at testing towhat extent Muslims adopted European values.Tese incidents ended up providing arguments toextremists on both sides. On one side, some tookthese events as proof that Islam had no place inEurope, while on the other, the conclusion wasthat Europe was essentially xenophobic.

Some thought that a distinction needed to be es-tablished between attacks on religion and criticismof religious beliefs or systems. In Europe, there is awidely shared view that the law protects ethnic orracial groups, but not religions. However, religionsare not only systems of beliefs, but can also be ex-pressions of collective identity and as such, shouldalso be protected from hate speech.

Moreover, there was a need to go beyond thestereotypical view of Islam and false oppositionsbetween “Islam” and the “West”. According to a

study by the Gallup Center for Muslim Studies,

Tis working session sought to address a numberof key questions relevant to the Alliance’s RapidResponse Media Mechanism: Do journalists havea role in nding common ground on issues thattend to divide societies along cultural or religiouslines? What tools do journalists have at their dis-posal to address the need to report sensitively andin a balanced way about stories that go to the core

of religious and cultural difference? How shouldthe issue of freedom of expression be approached? Are debates over freedom of expression and issuessuch as religious blasphemy political in nature, orare they symptomatic of differences between vari-ous sets of values that could be addressed outsidethe political realm? Te session was moderated byShereen El Feki, Fellow at the Adham Center for Journalism raining and Research at the Ameri-can University in Cairo.

Te discussion opened on the issue of freedom of

expression and defamation of religion, an issuethat has been the subject of many debates at theUnited Nations. Some argued that freedom ofexpression is an essential tool in peace buildingefforts and should only be limited in cases whenit has the potential to undermine democratic soci-ety. Tey also raised the concern that laws againstdefamation could be used against minority reli-gions and to prevent discussion within religiouscommunities about their own moral values. More-over, some made the point that in today’s world ofglobal media access, regulation and control werenot always the most effective method to tackle

Working Session 4. Reporting Across Cultural Divides:Global Perspectives

Partner organizations: European Commission and the Anna LindhEuro-Mediterranean Foundation for the Dialogue between Cultures



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stance, for multicultural broadcasting companiesto encourage discussions among internationalstaff: when a sensitive issue arises, they can con-sult each other and decide on the best course ofaction to take.

Some concluded that there were positive outcomesderiving from crises such asFitna or the DanishCartoons: they helped create greater awarenessof Islam within the journalist community; andin the Muslim world they prompted for the veryrst time a constructive debate over the issues ofblasphemy and freedom of expression.

most Muslim Europeans reject offensive speech.However, it also shows that the more Muslims areaccepted and integrated in European societies, themore likely they are to show tolerance for criticismof Islam.

Diverse societies, other participants contended, al-ways generate a degree of tensions and sometimeseven conict. Te media to a large extent reectsthese internal tensions and lack of understandingof other cultures that sometimes creates divisionsin plural societies. One way to address this issueis to ensure that minorities are also representedamong newspaper staff. It is important, for in-



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Over time, Dialogue Café will partner with awide range of international organizations in orderto innovate and develop new solutions to createdialogue between predominantly Muslim coun-tries and the West, and to give a wider audiencethe chance to experience cutting-edge technology.

Participants wondered if strangers would actuallyfeel the need to reach out to each other throughthis new technology. But the consensus was thatcuriosity would draw people in, as was the case

with the social-networking website Facebook. TeDialogue Café project could prove particularlyappealing for young people, and participants

Moderated by Simon Willis, Global Vice Presi-dent for Public Sector at Cisco’s Internet BusinessSolutions Group and the creator of DialogueCafé, Working Session 5 brought together aca-demics and experts to contribute perspectives onthe need and potential for technology to bridgecultural divides.

Dialogue Café is a social innovation project whichhelps ordinary people to connect using advancedvideo-conferencing technology. Te Dialogue

Café Project started with an international groupof students from three universities, representingover 35 countries, and is still a work in progress.

Working Session 5. Dialogue Café Initiative

Partner organization: CISCO



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Participants recognized that educators and politi-cal leaders should keep up with the new technolo-gies in order to communicate better. Moreover,it is critical that they support and understandhow a new generation of students and citizens isconnecting, communicating, and organizing viasocial-networking tools. Dialogue Café can playan important role in the education of universitystudents, both in creating projects and facilitat-ing intercultural communication. Te distancebetween parliaments and citizens can also beovercome through the use of technology, and itwas suggested that there should be a DialogueCafé in every parliament building for youth to

communicate with parliamentarians.

predicted that in time, they would start to buildcommunities which could even extend into theoffline world.

Participants remarked on the relevance of DialogueCafé in an age of increased interconnectedness. Ina world where twenty-ve people cross a nationalborder every second, and in the aftermath of thegreat mass migrations of the 20th Century, thereis a constant desire by people from all walks of lifeto nd new ways to communicate with people inother countries. In that respect, the technologybehind Dialogue Café could prove fundamentalin facilitating communication through enablingface-to-face interaction across borders. DialogueCafé could also potentially play a direct part in theintegration of immigrant children.



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issue within the priority areas of the Alliance ofCivilizations.

HE Mrs. arja Halonen, President of Finland,began the discussion by underscoring the fact thatthe global issues humankind is currently facingcall for the contribution of everyone, not simplyhalf of the world’s population. She pointed outthat “Women are not only the victims of the cur-rent crisis the world is experiencing; but they arethe possible solutions.”

HE Mrs. Bibiana Aido Almagro, Spanish Min-ister for Equality reiterated that peace, develop-

While women suffer disproportionately in situ-ations of conict, they are major contributors topeace-building efforts around the world and po-tent agents of change when their voices are heardand their actions recognized.

Te speakers of this working session aimed toraise the prole of gender issues within the man-date of the Alliance of Civilizations. In addition,they sought to identify cultural obstacles prevent-ing strategies for women’s empowerment andgender equality to be fully effective. Lastly, theyelaborated approaches for working on women’s

Working Session 6. Empowering Women to Strengthen their Role in aCulture of Peace

Partner organization: Prime Ministry Directorate General on the Status of Women, Turkeyand the United Nations Development Fund for Women, chaired by Ambassador Ann Dismorr



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become an integral part of the Alliance of Civi-lizations’ work. According to Professor Ertürk,“what is needed is the transformation of powerrather than the simple integration of women intoexisting structures of power.”

Te Alliance of Civilizations has a great opportu-nity to pursue women’s multicultural leadership,according to Dr. Gillian Young, Senior Lecturerin the Department of Media and Communicationat the University of Leicester. Te promotion andsupport of inclusive leadership that reects gender,religious, as well as cultural differences wouldgreatly contribute to enhance recognition of therole of women in peace-building and would bringit into the public sphere for the benet of societyas a whole.

ment, respect and mutual understanding cannotbe achieved without women. Minister Aido Almagro also called for the development andimplementation of equality policies at the nationaland international levels. In a similar vein, Ms.Saniye Gülser Corat, Director of Division forGender Policies at UNESCO, called for genuineand long-term commitment to the empowermentof women in building a culture of peace. Tiscommitment includes building gender equalityinto policy, securing genuine political will, andensuring allocation of resources and mobilizingpartnerships.

While agreeing with the need for long-termcommitment of a vast array of partners, Profes-sor Yakin Ertürk, the United Nations SpecialRapporteur on violence against women, suggestedthat gender issues should be mainstreamed and



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Te moderators opened the session by remindingthe audience of the historical role of commerce infostering peace and dialogue among civilizationsand noted that there has been a growing demandfor the proactive engagement of companies inbetter managing cross-cultural challenges as theyhave become more global over the past few decades.Participants in the discussion noted that as busi-ness has gone global, a strong business case has

been made for developing effective mechanismsto address challenges arising from multiculturalenvironments. Tey also outlined the two majorbenets of incorporating diversity and inclusioninto business strategies. First, multiculturalism is abasic principle which ensures meritocracy within acompany and attracts best talents across the globeto maintain business competitiveness. Second,

Working Session 7 was moderated by Jean-Christophe Bas, Strategic Partnerships Manager ofthe UN Alliance of Civilizations Secretariat, andMelissa Powell, Head of Strategy and Partnershipsat the UN Global Compact. Te session was orga-nized in collaboration with the Global Compact inorder to discuss the role of the private sector in pro-moting intercultural understanding and dialogue.

Te session also provided a platform for the launchofDoing Business in a Multicultural World , a jointreport of the UN Alliance of Civilizations and theUN Global Compact Office. Showcasing innova-tive corporate actions to address the challengesarising from cross-cultural tensions, this reportwas developed in response to the recommendationsmade by business leaders who attended the Allianceof Civilizations Madrid Forum.

Working Session 7. Doing Business in a Multicultural Environment:Good Practices and Lessons Learned

Partner organization: UN Global Compact



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importance of respecting different religious tradi-tions and values and asked the business communityto pay more attention to these values in marketingand product development in order to strengthencompetitiveness.

While the efforts made by businesses in this areaare notable, participants emphasized the need forstrong support from other stakeholders includingbusiness associations, civil society, and govern-ments. Highlighting the critical role of education,it was suggested that governments and academiacould support better educational programs forcross-cultural learning as well as exchange pro-grams for young people. Participants indicatedtheir interest in collaborating with the UN Allianceof Civilizations and the UN Global Compact byestablishing a network which will help facilitate thesharing of lessons learned in this area.

culturally-sensitive business practices contributeto enhancing customers’ loyalty and improvingcompanies’ brand image.

Participants went on to provide observations onthe ways business has overcome cross-culturalchallenges in the workplace, market place and localcommunities. Many global companies providecross-cultural training programs and develophuman resources policies in order to integratediversity and inclusion in their business operations.One participant noted that the long experience ofthe private sector in leading cross-cultural trainingcould make a useful contribution to the develop-ment of cross-cultural education for young people.In the marketplace, companies have utilizedtheir core competencies to promote diversity andinclusion. Companies have also contributed toimproving stakeholder relations through culturallysensitive marketing practices and community dia-logues. A number of participants highlighted the



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Argentina’s model of media literacy educationwas also presented and discussed during theworking session. Trough the programEscuela y Medios (School & Media) Argentina’s Ministry ofEducation engages in a series of around the yearcollaborations with the media industry and theprivate sector aiming at raising the awareness ofthe impact that media has in society. TeEscuela y Medios program includes initiatives such as theproduction of public service announcements fo-cusing on how to critically watch television, lmsand surf the Internet; the in-school productionof videos written and produced by students forV broadcast; and the celebration of World PressFreedom Day (May 3rd). During the session’sdiscussion the Escuela y Medios program wasrecognized as a particularly creative and all-compassing model aiming at the development of amedia literate citizen.

Finland’s contribution to the discussion started byreminding the participants that “the future doesnot just happen – we help to create it though ourchoices.” In some form or other, media educationhas been part of Finland’s national educationalcurriculum since the early 1970s. Currently thecountry’s focus is in updating and developingteaching materials; providing teaching training to

Tis session was an opportunity to highlight andcontextualize media literacy education programsimplemented in the education systems of urkey, Argentina and Finland. It was moderated byVladimir Gai, from UNESCO’s CommunicationDevelopment Division.

Te Alliance of Civilizations’High-Level GroupReport (November 2006) recognizes the impor-tance of including media literacy education in theschools. Since its publication, the UNAOC hasdeveloped a number of initiatives and resourcesaiming at the inclusion of media education in theNational Plans of the countries of the Group ofFriends.

Examples of initiatives in urkey, Argentinaand Finland were presented during the session.urkey’s Ministry of Culture has provided profes-sional development workshops in order to trainsocial studies teachers so that they can meet thechallenges of delivering effective media literacyeducation, and discussions were held on ways inwhich this valuable initiative could be furtherdeveloped. It was suggested that a possible goodsource of educators for this course could be gradu-ates from the communication departments of journalism schools.

Working Session 8. Citizenship for the Information Society:Media Education and Civic Participation

Partner organizations: International Association for Media and Communication Research(IAMCR), UNESCO’s Information for All Program and the Asian Media Information andCommunication Center (AMIC)



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plethora of media sources, creating a cacophonicmedia landscape often difficult to navigate forcitizens lacking minimum media literacy skills.Ismail Serageldin, reecting on the role of mediaand media education in contemporary society,concluded the session by signaling the importanceof distinguishing betweenknowledge andwisdom,the latter understood as the necessary means forindividual reection and the development ofconstructive civic participation.

educators; and the unfolding ofGlobal Education,Finland’s newest media education program. Teprogram encourages media production in schoolsas well as a critical analysis approach where theconcepts and practice of world citizenship, socialinclusion, ethical values, intercultural dialogueand media literacy education are all intertwinedwithin the Global Education curricula. Te richand progressive vision of Finland’s model wasfurther explored during the discussion.

Other presentations from the panel included com-ments on today’s fragmented and overwhelming



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national stability. In a mainly urban world, thissituation is manifested to an even greater extent incities. In Barcelona, as new citizens join the city,it is imperative to secure their access to the samebenets and entitlements as everyone else. Failingto do so risks creating exclusionary societies wherepeople of different backgrounds feel unwelcome.Mr. Hereu also felt that cities needed to act in acoordinated way to better marshal their nancial

resources toward meeting the cultural challengesthey face. As an example, Barcelona has sought tobuild ties with Sarejevo, Jericho, Beirut, Gaza tosupplement the work being done at the state-level.

Importantly, Mayor of Gaza, Mageed AbouRamadan, noted that cities deal with the everydaylives of people. He pointed to the case of Gazato emphasize the need to understand ‘the other’before common ties between people can be built,and to challenge preconceived notions of othercultures. Cities are much better placed to deal

with this task.

Special Adviser to the UN Secretary-GeneralIqbal Riza added that globalization is increasinglyseen as a threat to identity. When speaking aboutmulticulturalism in cities, it is clear that thereare often tensions between host and immigrantpopulations. Te Alliance of Civilizations hasfocused on what can be done to address thesetensions at the political level as well as from aperception point of view, while also recognizingthat, ultimately it comes down to the level of citiesto present solutions.

Increased migration and globalization have madecultural diversity one of the main features ofmodern cities. Te majority of the world’s popula-tion – 3.3 billion people – now lives in cities. Tisnumber is projected to reach 4.9 billion in 2030.Municipal and local governments, therefore, havea critical role in promoting sustainable urbandevelopment based on cultural diversity, with thetwofold aim of preventing conicts and contribut-

ing to security and peace.Moderated by Pedro Castro, President of theSpanish Federation of Municipalities and Provinc-es, Working Session 9 brought together mayors,representatives of local governments, and opinionleaders to discuss the role of city in peace buildingand conict prevention.

Mr. Castro opened the session by outlining thechanges affecting the make-up of cities aroundthe world, underlining the need to create more

inclusive multicultural societies. In his opinion,public areas of cities present the possibility forinteraction between different cultures and for peo-ple to learn about each other. Schools are also anavenue for young people to do the same. Te useof technology in projects such as Dialogue Caféoffers myriad opportunities to connect individualswho otherwise would not get a chance to talk toeach other.

Mayor of Barcelona, Jordi Hereu, added that in acomplex globalizing world, polarized perceptions

between different cultures can threaten inter-

Working Session 9. Cities at the Heart of Cultural Diversity – How toFoster City Diplomacy?

Partner organization: United Cities and Local Governments



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mentioned the need for greater connectivity be-tween the United Nations and local governmentsand municipalities. She appreciated the role thatthe Alliance has played in this regard. Finally, shesaid that while national governments engage inpeace-building at an international level, it is oftenup to city authorities to translate their policiesinto action at the local level.

Stefania Craxi, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs for Rome, added that city diplomacy is atremendous tool for creating sustainable peacewithin divided societies. She announced thatReggio Calabria, an Italian city, will host therst meeting of Mayors of Main MediterraneanCoastal Cities in the autumn, to be co-chaired byReggio Calabria and unis.

Closing the session, Elizabeth Gateau, Secretary-General of United Cities and Local Governments,



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mon stereotypes and exposes audiences to regionsand cultures that are often negatively portrayed inmass media.

Ms. Fancy dened the strategies of AoCMF asfollows: a) understanding the impact of media onattitudes and behavior; b) raising awareness of theimpact of media on perceptions; and c) produc-tion and distribution of media content. She gaveexamples of projects supported by the fund anddescribed two of its projects: the Middle EastRegion Short Film Competition and Muslims OnV Screen (MOS ).

Moderated by Jim Berk, CEO of Participant Me-dia, Working Session 10 brought together academ-ics, lm makers, politicians and experts to presentperspectives on the use of media as an instrumentfor cross-cultural dialogue and to put forward con-crete strategies to enhance the role media can playin tackling prejudice and popular stereotypes.

Mahnaz Fancy, Director of Development of the Alliance of Civilizations Media Fund (AoCMF),presented the organization, a non-prot consor-tium of media industry leaders and philanthropistsworking in partnership with the United Nations toexpand the production of commercial lm, televi-sion and new media content that challenges com-

Working Session 10. Contributions of Entertainment Media toCross-Cultural Understanding

Partner organization: Alliance of Civilizations Media Fund



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ing real human stories can play a signicant role inovercoming prejudice and stereotypes. Storytellingtranscends cultural boundaries and helps improveour understanding of other people.

Tese discussions led to the following conclu-sions: the AoCMF should aim to promote culturaldiversity in the media and special programs shouldbe developed for communities and groups that areoften excluded from mainstream media. o achievethese goals, partnerships should be developed, par-ticularly between commercial media and media fo-cusing on social action. Finally, an advisory groupbringing together the V, lm industry, media andyouth sectors should be established.

Mr. Berk highlighted some of the productions ofParticipant Media, including Charlie Wilson’s War,Te Visitor, Fast Food Nation, An Inconvenientruth, Te Kite Runner, Good Night and GoodLuck. He commented that lms can work as mag-nets for people to get together and generate otheractivities such as training programs.

Te urkish Minister of Culture and ourism, HEErtuğrul Günay, underlined the growing inuenceof media and the responsibilities of media profes-sionals. Media has the capacity to create positivechange in society, he explained, quoting Muslimthinker Muhammad Iqbal: “New worlds cannot bebuilt with new stones but with new ideas.”

For her part, Abigail Disney, Founder and Presi-dent of the Daphne Foundation, stressed that tell-



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tional Centre for Peace (who, at the last minute,was unable to attend), an Israeli diplomat stressedthat the main obstacle to a solution was not thesettlements but the non acceptance of Israel’s rightto exist. Jean-Daniel Ruch, Special Envoy to theMiddle East for Switzerland, agreed that Israelshould be recognized by all. Introducing himselfas a representative of a rare country that did notboycott the results of the Palestinian elections, hefurther understood the fear provoked by Hamas’stance. Tis did not however take away Israel’sduty to engage in the peace process. Te countrywas also expected to fully cooperate with theGoldstone Commission.

Te discussion focused on measures that should beconsidered if the settlements do not stop and noreal engagement on a 2-state solution takes place.Te international community would have to senda strong and well coordinated message, insistedMiguel Angel Moratinos, Spanish Foreign Ministerand Jean Asselborn, Deputy Prime Minister ofLuxembourg. Some international assistance may bewithdrawn. Tere was little support for a boycott,considered generally ineffective. Tere was a needto nd new innovative diplomatic incentives.

President Obama had raised high expectations,which should be followed up by persistent andconstructive involvement in the region. It washoped that the international community wouldnow more consistently move together in the samedirection. urkish Minister of State Egmen Bağiş

Te starting point for this session’s discussion wasa study on the cost of conict in the Middle Eastundertaken by the India-based Strategic ForesightGroup (SFG), with the support of governmentsand institutions from urkey, Switzerland, Norwayand Qatar. Te study was the rst-ever effort in 60years to measure all kinds of costs of conicts inthe region, using 97 parameters. Te session wasmoderated by Sundeep Waslekar, president of SFG.

By pointing to the scale of the costs, includ-

ing huge losses of opportunities and negativeconsequences for the whole world, the report waswidely recognized as making a compelling casefor greater political engagement and sustainedefforts to resolve the conicts by all concerned.Te human cost was the most signicant and in-cluded the loss of dignity imposed on 1.4 millionpeople locked in Gaza. No peace process couldbe successful if the situation of the victims is notaddressed in an equitable way.

Speakers felt that the only option was a two-state

solution, combined with an effective freeze onsettlements. Amre Moussa, Secretary-Generalof the League of Arab States, felt that pending afreeze on settlement building by Israel and a noti-cation to this effect to the UN Security Council, Arab countries would respond and a new dynamicwould unfold.

However, speaking in the absence of ShlomoBen-Ami, Vice-President of the oledo Interna-

Working Session 11. The Cost of Conict in the Middle East

Partner organization: Strategic Foresight Group



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Te Alliance of Civilizations, it was found, offereda welcome platform for people to speak and discussthe issue. At the same time, as Jorge Sampaio, HighRepresentative for the Alliance of Civilizationsclearly emphasized, it was not for the Alliance tond political solutions for conicts. Its mandate iseither to act at the preventive level – to help defusetensions and prevent them escalating into conicts– or to act for peace building consolidation in post-conict situations.

said that his country was implementing a policyof zero conict with neighbors and promoting itthroughout the Middle East. It was engaged inthe Syrian-Israeli Peace Process, now damaged bythe Gaza crisis. urkey remained committed tonew efforts and wanted to be part of the solution,as a country with credibility in both the Westand Islamic countries. Jean Asselborn emphasizedthat other countries were expected to help – inparticular Jordan and Egypt – when it comes tobringing about a transition Palestinian govern-ment. Syria had to be part of a solution.



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continue now with Iranian lms and the personalexperiences of those who were initially immi-grants and their families who are now European.

Tis point was picked up by Dr. Anas Al-Shaikh Ali of the Association of Muslim Social Scientists(UK) who focused on the importance of educa-tion in schools and universities of all Europeansso that a better understanding can develop in themainstream of European societies. He referred tothe partnership he had developed with the BritishCouncil which led to the publication of “BritishMuslims: A Media Guide” in 2006.

Dr. Gemma Martin Munoz of Casa Arabe,Madrid, continued with this theme and referredto the publication of the Spanish version of theguide, supported by the Organization of Securityand Cooperation in Europe.

HE Professor Ekmeleddin Ïhsanoğlu, Secretary-General of the Organization of the Islamic Confer-ence, stressed that Islam was a component of Euro-pean culture and identity and welcomed the BritishCouncil’s program. He referred to Prof. Bulliet’sconcept of an ‘Islamo-Christian’ European civiliza-tion to reiterate his proposed historic reconciliationbetween these two Abrahamic religions.

A lively debate followed with contributions fromparticipants drawing on their experiences in Ban-gladesh, USA, Morocco and the other Maghreb

For over 1,300 years Europe has been home topeoples with direct or indirect connections toIslam. Tey have been traders and teachers, con-verts and conquerors, astronomers and astrolo-gers, architects and builders. But in spite of theseexchanges and cross-fertilization, ndings of pollstracking public perceptions show that relationsbetween Europeans who are Muslims and those of

other belief systems are generally weak. Te Brit-ish Council is developing an ambitious programto address this issue in the context of Europe.Te Council organized this working session inpartnership with the Organization of the IslamicConference and the Anna Lindh Foundation, tointroduce and debate the program under the titleof “Our Shared Europe”.

Professor Richard Bulliet of Columbia University,USA, gave a historical perspective. He remindedthe audience of how the political and historical

interactions of Muslims and the “West” have beendistorted and oversimplied. Muslims who foughton behalf of Western political interests have beenforgotten; only those who confronted the Westare remembered. Te diverse and long stand-ing peaceful side of European-Muslim relationsremains in the shadows. Daily life is infused withproducts from the Muslim world, from oranges,to chess, sugar and pasta. Beyond daily life, thereare myriad other borrowings, especially in theareas of science and philosophy. Such enrichments

Working Session 12. Islamic and Muslim Contributions to EuropeanCulture, Societies and Identities

Partner organization: the British Council , the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC)and the Anna Lindh Euro-Mediterranean Foundation for the Dialogue between Cultures



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He ended with a relevant quote from PresidentObama: “Our patchwork heritage is a strengthnot a weakness: we are a nation of Christians,Muslims, Jews, Hindus and non-believers”. “Ourprogram”, Mr Hardy continued, “sets out to dem-onstrate that Muslims are part of Europe’s past,present, and more importantly, its future.”

countries, the UK and the former Yugoslavia andtoday’s Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Professor Mike Hardy, the leader of the BritishCouncil’s inter-cultural dialogue programs drewthe session to a close. “Our Shared Europe” is,from his perspective, a cultural project to tacklethe roots of alienation and intolerance. Te pro-gram does not set out to re-write history; rather, itaims to change how Europeans think about eachother in the current day reality of the continent.



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fundamental and unprecedented merit of bringingthe international community to treat both sides asequals in their aspirations and rights.

In order to implement this mandate, the HighRepresentative for the Alliance of Civilizationsheld a brainstorming meeting in Lisbon, in Febru-ary with two main objectives: rstly to take stockof past or on-going works and experiences in theeld of competing narratives, compare outcomesand build on lessons learned. Te outcome ofthat meeting was twofold: a “white paper” maybe necessary but insufficient unless it is accom-panied by a “white process” because narrativeswhich develop during intractable conicts have asevere impact on people’s life, not only at mental

level, but also on social interactions, attitudes andbehaviors.

Te session was intended to collect additionalinputs particularly from civil society organizations.Participants were invited to share their vision onthe role of a white paper and a white process, as de-scribed above, and to put forward innovative ideasabout their content and possible implementation.Te idea of a white process generated great curiosityand some participants such as Just Vision and OneVoice expressed interest in a future collaboration.

Te High Level Group (HLG) Report presentedin November 2006 identies the Israel-Palestineconict as one of the main causes of the wideningrift between Muslim and Western societies. Tisemphasis is not meant to imply that it is the overtcause of all tensions between Muslim and Westernsocieties, but suggests that the Isareli-Palestinianissue has taken on a symbolic value that colorscross-cultural and political relations among adher-ents of all three major monotheistic faiths wellbeyond its limited geographic scope.

Specically, the HLG report urges that the Al-liance address the central Israel-Palestine issue,which has fomented mutually hostile perspectives,and prolonged violence, both in the form of wars

and of violence against non-combatants and civil-ians. Furthermore, the HLG Report recommendsthe development of a “white paper” analyzing theIsraeli-Palestinian conict dispassionately andobjectively, giving voice to the competing nar-ratives on both sides, reviewing and diagnosingthe successes and failures of past peace initiatives,and establishing clearly the conditions that mustbe met to nd a way out of the crisis. Te “whitepaper”, by recounting historical truths, wouldhope to redress the reluctance of the communityof nations to confront the realities underlying thisthreat to world stability. It could help politicaldecision-makers to resolve the issue by bringingPalestinians and Israelis to acknowledge a history– their own history – and which would have the

WORKING BREAKFASTS

Working Breakfast 1. From Competing Narratives toCooperative Actions

Moderator: President Jorge Sampaio



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administrative, faculty, and students from highereducation institutions; intergovernmental organiza-tion representatives, and government officials fromaround the world. Te purpose of the meeting wasto prepare a plan of action for the following year.

As a rst step, the Network will explore commonareas of research and exchange. Second, the needto explore opportunities for partners to meet todiscuss next steps in collaboration was raised.Explorations are currently underway to identifypotential hosts, resources, and concrete agendasfor such meetings. Tird, participants discussedthe need for an online platform to disseminateresearch and to interact with one another. Te Alliance of Civilizations has developed a web pagededicated to the members of the Research Net-work which features news about, and of interestto, academic network members.

Te Alliance Research Network is intended as adiverse collection of research centers and universi-ties to serve as a collective thinktank for the Alli-ance, and be leaders of a movement to encouragecross-cultural educational exchange and research.

Consequently, the Network consists of institu-tions from around the world who have interestsin the areas of focus for the Alliance – education,media, migration, and youth plus other topicswith special reference to cross-cultural under-standing such as good governance of culturaldiversity, conict resolution, women and peace-making, and city diplomacy. Te Network wasformally launched at a working breakfast at theIstanbul Forum, April 6, 2009.

Te meeting was chaired by Koç University focalpoint, Dean Baris an. Participants included

and media literacy practices that can contributeto dissolve prejudices, cultural stereotypes, andintercultural barriers in favor of global dialogueand cooperation among citizens and institutionsof different cultural or religious backgrounds.

Te Chair will develop and organize, in coordina-tion with the AoC, a series of research initiatives,conferences, teacher training workshops, andexchange programs (for faculty and graduatestudents) involving the active universities ofthe network. Additional outcomes will includepublications (in partnership with NORDICOM)and the ongoing development (by adding newcontent, supplementary information, resources,and articles) of the AoC Media Literacy Educa-tion clearinghouse (aocmedialiteracy.org).

Additionally, the breakfast session was also anoccasion to present the new research publication“Mapping Media Education Policies in the World:Visions, Programs and Challenges” recently pub-lished by the AoC in collaboration with UNES-CO and the support of Grupo Comunicar and theMedia Program of the European Union.

Tis breakfast, co-organized with UNESCO andNORDICOM (Nordic Information Center forMedia and Communication Research), was anopportunity to publicly present and discuss thecreation of the UNESCO UNI WIN Alliance ofCivilizations Chair on Media Literacy and Inter-cultural Dialogue. At its initial phase this UNI - WIN (UNESCO’s Chair program for universitieslinked in network) will include six universities:Sao Paulo University (Brazil), singhua University(China), Cairo University (Egypt), University of West Indies (Jamaica), Autonomous University ofBarcelona (Spain), and emple University (USA).Representatives of the universities attended thesession and explained to the participants the mainobjectives and planned outcomes of the Chair.

By coordinating the creation of this Chair, the AoC continues to support the development of me-dia literacy education worldwide. Te increasingglobal awareness about the importance of medialiteracy within the intercultural dialogue frame-

work was underlined by the amount of interestedparticipants that attended the session. Duringthe session it was explained that the main focusof this Chair is the development of educational

Working Breakfast 2. UNESCO UNITWIN AoC Chair on Media Literacyand Intercultural Dialogue

Partner organizations: UNESCO and NORDICOM (Nordic Information Center for Mediaand Communication Research)

Working Breakfast 3. Launch of the UN AoC Research Network

Organized by the Alliance of Civilizations Research Network



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following a series of discussions with media andcivil society representatives. Te Alliance ofCivilizations Global Expert Finder, the EuropeanCommission sponsored European Neighbour-hood Journalism Network and the Anna LindhFoundation network of civil society interests arealready in place as a framework within which theinitiative can operate. Mechanisms to link themmore rmly, with a common portal as centralresource and a means of mobilization of opinionwhen a crisis occurs, are in development.

During the meeting, the 2009 edition of the Anna Lindh Foundation’s Mediterranean Journal-

ist Award for 2009 was launched, the regionalorganization’s award in recognition of journalistsreporting across cultures and on issues of culturaldiversity. Te Award, which runs across the 43countries of the Union for the Mediterranean, hasbeen expanded in 2009 to the audio-visual sector,as well as including a special award for reportingefforts during the recent Gaza crisis and a newaward for bloggers. Te rapidly growing inuenceof new media presents great potential to createdialogue communities and responsible bloggingis seen by the Foundation as a way of promoting ashared space for dialogue and opinion.

A joint breakfast brieng session by the EuropeanCommission, the Anna Lindh Foundation and the Alliance outlined cooperation between the threeinstitutions on a range of media issues. EuropeanCommissioner for education, training, culture andyouth, Ján Figel, Andreu Claret, Executive Directorof the Anna Lindh Foundation and Alliance ofCivilizations Director Marc Scheuer spoke in turnabout their respective institutions’ work with themedia and about their belief in the constructiverole journalists can play to promote understandingbetween different nations and cultures.

A key item in the presentation was the Rapid

Response Media Mechanism for times of culturalcrises in the Euro-Mediterranean region, which isbeing developed as a joint initiative by the threebodies. Te initiative aims to assist journalistsand others involved in any public debate that risksbeing highly polarised and divisive. It will useshared resources – including expertise on issuesrelated to intercultural tensions and joint com-munications to the media and networks of civilsociety organizations – to encourage and supportthose wanting to develop more balanced dialogueabout intercultural issues.

While there is still work to do to bring the projectto fruition, several aspects are already in place

Working Breakfast 4. Partnerships across the Mediterranean; Launchof the Mediterranean Journalist Award 2009 and the Rapid ResponseMedia Mechanism for the Mediterranean region

Partner organizations: the Anna Lindh Euro-Mediterranean Foundation for DialogueBetween Cultures and the European Commission



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were also presented, including recommendation tomake non-confessional teaching more effective, aclear status in the curriculum, and solid training ofteachers and teacher trainers.

Subsequently, the NEF ndings on ‘Religion andHealthcare in the European Union’ were presented.Te inuence of religion on national healthcarepolicy, and in particular the issue of belief-basedexemption for health care providers from per-forming certain duties, the issues of euthanasia,organ donation and transplant, blood transfusion,religious assistance to hospital patients, faith space

in hospitals, medication and dietary needs, hospitalclothing, requests to be served by a doctor or nurseof the same sex, and issues related to death, sexualand reproductive health, and mental health were allbriey addressed as well.

Tis moved the conversation in the direction of theintersections between religion and health care andhow religion inuences patients’ and practitioners’decisions, and the need for training a communityof health care providers who are prepared to com-municate with their patients about religion.

In the discussion that followed, participants raisedseveral interesting questions including whether reli-gion should be regarded as a liability or as a positiveforce in health policy; whether certain policy issuesare affected by religion as such or rather by cultureand traditional cultural practices, and whether thestate should provide exemptions to doctors andnurses and within what limits.

Tis breakfast session introduced the work devel-oped under the Network of European Foundations(NEF) Initiative on ‘Religion and Democracy inEurope’ which focuses on the relationship betweenreligion and democracy in European societies. NEFpresented its ndings in the specic elds of healthand school systems in Europe and representativesof other regions contributed as discussants. Tesession brought together political representatives,religious leaders, international organizations,foundations and NGOs representatives, and wasmoderated by Rien Van Gendt, chairman of theNEF initiative on Religion and Democracy and

former Executive Director of the Van Leer GroupFoundation. Speakers included Luce Pépin, formerDirector of the Eurydice Network European Unitand author of the ‘History of European Coop-eration in the elds of education and training’,Dimitrina Petrova, Executive Director, Te EqualRights rust, and Joyce Dubensky, Executive VicePresident of the anenbaum Center for Interreli-gious Understanding in New York.

Te discussion began with a presentation onthe ndings of the NEF thematic dossier on the‘ eaching about religions in European school sys-tems’. Tis initial overview touched upon the dif-ferent approaches characterizing the teaching aboutreligions in the European Union: confessionalreligious education (optional or non compulsory);confessional religious education (compulsory withexemption possibility); non confessional educationand education about the ‘religious fact’, integratedin other subjects of teaching. Ongoing major chal-lenges for EU public school systems in this area

Working Breakfast 5. Contemporary Society and Religion

Partner organization: Network of European Foundations

heart of the relationship between leadership anddevelopment.

During the session, the Club de Madrid presentedits Shared Societies project, a global initiative

aimed to encourage leaders to understand thebenets of social cohesion and the incentives andmeans to act to advance it.

Te breakfast session onChallenges for Leadershipto Manage Diversity and Build Shared Societies organized by the Club de Madrid – an organiza-tion of 71 democratic former heads of state andgovernment from around the globe that works to

promote democratic responses to global chal-lenges – examined the conundrums that lie at the

Working Breakfast 6. Diversity and Development: LeadershipChallenges for Managing Diversity and Promoting Politics and Policy to Build Shared SocietiesPartner organization: Club of Madrid



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and now that we are out of office we wish to offerour good offices to stimulate that discussion andto help to overcome tensions where they occur.”He also said: “shared societies make good sensein cultural terms, human terms, in ethical terms,in security terms, and, in the present economicclimate they make economic sense.”

Ebrahim Rasool, spoke very practically of thechallenges and some easy tools for leaders touse to promote shared societies. He spoke of theneed for societies and political leaders to “ascendthe steep path” (“aqaba”), “avoid the extremes”(“wasatiyah”), and to make “coexistence andinterdependence” (“ubuntu”) and “empathy andcompassion” (“rahma”) central to leadership. Hesaid, “in the effort to construct a shared society,some say we need unity; others say we need diver-sity. Well, we need enough unity to avoid havingatomized societies. And, we need diversity, butnot so much that, again, we end up with atomizedsocieties. We need to nd the balance.”

A lively debate and exchange of ideas on the role ofleadership in promoting social cohesion followed.

Leaders and communities often resist co-operationand collaboration preferring to protect their ownimmediate interests and deny the interests of “theother” – and the mutual interests they share – tothe detriment of all. Te Shared Societies Projectworks on leadership to reverse this tendency.

Over 50 people participated in the session thatfeatured Kjell Magne Bondevik, former PrimeMinister of Norway; Ebrahim Rasool, formerPremier of the Western Cape Province and cur-rent advisor to South African President Mont-lanthe; and Fernando Perpiñá-Robert, SecretaryGeneral of the Club de Madrid. Sean C. Carroll,Director of Programs of the Club de Madridmoderated the session.

Former Prime Minister Bondevik spoke of histime in office and of his role as a Lutheran pastor,and, speaking of his other Club of Madrid mem-bers, said that “we know from experience thatleaders bear a major responsibility for promotinggood community relations and shared societies.

We believe that one of the most important conver-sations of our time is the issue of how to promoteand encourage positive relations between cultures



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defuse societal tensions, which left unchecked canbe directed towards other communities whichare perceived to have been more successful or toblame during difficult economic conditions.

Consequently, investing in rst-time job seekersis a win-win situation both for governments andcivil society organizations and the private sector.Participants noted the need for internationalorganizations to pay greater attention towardssupporting the development of youth employmentprograms, but also affirmed the need to examinethe needs of the private sector itself before under-taking any employment training program. At the

same time, there is a need for coordination amongthe various entities that are working on educationand employment programs.

Te varying approaches of Silatech and the Edu-cation for Employment Foundation were deemedworthy of consideration by breakfast participants,and showed tremendous potential to be repli-cated in other parts of the world. Participantsalso stressed the need to devote attention andresources towards promoting entrepreneurship aswell as employment, and hailed the fact that bothprojects sought to do just that.

Moderated by Salvatore Nigro, CEO Europe,Education for Employment Foundation, andfeaturing Michael Hager, President, Educationfor Employment Foundation and Ahmed Younis,Director for Resource Development, Silatech,this breakfast session explored the links betweenemployment and the development of societies.

Employment offers a chance to confer on peoplean identity, self-respect, economic security, and astake in the future – all important cornerstones forcitizens of a peaceful and prosperous society. Con-versely, unemployment devastates the social andeconomic fabric of society, cheating countries of

their greatest potential. It can cause many people,particularly youth, to feel marginalized, frustrated,and angry at a society that has failed them – andcan thus lead to destructive behavior. Consequent-ly, economic and social inclusion of young people isvital for peace and stability worldwide.

Participants agreed that employment opportuni-ties can have an enormously positive impact onsocieties and relations between them. Keeping thebulk of a population in work is essential towardssustaining the economy of a society, and achiev-ing a robust economic situation is a powerfuldriver for social change. At the same time, ensur-ing adequate opportunities for youth can help

Working Breakfast 7. Jobs in Period of Recession:A Global Challenge for YouthPartner organizations: Education for Employment Foundation and Silatech



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Africa (Religions for Peace MENA). In a pressconference the previous day, a bold appeal to Al-liance of Civilizations about the situation in Israeland Palestine issued by the Religions for PeaceMENA was presented. Tis was seen by the par-ticipants as an example of constructive and timelymulti-religious advocacy.

Te idea of a “UN Decade for Interreligiousand Intercultural Dialogue, Understanding andCooperation for Peace” (Ref. General Assemblyresolution A/RES/63/22) was mentioned as agood way of promoting major UN agendas withparticipation of religious communities and inter-faith organizations.

Te inclusion of “interreligious dialogue andcooperation” in the programs and meetings of the Alliance of Civilizations was seen as important toexplore. A number of specic recommendationswere offered to the Alliance of Civilizations by thereligious leaders present such as:

Temes and concerns related to the role of•

religions and inter-religious dialogue and coop-eration in policy and politically related issuesshould be given prominence in future annualmeetings of the Alliance of Civilizations.

Considerations should be made to establish•

projects specically focusing on inter-religiouscooperation within the framework of Allianceof Civilizations. Projects oriented towardsyouth were seen as particularly interesting.

With reference to the recommendation from•

the religious leaders in the 2008 Madrid meet-

ing: "Engaging the media to help communicatethe positive role of multi-religious dialogue andcooperation in building peace and promotingthe common good", Religions for Peace andother organizations engaged in multi-religiouscooperation should partner with Alliance ofCivilizations in utilizing their media mecha-nisms to further this recommendation.

Religions for Peace • was encouraged to takeleadership in communicating with the Allianceof Civilizations for planning of the next annual

meeting in Brazil.

Tis session occasioned the opportunity to makeconcrete recommendations to the Alliance onways to advance partnerships among religiousleaders and groups and United Nations, gov-ernments, and other actors. Approximately 30participants, representing governments, UN agen-cies, media, NGOs and religious communitiescontributed to the discussion.

Religions for Peace introduced its model, high-lighting three core approaches: 1)multi-religiousefforts can be more powerful symbolically andsubstantively than the efforts of individualreligious groups acting alone; 2)“representative”multi-religious structures through their leaders,outstanding persons, grassroots congregationsand other organizational manifestations serve asthe main agents of multi-religious cooperation; 3)cooperation on multiple levels, including global,regional, national and local levels.

Tese approaches allow religions to engage withother stakeholders in the public sphere in a prin-cipled manner. Religions have impressive poten-

tials/assets that may be mobilized for the commongood in a multi-faceted process in which divisionof labor can be negotiated. Although some skepti-cism about involving religion too closely in issuesof political nature was expressed, the major thrustof contributions called for principled engage-ment of religious actors in the public debate. Tedescribed model for engagement was supported asviable and with great potential.

Government representatives expressed apprecia-tion of the multi-religious approach, which offered

governments a “politically neutral” partner toreach religious communities for dialogue and co-operation. Concern was raised that multi-religiouscooperation needs to reach into those segments ofreligious communities that are normally reluctantto open up to dialogue. Efforts to reach out to themore extreme segments and gradually build trustacross divides are needed.

Examples of multi-religious engagement in peaceprocesses were shared, including conicts in Africa, Sri Lanka and the Middle East. Specicreference was made to the newly establishedinterreligious council for Middle East and North

Working Breakfast 8. Engaging Non-State Actors in ResolvingConicts and Promoting Peace and DevelopmentPartner organizations: Religions for Peace and UNFPA



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It is also possible, as shown by the work done byUNESCO, to integrate dialogue and exchangeinto concrete development programs. Culturaldialogue can be translated into tangible actions.Development actors must show that culture can bea resource for our future.

Tus the dialogue between development andcultural actors and networks must be encouraged.Such exchanges already took place through theseries of Mediterranean Cultural Workshops initi-ated in 2005. One way to institutionalize this workcould lie in the creation of a ‘cultures and develop-

ment institute’, which participants expressed stronginterest in. Trough the ten Mediterranean culturalprojects approved by the Mediterranean Forum onCulture, this network would promote both reec-tion and production regarding specic projects,such as a Mediterranean translation centre, or thesharing of scholarship and discussion on the evolu-tions of religious practices, and on the dialogueacross the legal systems of different cultures.

Te breakfast session, organized by the FrenchDevelopment Agency (ADF), explored the stronglinks that exist between culture and development.Participants agreed that there could be no success-ful development project without a human and cul-tural dimension. Although all development projectsare, to a large extent, political projects, they mustalways be nourished by cultural references.

aking account of the economic and develop-ment value of cultural goods was also seen asvital. Indeed it is possible to invest in culture asan economic tool for development. Development

agents must work to promote the domains and lo-cations where development and culture are closelyarticulated. For instance, microloans directed at theowners of cultural goods can prove to have both aneconomic and a cultural heritage value. Moreover,in old city quarters, urban planning must go hand-in-hand with cultural heritage preservation.

Working Breakfast 9. Culture and DevelopmentPartner organization: French Development Agency

In this context, it was announced that the Allianceis interested in creating an online forum that facili-tates direct exchanges between citizen journalists ofadjacent regions or neighboring countries that havefew opportunities for direct interaction with eachother. In such cases, information is often relayedthrough Western sources having undergone a num-ber of cultural and values lters. Te Alliance seeksto circumvent these barriers to direct interactionand understanding, and further details about theproposed forum will be released shortly.

Participants also discussed the rapidly evolvingnature of new media. Increasingly, resources arebeing directed towards increasing the capacity ofnew media to serve as a rival to mainstream newsorganizations, or to vigorously promote develop-ment campaigns. echnological innovations arealso leading to greater diversity and choice in thenew media environment. Blog aggregators, publicforums, and blogs that explicitly target audiences

as consumers are gaining in popularity. As thepower and reach of new media expands further,its already profound effects on societies aroundthe world will continue to grow.

Te new media breakfast session at the AllianceForum in Istanbul Forum served as an opportu-nity to showcase the different and innovative ap-plications of new media that various organizationsare using to promote intercultural dialogue. Tesession was moderated by Susan Moeller, directorof the International Center for Media and thePublic Agenda at the University of Maryland.

Participants observed that the growth of the inter-

net and the burgeoning of social networking web-sites have revolutionized the way people engagewith the world. By providing creative opportuni-ties to share information and opinions with onlinenetworks and virtual communities, new media isserving to enrich public debates, open a broaderspectrum of ideas and opinions, and contributeto a global shift away from mainstream newsorganizations as a primary source of information.More than this, it is having a mobilizing effect onsocieties, and it was noted that in societies with

weak rule of law, new media is often ascendantprecisely because of its utility and versatility as anorganizing tool.

Working Breakfast 10. Can New Media Help Bridge Cultural Divides?

Partner organizations: UNESCO and Global Voices Online



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EC Representative Mr. Vito Borrelli detailed thevarious programs offered to encourage mobil-ity of students in the European Commission’sErasmus Mundus program. Ms. Fatma Akgun, AFS urkey’s Executive Director, spoke of thegreat demand in urkey for study-abroad posi-tions and encouraged governments to liberalizevisa requirements for foreign students. A numberof youth participants in study-abroad programsspoke about their experiences and lessons fromtheir experiences.

Te meeting urged actors in this area to enhancestudy-abroad experiences by sharing information,liberalizing regulations in both the educationalarea and visa requirements, and promoting thebenets of studying abroad in various constituen-cies. Te Alliance was requested to: a) distributea list of participants at this session to create anetwork of interested organizations and indi-viduals and b) organize a working session at thenext Forum to examine concrete ways in whichexchanges could be enhanced.

gether over 100,000 students from 144 countries),an Engineering Award, and an Internet portal.

AFS CEO Mr. achi Cazal spoke of the impor-tance of addressing issues in enhancing exchangeprograms such as information, accreditationregulations, and funding. International Instituteof Education’s Director of Research, Dr. RajikaBhandari, spoke of the IIE’s efforts to enhance ex-

changes between the Middle East and the UnitedStates, including free membership to institutionsin the IIE Network. Dr. Driss Ouaicha, Presidentof Al Akhwayn University in Ifrane, Morocco,described his institution’s programs that providedplacements to 130-140 students from the US,Europe and Asia and sent about 100 Moroccanstudents abroad and participated in the AMID-EAS program.

Josh Weiss from the Abraham Path Initia-tive spoke of the non-formal ways in whichhis organization seeks to bring together youngpeople from various countries by retracing thesteps of Abraham/Ibrahim in the Middle East.



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among western and Muslim organizations, andto improve their work. Te Humanitarian Forumbegan its work with a needs assessment exercise,holding workshops in 13 countries in 2005-6,involving 1,100 local NGOs.

Te Humanitarian Forum builds bonds betweencommunities, based on equality, understandingand trust. It uses the large area of common groundbetween religions and cultures – the strong heritageof charitable and humanitarian work – as a non-political environment on which to build bridges.

Internationally, its Steering Committee includeskey Sunni, Shi’a and Western organizations from13 countries in four continents.

Te Humanitarian Forum also aims to buildbridges between local communities in a numberof pilot countries (currently Indonesia, Sudan, Ye-men and, as an example of a donor country, Ku-wait). For instance, the local forum in Indonesiaincludes Muslim, Christian, secular and interna-tional NGOs. Tis creates familiarity and trustbetween disparate groups through membership,the governing board and training workshops.

In the course of this wide-ranging discussion, oth-er issues were raised, including: building bridgesbetween Muslim and secular organizations within Arab countries; educating donors about thebreadth of Muslim charities’ humanitarian anddevelopment work; and exploring the relationshipbetween humanitarian actors and the military.

Tis breakfast session explored ways in whichthe international community can pool togetherthe knowledge and resources of NGOs fromdifferent cultural backgrounds and value systemsto bring humanitarian and development aid topeople in need.

In many crisis contexts, there is often a lack ofinteraction between “Western” and “Muslim”humanitarian NGOs, even though both “sides”have great impact. Tis international picture ismirrored on the ground, where local NGOs tend

to work in isolation from each other and interna-tional organizations. Tis amounts to a divide inthe eld of humanitarianism and development.

Both at a national and international level, gapsbetween communities and differences in capacity(or willingness to recognise a different form ofcapacity) are exacerbating divides. As a result, theglobal response to humanitarian and developmentneeds is impaired, since it accepts inefficiencies(e.g. in use of funds and coverage of programs)and fails to take advantage of opportunities (e.g.new funding sources, comparative skills and inbuilding stable communities).

Te breakfast session highlighted the Humanitar-ian Forum as a case study in multilateral coopera-tion. Te Humanitarian Forum is a network ofkey humanitarian and charitable organizationsfrom Muslim donor and recipient countries, the West and the multilateral system. Te goals of theHumanitarian Forum are to foster partnerships

Working Breakfast 13. Bridging Divides in the Field of Humanitarianismand DevelopmentPartner Organization: Humanitarian Forum

Te winning projects were implemented from August 2008 to April 2009. Project leaders fromthese 6 youth organizations came to the IstanbulForum to share the results and learnings of theirprojects. Each YSF project was given an opportu-nity to showcase its work and results.

Issah Ali of the Federation of Youth Clubs of Gha-

na presented a project that convened leaders fromyouth organizations in Christian, Muslim and ra-ditional religious areas of Ghana to participate inworkshops on diversity, conict prevention, human

Launched at the Madrid Forum in 2008, the Youth Solidarity Fund (YSF) provides seedfunding to outstanding youth-led projects thatpromote long-term constructive relationshipsbetween young people from diverse cultural andreligious backgrounds. For the pilot phase of the Youth Solidarity Fund, a committee of 7 youthrepresentatives, nominated by regional youth

platforms, was charged with selecting 6 projectsfor funding from over 110 submissions from 55countries.

Working Breakfast 14. The Youth Solidarity Fund: Celebrating YoungBridge- Builders



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dress local community issues of relevance to them.Te learning outcomes of this project included theutility of focusing socially isolated individuals oncommon issues as a strategy for effective dialogue.Each individual has unique experiences, and has

much to gain from exposure to the experiences ofothers affected by conict and tensions. Partici-pants emphasized that the results of the dialogueshould be shared with decision-makers to makethem aware of the potential of citizens in address-ing cultural and religious tensions.

Rejane Ereau of Respect Magazine presented the“God and Me” project, which collected, comparedand published testimonies about religion, spiritu-ality, dogmas and traditions from French youthof diverse backgrounds. Te project focused onyouth from disadvantaged areas and communitiesthat suffer from misrepresentation and discrimi-nation. Tis grassroots media project publishedmessages from youth on their expectations of reli-gious leaders around creating societies with sharednational identities and better education aboutdiverse religions and beliefs. Lessons learnedincluded the need to ensure that media is not justabout youth, but also inclusive of other citizens, assuch an approach contributes to raising awarenessand unpacking taboos and stereotypes.

Juan Martin Camusso presented the Argentinean Youth Organization for the United Nations, whichis a pluralist NGO created and directed by youngpeople committed to human development. Tisorganization’s project established and strengthenedrelationships between young people from Latin America and Africa, two regions not often con-nected. Te project promoted networking, offereda 7-day training seminar partnership building, andstrengthened dialogue skills on intercultural issues.It also brought to light the need to ensure that newskills and values supporting intercultural dialogueare applied in a sustained manner in order to pro-mote long-lasting and peaceful relations.

rights and tolerance. Te project helped strengthenrelationships and build partnerships between youthfrom regions prone to violence. Te project alsoraised awareness about the contribution of youthto peace-building among Ghanaian policy-makers,

and encouraged them to integrate young peopleinto peacemaking efforts at the national level.

Christopher Malano of the International Move-ment of Catholic Students and Pax Romana pre-sented a project that brought together Muslim andCatholic university students to learn more abouteach others’ faith experiences and promote mutualrespect and understanding. Tose involved in theproject learned that dialogue belongs to everyone,not only to religious leaders. Another key conclu-sion was the need to acknowledge one’s limitationswhen engaging in dialogue while leveraging one’sstrengths for the benet of all. Tis project also so-lidied Pax Romana/IMCS’s conviction that youthfrom all religions have an instantaneous sense ofsolidarity when it comes to dialogue, regardless oftheir religious and cultural backgrounds.

Nikki Deln presented GenPeace, which is anetwork of Pilipino organizations and individualscommitted to youth-led advocacy for a just andsustainable peace in the Philippines. Tis projectorganized a series of youth leadership train-ing workshops on peace and human rights inMindanao, in the Southern region of the Philip-pines. Te project increased the capacity of youthleaders to mobilize and connect different Muslim,Christian and indigenous youth organizations fora more consolidated youth peace advocacy in thePhilippines. While many intense debates amongopposing groups preceded the training workshops,youth participants discovered that open dialogueguided by new skills and clear common objectivescreates a sense of connection that allows for prog-ress to be made in efforts to address long-standingconicts.

Samid presented the Cultural Center DamaD,which is a Serbian non-governmental organizationwhose mission is to foster a culture of dialogueand human rights through creative work in localcommunities and beyond. Tis NGO focuses onempowering youth from 7 towns of the multi-ethnic and multi-religious Sandzak region ofsouthwest Serbia. Te Center helps young peopledevelop leadership skills that can be used to ad-



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foundations working on AoC-related themes. INFwill begin by focusing on the following areas asidentied by foundations – education, media, thearts, intercultural and interfaith dialogue, youthleadership, and conversations on religious issues.

Te breakfast session also explored further howthe International Network of Foundations couldsuccessfully carry out its role in managing rela-tions between foundations as well as betweenfoundations and other stakeholders. Te ses-sion was attended by many notable foundationsaround the world, including those who attendedthe earlier meeting in Marrakech.

Te purpose of the meeting was to further thediscussion started at the International Networkof Foundations (INF) meeting in Marrakechin February 2009. Te INF’s primary goal is tobring together foundations working to build trustand cooperation among religions, cultures andpeoples, by promoting knowledge exchange, col-laboration and advocacy.

Te INF aims to achieve these goals in the fol-lowing ways: a) facilitate information exchangeand increase collaboration by acting as a centralspace for foundations to share information andbest practices; b) encourage collaboration amongcomplementary initiatives, especially acrossregions; and c) provide resources to support

Working Breakfast 15. Foundations Engaged in Building Trust andCooperation among Religions, Cultures and Peoples

Organized by the Alliance of Civilizations International Network of Foundations



102

2005 to the operation of the network today. Heexplained how repeat meetings of media profes-sionals over a period of time – more than 500have been involved to date – had establishedcommon trust, condence and actual coop-eration among journalists from very differentbackgrounds. Discussions have focused on topicsof importance to the media – such as training of journalists, their safety and security in carryingout their work and representation of minorities inthe profession – as well as on broader issues thataffect the way individual media professionals op-erate: freedom of the press, reporting on terrorismand the challenges of intercultural communica-tion have all been hotly debated.

Te consultation now has sufficient credibility inits own right in EU political circles for par-ticipants to be requested to give their views on arange of policy issues. Communications have beensent to meetings of EU ministers and the journal-ists involved have offered input into government

and administration work that has a media aspect,such as the Rapid Response Media Mechanismfor times of cultural crises in the Euro-Medi-terranean region being jointly developed by theCommission, the Alliance and the Anna LindhFoundation. Te understanding and trust gener-ated among the group is seen as reecting whatcan be achieved when there is an opportunity fordialogue that is allowed to focus on matters ofcommon interest as well as tackling those areaswhere differences naturally exist.

While many workshop sessions dealt with thepotential of the media to impact on interculturalissues – both positively and negatively – this ses-sion allowed media representatives to demonstratetheir own capacity for promoting understand-ing between different nations and peoples. TeEuropean Neighbourhood Journalism Network(ENJN) – evolving from Euromed and the Media– is a European Commission sponsored consulta-tion with media in the Euromed region abouttheir views on the relationship between the EUand its neighbours and their capacity to report onit. Participants in the consultation present at theForum addressed the question of whether there isvalue in the media having its own dialogue as partof the greater process of improving relationshipsbetween different cultures.

European Commission (External Relations)representative om McGrath opened the briengwith a context-setting explanation of how theinitial project was conceived and what it brought

to the Commission’s understanding of mediaoperations in the region. Tis was followed by thepresentation of Paul Walton, CommunicationsManager of the Anna Lindh Foundation, on thework of the Foundation and its contributions tothe eld of media, including bringing together topmanagers from the media sector in the frameworkof the Union for the Mediterranean and promot-ing region-wide recognition for the positive actionof journalists for intercultural dialogue.

Irish imes Foreign Affairs Editor, and ENJN

member, Paul Gillespie then provided an accountof the Euromed media dialogue from its start in

Working Breakfast 16. Media Dialogues Between Regions:The Euromediterranean Experience

Partner Organizations: European Commission and the Anna Lindh Euro-MediterraneanFoundation for the Dialogue between Cultures



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104

Aziz bin Mohammed Al Rowas Al Rowas Adviser to His Majesty the Sultan for culturalaffairs Oman

Celso Luiz Nunes AmorimMinister of External Relations of the FederativeRepublic of Brazil Brazil

Louis Alkiviadis AbatisAmbassadorGreece

Yohannes Mezgebe AbayEast African Ofce of the Pan African Youth Union Ethiopia

Saipul Anuar Abd. Muin

Deputy Director General, Planning Department ofNational Unity and Integration Malaysia

Abdelwaheb AbdallahMinister for Foreign Affairs of Republic of Tunisia Tunisia

Laila Abdel MageedDean / Faculty Mass Communication, CairoUniversity Egypt

Kassim Abdillahi WaissNational Youth Council of DjiboutiDjibouti

Feisal Abdul RaufDirector, Cordoba InitiativeUSA

Alexander AbramovSecretary of the Representation of the MoscowPatriarchate USA

Seyed Mohammed Ali AbtahiPresident, Institute for the Inter-Religious Dialogue Iran, Islamic Republic Of

Badli Hisham AdamCounsellor Malaysia

Emmanuel AdamakisEcumenical PatriarchateFrance

Randa Adel AchmawiDiplomatic Correspondent, Al AhramEgypt

Sarunas AdomaviciusMinistry of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Vice-Ministerof Lithuania Lithuania

Arman AghadjanianProtocol OfcerArmenia

Nazim AhmadAga Khan Development NetworkPortugal

Ghada Ahmed KhalilCoordinator of External Relations, Nexos Alianza Spain

Thomas AhrenkielPermanent Under-Secretary of StateDenmark

Bibiana AidoMinister of Equality, Government of Spain Spain

M. J. AkbarJournalist and AuthorIndia

Brahim AkdimDean, Faculty of Letter SAIS, USMBA, Fez,Morocco Morocco

Mac Henry AkehDirector of Ministry of Arts and CultureCameroon

Fatma AkgunAFS Executive Director

TurkeyZahid AkmanPresident, Radio and Television Supreme Council;General Director, RTUK Turkey

Mohammed Al AnsariOfce of Her Highness Sheikha Mozah BintNasser Al Missned, Media Ofcer Qatar

Hassan Al BalawiForum Palestinien Pour la Culture et laCimminucation France

H.R.H. Prince Turki Al FaisalFounder, King Faisal Foundation, Riyadh Saudi Arabia

Khalid Ghanim Al GhaithDirector of Economic Affairs, Ministry of ForeignAffairs United Arab Emirates

Yousuf Al HasanMinister PlenipotentiaryUnited Arab Emirates

Mohammed Al HussainiAmbassador of Saudi Arabia to TurkeySaudi Arabia

Khalid Khalifa Al MuallaAmbassador of United Arab Emirates to Turkey United Arab Emirates

Hassan Ibrahim Al MuhannadiDirector, Permanent Population Committee Qatar

Mina Al OraibiInternational Correspondent, Ash-Sharq Al-Awsat United Kingdom

Anas Al Shaikh AliAssociation of Muslim Social ScientistsUnited Kingdom

Abdulrazzak Al-AbdulghaniAmbassadorQatar

Ebrahim Yusuf AlabdullaMinistry of Foreign Affairs, Bahrain Ambassador Bahrain

Abiodun Adewale AlabiInternational Centre for Prociency, NigeriaChapter Nigeria

Yasser Al-AramiAl-Hadath NewspaperYemen

Khalid Bin Mohammad Al-Attiyah Minister for International Cooperation of Qatar Qatar

Adnan Al-BakhitHistorian, University of Jordan, Amman OIC

Issah AliYouth Solidarity Fund Winner, Coordinator,Federation of Youth Clubs Ghana

Ilham AliyevPresident, Republic of Azerbaijan, Baku

AzerbaijanKhalid A. Al-JufairiSchool of Foreign ServiceQatar

Sven AlkalajMinister of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia andHerzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina

Sevinc AlkanIslamic Conference Youth Forum for Dialogue andCooperation Turkey

Shaikh Khalid Bin AhmedAl-Khalifa Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom ofBahrain BahrainAysha AlkusayerAssistant Executive Manager, Strategic StudiesDept, Alwaleed bin Talal Foundation Saudi Arabia

Tami Allen-FrostITN (Independent Television News) Israel

Walid Al-MoualemMinister for Foreign Affairs of the Syrian ArabRepublic Syrian Arab Republic

Naif Al-MutawaCEO, Teshkeel Media Group; creator of THE 99superheroes

KuwaitKhairaldin Al-NsourYemen TimesYemen

Hisham Al-QadiMinistry of Foreign Affairs of Syrian Arab Republic Syrian Arab Republic

Mutlaq R. Al-QarawiAssistant Undersecretary for Technical Coordina- tion, Foreign Relations and Hajj, Ministry ofAwqaf and Islamic Affairs Kuwait

Seyh Habib M. Al-RiyamiSecretary General, Sultan Qaboos Centre forIslamic Culture, Diwan of Royal Court, The Palace,Muscat Oman

APPENDIX: LIST OF PARTICIPANTS



105

Abdullah M. AlsaidiAmbassador and Permanent Representative ofYemen to the United Nations Yemen

Abdulkareem Hamad A. Al-SayeghProfessor, Al Imam University, and Vice Presidentof Center for Islamic Contemporary Studies andDialogue of Civilizations Saudi Arabia

Sonja AlsfackAdviser, Federal Department of Foreign Affairs Switzerland

Karim Al-Shakar Ambassador at large, Ministry of Foreign AffairsBahrain

Jamal Al-TahatJournalistJordan

Abdulaziz Othman AltwaijriDirector GeneralISESCO

Mohammed Bin Nasser Al-Wohaibi Ambassador of Oman to TurkeyOman

Hasan AlziyaniState Minister, Special AdvisorBahrain

Luís Filipe Marques AmadoMinister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic ofPortugal Portugal

Omar AmanatCo-Founder, Groundswell Productions and BoardMember of the AoC Media Fund USA

Kusainov AmangeldiHistorian, Rector, Euroasian HumanitarianUniversity Kazakhstan

Shahed AmanullahAlt MuslimUSA

Pilar AmaretAmbassador, Permanent Representative, Missionof Chile to UNESCO Chile

Mordehai AmihaiConsular General of Israel to TurkeyIsrael

Abdelmadjid AmraniProfessor, Batna UniversityAlgeria

Hassina Hemamid AmraniProfessor, Batna UniversityAlgeria

Nikolas AnalytisMember of TITAN Group CSR Committee, Chair ofthe Hellenic Global Compact Secretariat and ofthe Hellenic CSR Network Board Greece

Martin La Cour Andersen

Senior AdvisorDenmark

Hamid Reza AnoushehCounsellorIran, Islamic Republic Of

Lot AouadAmbassador of the Kingdom of Morroco to Turkey Morocco

Ismail AramazDeputy Director General, International PoliticalOrganization, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Turkey

Cly Wallace AramianStrategic Communications and Public AffairsConsultant, Author of a Publication on DoingBusiness in a Multicultural World United Kingdom

Marisol Argueta de BarillasMinister of Foreign AffairsEl Salvador

Aljaz ArihHead of Ofce of the Minister of Foreign Affairs ofthe Republic of Slovenia Slovenia

Karen ArmstrongAuthor and Historian of ReligionUnited Kingdom

Jenna ArnoldFounder & President, Press Play Productions United Arab Emirates

Ann Rosemary ArnottBritish CouncilUnited Kingdom

Eekku AromaaAllianssi Finland

Famile Fatma ArslanIslam and CitizenshipNetherlands

Thomas AsherProgram Ofcer, Social ScienceResearch Council USA

Alimirzamin AskerovHead, Department of Human Rights, Democratiza- tion and Humanitarian Affairs, Ministry of ForeignAffairs Azerbaijan

Reza AslanAnalyst, CBS News; Fellow, University of South- ern California Center on Public Diplomacy USA

Gulay AslantepeDirector of the ILO Ofce in AnkaraUnited Nations

Christer AspAmbassador of Sweden to TurkeySweden

Jean AsselbornDeputy Prime Minister and Minister for ForeignAffairs and Immigration of LuxembourgLuxembourg

Gemma Aubarell

Programme Coordinator, ALFUnited Kingdom

Tricia AustinCourse Director, Central Saint Martins College ofArt and Design, University of the Arts United Kingdom

Jeffrey AvinaCitizenship Lead, Middle East and Africa,Microsoft USA

Mehmet AydınMinister of State of Turkey Turkey

Mohammed AyeshEducation for Employment FoundationUnited Arab Emirates

Mahmood Ali Ayub

UN Resident Coordinator, TurkeyUnited Nations

Vasif AyvazzadaHead Specialist, Ministry of Culture and Tourism Azerbaijan

Mariam AzeemYouth Center for Intercultural DialoguePakistan

Tariq AzizuddinAmbassador of Pakistan to TurkeyPakistan

Abdul Rahman AzzamOfce of Her Highness Sheikha Mozah BintNasser Al Missned Qatar

Ali BabacanMinister of Foreign Affairs of TurkeyTurkey

Pedro Carlos Da SilvaBacelar de Vasconcelos National Coordinator for the Alliance ofCivilizations Portugal

Julia BachaProducer and Media Director, Just Vision USA

Egemen Bağiș Minister of State of TurkeyTurkey

Nick BairdBritish Government, AmbassadorUnited Kingdom

David BakerVice President of Environmental and SocialResponsibility and Chief Sustainability Ofcer,Newmont USA

Govhar BakhshaliyevaDirector of the Institute of Oriental Studies Azerbaijan

Canon Trond BakkevigConvenor of Council of Religious Institutions ofthe Holy Land Norway

Gordan BakotaAmbassador of the Republic of Croatia to Turkey

CroatiaDora BakoyannisMinister for Foreign Affairs of GreeceGreece



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Tigran BalayanSpokesperson of the Minister of Foreign Affairsof Armenia Armenia

Kerim Balcı Columnist, Today’s ZamanTurkey

Ana Balletbo Spain

Ausrine BaltulionyteLithuanian Youth CouncilLithuania

Marcio BarbosaDeputy Director-General of UNESCO UNESCO

Peter Barker-HomekChief Executive Ofcer, TAQAUSA

Richard BarrettCoordinator, Al-Qaida and Taliban MonitoringTeam, United Nations USA

Gabriella Battaini-DragoniDG, Education, Culture, Heritage, Youth andSport, COE France

Mireia Belil Director General, Universal Forum of CulturesFoundation Spain

Otto Bell Ogilvy & MatherUnited Kingdom

Mehrez Ben RhoumaMinistry of Foreign Affairs of Tunisia, Ambassador

TunisiaMohammed BenabdeljalilAmbassador, IstanbulMorocco

Zineb BenbrahimEden Pour les Oeuvres Socio Culturelles Morocco

Georgette BennetPresident of the Board, Tanenbaum Center forInterreligious Understanding USA

Jim BerkCEO, Participant MediaUSA

Florent BernardProject Ofcer, Directorate General of Research,European Commission Belgium

Adalberta Mazzini BernardiniVice President and Co-Founder, InternationalFoundation for Interreligious and InterculturalDialogue Italy

Armando BernardiniPresident and Co-Founder, International Founda- tion for Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue;Former Vice President of Bristol Myers Squibbin Europe Italy

Genevieve BertiMonaco State Government, Ministry for Foreign

Affairs, Chief Secretary Monaco

Pierre BesnainouFSJUFrance

Rajika BhandariResearch and Evaluation Director, InternationalInstitute of Education India

Rajkumar BidlaCommonwealth Youth Programme Secretariat,London United Kingdom

Merete BildeSenior Policy Advisor, Council of the EuropeanUnion, Policy Unit General Secretariat of the Council of theEuropean Union

Carl BildtMinister for Foreign Affairs of Sweden Sweden

Sheikh Habib Bin Mohammed

Bin Al Sheikh Said Al Riami Secretary General of the Sultan Qaboos Center Oman

Prince Bandar bin Khalid al FaisalInvestment Enterprises Ltd.Saudi Arabia

Mohammed Bin Amer Bin SaidAl Shidhani Senior SpecialistOman

H.H. Sheikha MozahBint Nasser Al-Missned Chair, Qatar Foundation for Education, Science &Community Development, Doha Qatar

Peter BisanzDirector, Entropy FilmsUSA

Jean-Nicolas BitterCivilian Operations/Programme Ofcer, FederalDepartment of Foreign Affairs, Political Division IV Switzerland

Josef BoehleCoordinator, UNESCO Chair in Interfaith Studies,University of Birmingham United Kingdom

Irina BokovaPermanent Representative of Bulgaria toUNESCO Bulgaria

Magne Kjell Bondevik

Former Prime Minister of Norway and Directorof the Oslo Center for Peace and Human Rights -Ram Expert Norway

Ittiporn BoonpracongDeputy Director-General, Ministry of ForeignAffairs of Thailand Thailand

Robert BordbarVoice of AmericaUSA

Tonio BorgDeputy Prime Minister and Minister for ForeignAffairs of Malta Malta

João Paulo Borges CoelhoAssociate Professor, Department of History,Eduardo Mondlane University, Maputo Mozambique

Vasileios BornovasConsular General of Greece to Turkey, Istanbul Greece

Vito BorrelliErasmus Mundus Programme, EuropeanCommission European Commission

Dhouha BoukhrisDirector of External Relations at the DirectorGeneral’s Ofce ALECSO

Muhammed Ali BouleymenAdvisor, International Organization of theFrancophonie Tunisia

Robert BowlesITN (Independent Television News)United Kingdom

Ümit BoynerMember of Board of Directors of Boyner Holding

& TÜS_AD Vice President Turkey

Ahmet BozerPresident of our Eurasia + Africa Group, the CocaCola Company Turkey

Patrice Claude BrodeurAssociate Professor, Canada Research Chair,Universite de Montreal Canada

Shlomo BuchhutMayor of Ma’alot-Tarshiha, Israel, Chairman ofUnion of Local Authorities in Israel (ULAI) Israel

Bertrand BuchwalterFirst SecretaryFrance

Anchanin BuddhimongkolOfce of International Relations, Ministry ofCulture Thailand

Danny BuerkliBoard Member, Initiative for Intercultural Learning Switzerland

Abdullah Ali BujeeryPress AdvisorBahrain

Elisabeth Buk-BergeNorwegian Ministry of Education and Research/ Senior Advisor Norway

Kudret BulbulAssociate Professor, Kirikkale University Turkey

Richard W. BullietProfessor of History, Middle EastInstitute, Columbia University USA

Patrick ButlerVice President, International Center for Journalists USA

Prof. Tufan BuzpinarProfessor of History at Fatih UniversityTurkey

Iva CabralHistorian, Director of the Library at the National

Assembly of Cape Verde Cape Verde

Mustafa CagriciIstanbul City MuftiTurkey



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Ambassador Maximo CajalAdviser to the Prime Minister of Spain for theAlliance of Civilizations Spain

Micheline Calmy-ReyHead of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairsof Switzerland Switzerland

Juan Martin CamussoYouth Solidarity Fund Winner, Institutional Rela- tions Manager, Argentinian Youth Organization forthe United Nations (OAJNU) Argentina

Arantxa Canto GarciaFederación Española de Municipios y Provincias Spain

Ulla CarlssonNordic Information Center for CommunicationResearch Sweden

Sean Calhoun CarrollDirector of Programs, Club de MadridSpain

Mauricio Carvalho LyrioAdvisor for European AffairsBrazil

Pedro Castro VasquezMayor of Getafe, President of the Spanish Federa- tion of Municipalities and Provinces Spain

Philippe CaylaChairman of the Executive Board, Euronews France

Francisco “Tachi” CazalPresident and CEO, AFS Intercultural Programs Paraguay

Hüseyin ÇelikMinister of Education of TurkeyTurkey

Laura CerviUniversitat Autonoma de Barcelona Spain

Constantin ChalastanisAmbassadorGreece

Pedro O. ChanAmbassador of Philippines to Turkey Philippines

Robert ChaseFounding Director, IntersectionsUSA

Kamel ChirMinistry of Foreign Affairs of Algeria Algeria

Tae-Ick ChoDirector, Human Rights and Social Affairs Divi- sion, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and TradeKorea, Republic of

Muallem ChoudhuryExecutive Director, Finance & Planning, AdvancedChemical Industries Ltd Bangladesh

Tomas Anker ChristensenHead of Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Denmark

Ambassador Leonidas Chrysantopoulos Ambassador, Secretary-General, Organizationof the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC),Istanbul BSEC

Donna ChungIssue Analyst, UN Global CompactUnited Nations

Hakan CitikSpecialist, Tourism and Promotion, Istanbul 2010European Capital of Culture Turkey

Andreu ClaretExecutive Director, the Anna Lindh Euro-Medi- terranean Foundation for the Dialogue betweenCultures, Alexandria Egypt

Dell Clark Higgie Ambassador, Head of Delegation of New Zealandto the Second AoC Forum New Zealand

Joan ClosAmbassador of Spain to TurkeySpain

Simon Cohen

Global Tolerance, a Firm Helping the Ted Prize andthe Charter for Compassion Initiative With KarenArmstrong United Kingdom

Roger CohenSenior columnist, The New York Times USA

Adrian Contursi-ReynosoWorld Organization of the Scout Movement -Interamerican Region Argentina

Arlette ConzemiusAmbassador of Luxembourg to Turkey Luxembourg

Mariana CoolicanGraduate Student, Kobe University Japan

Hamish CooperAmbassador of New Zealand to Turkey New Zealand

Oliver CornockOxford Business GroupUnited Kingdom

Ebru CosManaging Director, Turkey Ofce, Manpower Turkey

Antonio CostaMayor of Lisbon, Lisbon, PortugalPortugal

Carlos Costa NevesHead of the Department of Political Organizations Portugal

Doru CosteaCounselor, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Romania Romania

Alkis CourcoulasAthens New AgencyTurkey

Stefania CraxiSecretary of State for Foreign Affairs of theRepublic of Italy Italy

Francisco CrespoInternational Union of Socialist YouthEcuador

Nimet ÇubukçuMinister of StateTurkey

Stephen CuttsCommonwealth Secretariat, Director, StrategicPlanning and Evaluation DivisionUnited Kingdom

Alberto D’AlessandroUNICRI Liaison Representative to the Council ofEurope UNICRI

Luca Dall’OglioPermanent Observer to the UN, InternationalOrganization for Migration IOM

Daniela DalmassoUniversity of Pavia and Centro di Ricercasull’Integrazione Europea (CRIE) , University ofSiena Italy

Michele DamoneIntern, Ofce of Executive Director, UnitedNations Ofce on Drugs and Crime Italy

Nurlan DanenovDeputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan Kazakhstan

Abdulvahap DarendeliRadio and Television Supreme Council Turkey

Srdjan DarmanovicUniversity Professor, Dean of the PoliticalScience Faculty, University of Montenegro Montenegro

Terry DavisSecretary General, Council of Europe, Strasbourg Council of Europe

John DavisonChargé D’affairesCanada

Ahmet DavutogluMinister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey, Ankara Turkey

Marc Perrin de BrichambautSecretary General of the OSCEOSCE

Herman de CrooMinister of State, Head of DelegationBelgium

Pieter de GooijerMinistry of Foreign Affairs, Political Director Netherlands

Gloria de PascualAdvisor, Cabinet of the President of the Government Spain

Jean-Michel DebratDeputy Chief Executive Ofcer, AFDFrance

Christopher DekkiGraduate Student, St. John’s University USA

Francois Del MarmolConsular General of BeligumBelgium

Bertrand DelanoeMayor of Paris; President of United Cities andLocal Governments UCLG

Nikki Al Ben DelnYouth Solidarity Fund Winner, Project Coordinator,Generation Peace Youth Network (GenPeace) Philippines



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Donatella Della RattaCreative CommonsItaly

Boudjemaa DelmiDirector General, International Political and Secu- rity Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Algeria Algeria

Felix DenegriFocal Point of the Government of Peru at theIstanbul Forum of the AoC Peru

Nell Derick DebevoiseDirector of International Relations, Tomorrow’sYouth Organization Palestinian Territory, Occupied

Jose Luis Diceneta BallesterSecretary GeneralLatin Union

Robert Chatterton DicksonDirector, Counter Terrorism Department, Foreign

and Commonwealth Ofce United Kingdom

Ann DismorrFormer Ambassador of Sweden to Turkey, SeniorAdvisor to the Turkey Initiative, Institute for Secu- rity and Development Policy, Stockholm Sweden

Abigail DisneyFounder & President, Daphne Foundation USA

Esra DoğramaciReporting and Research Associate, UNICEFTurkey

Peter Leo DoyleAmbassador to Turkey, Australian Department ofForeign Affairs and Trade Australia

Ambassador János Dr. PerényiNational Coordinator for Alliance of Civilizations,Department of Human Rights, Ministry of ForeignAffairs Hungary

Yonathan DruckmanMunicipal Alliance for Peace in the Middle East(MAP) Israel

Joyce DubenskyExecutive Vice President, Tanenbaum Center forInterreligious Understanding USA

Alain Dubuy

Deputy Consul GeneralFrance

Petru DumitriuDirector General for Global Affairs, GeneralDirectorate for the UN and Other SpecializedInstitutions, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Romania

Alois EckerDepartment for Didactics of History, Social Stud- ies and Civic Education, University of Vienna Austria

Symela EfthymiadouSpecial Advisor to the MinisterGreece

Victor John EkpeNational Orientation AgencyAfghanistan

Shereen El FekiProfessor of Journalism, American Universityin Cairo Egypt

Tahsine El KhayatGeoprojects / TV Sat & PublishingLebanon

Ahmed El TayebPresident of Al Azhar UniversityEgypt

Leena El-AliDirector, Partners in Humanity Program, Searchfor Common Ground USA

Alaa El-HadidyAmbassador of Egypt to TurkeyEgypt

Nada ElhusseinySilatechQatar

Bernard EmieAmbassador of France to TurkeyFrance

Rejane EreauYouth Solidarity Fund Winner, Editor, No Ghetto France

Halit ErenDirector General, IRCICATurkey

Hamit ErsoyHead of International Relations Department,Radio and Television Supreme Council Turkey

Courtney P. ErwinChief of Staff, Cordoba InitiativeUSA

Kirsti EskelinenAmbassador of Finland to TurkeyFinland

Ignacio EspinosaProgram Ofcer, the Shared Societies Project,Club de Madrid Spain

John EspositoFounder & Director, Alwaleed Center for Muslim- Christian Understanding, Georgetown University,Washington USA

Said EssoulamiCIF MeanMorocco

Menno EttemaInternational Coordinator, United Network ofYoung Peacebuilders Netherlands

HRH Prince Bandar bin Khalid Al FaisalPhilanthropistSaudi Arabia

Ghida FakhrySenior Presenter, Al Jazeera International, Wash- ington, D.C. Lebanon

Anas Al FalahAsia Muslim Committee, Youth Section Kuwait

Jean-Louis FalconiMinistry of Foreign Affairs of France, Counsellorof the Minister France

Paul FallonNational Youth Council of IrelandIreland

Mahnaz Anwar FancyDirector of Development, AoC Media Fund USA

Ambassador Alexandre FaselHead of Political Division III (UN and OtherInternational Organizations)Switzerland

Taib Fassi FihriMinister for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation ofthe Kingdom of Morocco Morocco

Abebaw FellekeActing Director, United Nations Main Organs,Funds and Programmes Affairs, DirectorateGeneral of International Organizations, Ministryof Foreign Affairs Ethiopia

Pasquala FerraraHead of the Analysis and Programming Unit of theMinistry for Foreign Affairs Italy

Jan FigelMember of the European Commission responsible for Education, Training, Culture and Youth,Brussels European Commission

José María Figueres Olsen Former President of Costa Rica; CEO ofConcordia21 Costa Rica

Eva FilipiAmbassador of the Czech Republic in Turkey Czech Republic

Veysel FilizVice-Chair, COJEPFrance

Janine FinckMinistry of Foreign Affairs, Deputy Director Luxembourg

Bernadette FischlerWorld Association of Girls Guides and Girl Scouts(WAGGGS) United Kingdom

Tom FlemingTom Fleming Creative ConsultancyUnited Kingdom

Karen FoggHead of Unit, United Nations and Treaties Ofce,External Relations Directorate General, EuropeanCommission European Commission

Benedicto FonsecaAdvisor for European AffairsBrazil

Divina Frau MeigsProfessor, Sorbonne UniversityFrance

Ilmas FutehallyVice President of Strategic Foresight Group India

Cristina GabarroUniversal Forum of Cultures Foundation Spain

Cheikh Tidiane GadioState Minister for Foreign Affairs and SenegaleseAbroad of the Republic of Senegal Senegal

Vladimir GaiChief Section, Communication DevelopmentDivision UNESCO

Alina GalyautdinovaNational Youth Council of RussiaRussian Federation



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Fernando Garcia CasasDirector de Cabinete, Secretaria GeneralIberoamericana SEGIB

Mohammed Anwar GargashMinister of State for Foreign Affairs of the UnitedArab Emirates United Arab Emirates

Elmar GasimovDeputy Minister of EducationAzerbaijan

Enrique Gaspar RodriguezPresident, Nexos AlianzaSpain

Elisabeth GateauSecretary General, United Cities and LocalGovernments UCLG

Ali GedikogluVice President of Come InternationalFranceSafwan GhanemIstanbul Consulate General of Syrian ArabRepublic Syrian Arab Republic

Marc GiacominiDeputy Director at the Direction for the UnitedNations and International Organizations in theMinistry of Foreign and European Affairs France

Jesus Gil FuensantaProfessor of ArchaeologySpain

Paul GillespieEuro-Mediterranean Journalist Task Force/ theIrish Times Ireland

Greg GiokasDirector, Muslim Communities Working Group Canada

Armand GiramahoroAmahoro Youth ClubBurundi

Dominique GirardExecutive Director, Asia-Europe Foundation Singapore

Mohamed GoharCEO, Video CairosatEgypt

Rui GomesHead of Education and Training Unit, Directorateof Youth and Sports Council of Europe

Kinga GonczMinister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic ofHungary Hungary

Maria Victoria Gonzales RomanMinistry of Foreign Affairs of Spain, Focal Point forthe Alliance of Civilizations Spain

Cristina Gonzalez AlvarezAyuntamiento de GetafeSpain

Gerhard GotzFederal Ministry for European

and International Affairs Austria

Andreas GrafInitiative for Intercultural LearningSwitzerland

Stephen GreenHead of European Research, British Council United Kingdom

Araya Violeta Griso ThomasFons Català de Cooperació Al Desenvolupament Afghanistan

Rafael M. GrossiMinister, Director General for Political Coordina- tion, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, InternationalTrade and Worship Argentina

Pan GuangDirector and Professor, Shanghai Academy ofSocial Sciences China

David Guedes FerreiraPortuguese National Youth CouncilPortugal

Simon-Xavier Guerrand-HermèsChairman, Guerrand-Hermes Foundation for

Peace United Kingdom

Consuelo S. GuerreroPresident of the National Council ofCulture and Arts Mexico

Rene GuittonWriter and PublisherFrance

Halil Ibrahim GulRadio and Television Supreme CouncilTurkey

Ertu_Rul Günay Minister of Culture and TourismTurkey

Dr. Heidemaria GürerAmbassador of Austria to TurkeyAustria

Emilia Gutuleac100 FrontieresMoldova

Bertel Geismar HaarderMinister of Education of Denmark and Minister ofNordic Cooperation Denmark

Sari HaavistoMinistry of the Interior of Finland,Senior Advisor, Migration Department Finland

Randa HabibAgence France-PresseJordan

Yael HabifBahcesehir University Civilization Studies Center Turkey

Umar HadiDirector of Public Diplomacy, Department ofForeign Affairs Indonesia

Asanidze HagarNational Council of Youth Organizations Georgia

Rav Isak HalevaChief Rabbi of Jewish Community in Turkey Turkey

Stephen HallamEncompass TrustUnited Kingdom

Mahomad HallarIslamic Organization for the Latina American andthe Caribbean Argentina

Tarja HalonenPresident of FinlandFinland

Jens HanefeldState Secretary, AdvisorGermany

Sarmad HarakeAdvisor to the President, Union of the Comoros Comoros

Mike HardyDirector, British CouncilUnited Kingdom

Aleksi HarkonenPolicy Advisor, Ofce of the President of theRepublic of Finland Finland

Bambang HarymurtiPresident Director, Tempo MediaIndonesia

Zulkii HashimAssistant SecretaryMalaysia

Puteri Wardatul Hayat SabranAsian Youth CouncilMalaysia

Anush HayrapetyanEurasia Partnership FoundationArmenia

Corinne Henchoz PignaniProgram Ofcer, Federal Department of ForeignAffairs

SwitzerlandEffenus HendersonChief Diversity Ofcer, Weyerhaeuser USA

Bertus HendriksRadio Netherlands WorldwideNetherlands

Jan HenningssonSenior Advisor, Ministry of Foreign Affairs ofSweden, Middle East and North Africa Depart- ment Sweden

Jordi HereuMayor of Barcelona, SpainSpain

Tim HitchensDirector European Political AffairsUnited Kingdom

Renee HobbsProfessor, Founder of MediaEducation Lab, Temple University USA

Kasper Hoeng-JensenHead of the Prime Minister’s Private Ofce Denmark

Magdalena HogbergProject Developer, Hälsinglands Museum Sweden

Dries HolvoetEuropean Liberal YouthBelgium

Bernhard HolznerFederal Ministry for European and InternationalAffairs Austria



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Gary HorsleyEuromed Media NetworkUnited Kingdom

Bahman HosseinpourAmbassador to TurkeyIran, Islamic Republic Of

Ferit HoxhaSecretary-General of the Ministry of ForeignAffairs of Albania Albania

Peter HubaRSM Slovak Republic

Denis HuberExecutive Director, “North-South” Centre forGlobal Interdependence and Solidarity Council of Europe

Qiao HuijunVice Director, Department of InternationalOrganizations and Conferences of Ministry of

Foreign Affairs China

Jacques HuntzingerGeneral Secretary, Mission Union pour laMediterranee France

José Antonio Iborra LemaireProject Manager, Upper Fort Saint Elmo, FSTCProject Ltd. Spain

Hagar IbrahimArab Youth NetworkEgypt

Mostafa Hassani IdrissiProfesseur de L’Enseignement Supérieur À laFaculté des Sciences de L’Education - UniversitéMohammed V - Souissi – Rabat Morocco

M’Hamed IfriquineAmbassador, AnkaraMorocco

Enrique IglesiasSecretary General, Secretaría GeneralIberoamericana SEGIB

Ekmeleddin ÏhsanoğluSecretary General, Organization of IslamicConference OIC

Halil InalcikProfessor Emeritus, Bilkent University

TurkeyYasemin ÏnceoğluProfessor of Communication, GalatasarayUniversity Turkey

Major General Mohammed Ishtiaq Ambassador of Bangladesh to Turkey Bangladesh

Elshad IskandarovSecretary General, Islamic Conference YouthForum for Dialogue and Cooperation OIC

Sevinj IskandarovaIntegration of Azerbaijan Youth to Europe Azerbaijan

Nazrul IslamForeign Ministry of BangladeshBangladesh

Shada IslamSenior Program Executive, European PolicyCenter European Union

Ognyan IvanovConsular General of the Republic of Bulgaria inIstanbul Bulgaria

Vladimir IvanovskiyMinistry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Russian Federation

Dr. Robert JacksonDirector, Warwick Religions and EducationResearch Unit, Institute of Education, Universityof Warwick United Kingdom

Elmar JakobsCounsellor, Federal Foreign OfceGermany

Ariel Jose James

Coordinator Migration and Co-Development,Institute of Studies on Migrations, Etnicidadand Social Development (IMEDES) , UniversidadAutónoma de Madrid. Spain

Guido JansenHead, Open Europe Program, British Council(Germany Ofce) Germany

Marcelo JardimAmbassador of Brazil to TurkeyBrazil

Raminder S. JassalAmbassador of India to TurkeyIndia

Mansour JavidanDean of Research and Garvin DistinguishedProfessor, Thunderbird School of Global Manage- ment Iran, Islamic Republic of

Surapong JayanamaSpecial Envoy of the Minister for Foreign Affairsof the Kingdom of Thailand Thailand

Titz Jean-PierreCouncil of Europe, Head of DivisionCouncil of Europe

Tomas JensenMicrosoft Turkey

Vuk Jeremic

Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic ofSerbia Serbia

Sun JingweiTsinghua UniversityChina

Mai JogimaCounsellor to the MinisterEstonia

Andrew JohnsonConnecting CulturesUK

Jens JokischFederal Foreign Ofce, Deputy Headof Cabinet Germany

Ghazi JomaaAmbassador of the Republic of Tunisia to Turkey Tunisia

Alethea JosephsonMicrosoft/ AIESECTurkey

Zoran Jovič ić President, World Diaspora Organization Australia

Juliana Jovič ić Director-General, World Diaspora Organization Serbia

Nasser JudehMinister of Foreign AffairsJordan

Sinko JuditMember of the Hungary Delegation to the AoCForum Hungary

Tijani KabiruNational Youth Council of NigeriaNigeria

Kari KahiluotoAmbassador for Human Rights and Democracy,Political Department, Ministry for Foreign Affairsof Finland Finland

Ibrahim KalinFounding Director of the SETA Foundation forPolitical, Economic and Social Research; Assis- tant Professor at the Prince Alwaleed Center forChristian-Muslim Understanding at GeorgetownUniversity’s Edmund A. Walsh School of ForeignService.Turkey

Judyta KalotaICRS, Yogyakarta UniversityPoland

Baher Kamal YoussefInter Press Service-Imps News AgencyEgypt

Vania KanevaSchool of Oriental and African Studies, London Bulgaria

Nebat KarakhanovaIslamic Conference Youth Forum for Dialogue andCooperation Turkey

Azza KaramCultural Adviser, United Nations PopulationsFund (UNFPA) United Nations

Paivi Kari-ZeinHaaga-Helia University of Applied Science

FinlandBekir Karliga Advisor to the Prime Minister, President of theCivilization Studies Center, Bahcesehir University Turkey

Irina KasimovaConsular General of the Russian Federation inIstanbul Russian Federation

Elizabeth KatzExecutive Director, Project InterfaithUSA

Gülçin KayaUNO-Int. Social ConsultantTurkey

Nedim KayaEurasian International Development Association Turkey



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Recep KaymakcanProfessor, Sakarya UniversityTurkey

Mary KayodeGirls Guide of NigeriaNigeria

Zehra Ece KayrakLecturer, Department of Foreign Languages,Istanbul University Turkey

Shadia KenawyAmbassador Permanent Delegate of Egypt toUNESCO France

Craig KennedyPresident, German Marshall Fund of the UnitedStates USA

Erik KersevanAdviser to the President of the Republic of

Slovenia on Legal Affairs Slovenia

Rustem KhairovExecutive Director, Foundation for the Survivaland Development of Humanity Russian Federation

Masood KhaliliAmbassador, AnkaraAfghanistan

Rana Bilal Ahmad KhanPakistan National Youth CouncilPakistan

Riz KhanNews Anchor, Al-Jazeera International, New York USA

Seyyed Mohammad Khatami Former President of the Islamic Republic of Iran,Tehran Iran, Islamic Republic of

Ho Khek HuaDeputy Director General Planning Department ofNational Unity and Integration Malaysia

Dimitri KhodrAl Jadeed TVLebanon

Ramzi KhouryCommunications Consultant, Journalist andColumnist Israel

Jan KickertFederal Ministry for European and InternationalAffairs Austria

James KidnerDirector, the Coexist FoundationUnited Kingdom

Merve KilincParticipantTurkey

Benjamin KimSenior Director, Creative Initiatives, Thirteen/ WNET New York USA

Ban Ki-moonUnited Nations Secretary-GeneralUnited NationsArno KirchhofAnkara Embassy, CounselorGermany

Laetitia KirianoffDiplomatic Adviser, Federal Department ofForeign Affairs Switzerland

Samuel KleinThe Coexistence TrustUnited Kingdom

Kjersti Toverud KletteThe European Wergeland CentreNorway

Ondrej KlipaDirector of the Secretariat of the Council forNational Minorities Czech Republic

Klauss KlippSecretary General, Assembly of EuropeanRegions (Are) Germany

Micheal KocabMinister of the Government of the Czech Republic

for Human Rights Czech Republic

Valery KolesnikAmbassador to TurkeyBelarus

Nikola KolevChief of the Cabinet of the President Bulgaria

Kornelios KorneliouDirector, AmbassadorCyprus

Melpomeni KornetiAmbassador of the Former Yugoslav Republic ofMacedonia to Turkey Macedonia, The Former Yugoslav Republic of

Katrine KorsgaardEuropean Education Exchange - Youth for Under- standing Belgium

Dmitri KosyrevRussian Information Agency Novosti Russian Federation

Sirkku KotilainenProfessor, University of JyvaskylaFinland

Ambassador Matjaž Kovač ič Head of the Division for International Organiza- tions and Human Security in the Ministry ofForeign Affairs of Slovenia Slovenia

Bora KozbekciAIESECTurkey

Ravi KrishnamurthyLibforall FoundationUSA

Jolanda KriskoviecieneMinister Counsellor, Embassy of Lithuania toTurkey Lithuania

Alexander KrivenkoConsul General of the Russian Federation inIstanbul Russian Federation

Damjan Krnjevic MiskovicMinistry of Foreign Affairs, Counselor

Serbia

Sabine KroissenbrunnerHead of Unit V.3a, Inter-Cultural and Inter- Religious Dialogue, Head of Task Force Dialogueof Cultures/Dialogue with the Muslim World andIslam in Europe, Federal Ministry for European and

International Affairs Austria

Raimund KunzAmbassador of Switzerland to Turkey Switzerland

Marcel KurpershoekMinistry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador of theKingdom of the Netherlands in Ankara Netherlands

Katja KustecEMUNI FoundationSlovenia

Markos KyprianouMinister for Foreign Affairs of CyprusCyprus

Lyubomir KyuchukovDeputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of theRepublic of Bulgaria Bulgaria

William Lacy SwingDirector GeneralIOM

Firoz LadakExecutive Director, the Edmond & Benjamin deRothschild Foundations France

Abduljalil LahmanateSheikha Mozah Her Highness Ofce, Consultant Qatar

José Manuel de Carvalho LameirasAmbassador of Portugal to TurkeyPortugal

Linn LandmarkACTIVENorway

Rita LaranjinhaAdviser to the Minister of State and for ForeignAffairs Portugal

Ahmed LarouzFounder of the Ramadan Festival, Bridgizz Netherlands

Larbi LatrochÏstanbul Consul GeneralAlgeria

Isaura Leal FernandezGeneral Director, FEMPSpain

Jean-Michel LeclercqHonorary President, Association of ComparativeFrancophonie Education France

Bernardino LeonSecretary General, Ofce of the Prime Ministerof Spain Spain

Ambassador Jose Augusto Lindgren Alves National Coordinator for the Alliance ofCivilizations, Ministry of Foreign AffairsBrazil

Soumaya Lkoundi

Student, Hague UniversityNetherlands

Christopher LlewellynFacilitator, Gemin-i.orgUnited Kingdom



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Juana Lopez PagánDirector, International Affairs, FEMPSpain

Flavio LottiItalian Coordination of Local Authorities forPeace and Human Rights Italy

Helder LucasPolitical Advisor, Comunidade dos Países deLingua Portuguesa CPLP

Julian R. Lugo MendezVice-President, FLAGFLAJ

Eva LukoseviciuteCouncil of Lithuanian Youth Organizations Lithuania

Andile LungisaANC Youth LeagueSouth Africa

Ramez MaaloufLebanese American UniversityLebanon

Alistair Macdonald-Radcliff United Kingdom

John MacNuttGemin-iUnited Kingdom

Claudia MaffettoneResponsible for International Relations andVice-chair of the Movimento Studentesco PerL’Organizzazione Internazionale Italy

Baglan MailybayevVice-Minister of Culture and Information of the

Republic of Kazakhstan Kazakhstan

Christopher Derige MalanoYouth Solidarity Fund Winner, Project Coordina- tor, International Movement of Catholic Students,Pax RomanaFrance

Sevda MammadaliyevaDeputy Minister of Culture and TourismAzerbaijan

Abdula Mana MutualoStaff Member, Islamophobia Observatory,General Secretariat, Organization of the IslamicConference OIC

Gunnar MandtThe European Wergeland CentreNorway

Ali Al MannaiChief of Cabinet , United Arab EmiratesUnited Arab Emirates

Anthony MannixAmbassador of Ireland to TurkeyIreland

Rita MarascalchiExternal Cooperation OfcerOSCE

Ina MarciulionyteAmbassador, Permanent Delegate to UNESCO Lithuania

Nikel MarcusBaKaFORUMItaly/Germany

Robert MarkaryanAmbassador at large, Ministry of Foreign AffairsRussian Federation

Gema Martín MuñozDirector General, Casa Árabe and its Internation- al Institute of Arab and Muslim World Studies Spain

Ambassador George MassaadPresident, El Mundo DiplomaticoSpain

Essa Abdulla MassoudConsular General of United Arab Emirates toTurkey United Arab Emirates

Abdurrahman Mas’UdRepresentative of the Department of ReligiousAffairs Indonesia

Gabriele MazzaDirector of Education and

Languages, COE Council of Europe

Babacar Carlos MbayeAmbassador, Permanent Representative ofSenegal to UNOG/Geneva Senegal

Thomas Francis McGrathAdministrator Euro Med Division, Dg Relex(External Relations) European Commission

Oliver McTernanFounder & President, Forward Thinking United Kingdom

Plashka Abdeha Meade WebsterForo Latinoamericano de Juventud Panama

Elmaddin MehdiyevInternational Association of Political ScienceStudents Azerbaijan

Candido Mendes de Almeida Secretary General, Academy of Latinity, Rio deJaneiro Brazil

Marcia Rebeca Mendieta Mendieta Paraguay Youth CouncilParaguay

Emina MerdanChief of Cabinet of the President of the Republic ofBosnia-Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina

Ritva-Sini MerilampiCounsellor of Education, Ministry of Education,Helsinki Finland

Gawthorne MichaelResearch, Media Tenor International Switzerland

Jan MichalMinistry of Foreign Affairs, Head of UNDepartment Czech Republic

Patrick MifsudHead of the North Africa and Middle East Unit,External and Mediterranean Affairs Directorate,Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Malta Malta

Joseph MifsudPresident, EMUNI, SloveniaSlovenia

Hartley MillarManagement PartnersUnited Kingdom

Thomas MillerVice President, Business for Diplomatic Action USA

Antonio MilososkiMinister for Foreign Affairs of The Former Yugo- slav Republic of Macedonia Macedonia, The Former Yugoslav Republic of

Kaori MinamiPolitical Affairs Ofcer, Executive Ofce of theSecretary-General United Nations

Riyaad MintyAl Jazeera New Media TeamQatar

Karen MirzoyanPermanent Representative of Armenia to BSEC Armenia

Omary Mjenga RajabuSecond Secretary, Permanent Mission of theUnited Republic of Tanzania to the United Nations Tanzania

Branimir MladenovAmbassador of Bulgaria to TurkeyBulgaria

Susan Dorothy MoellerDirector, International Center for Media & thePublic Agenda, University of Maryland USA

Dalia MogahedSenior Analyst and Executive Director, Gallup USA

Laszlo Molnar

Cisco SystemsHungary

Oliver Money-KyrleInternational Federation of Journalists Belgium

Dipu MoniMinister of Foreign Affairs of Bangladesh Bangladesh

Christan MoranFilmmakerUSA

Miguel Ángel Moratinos CuyaubéMinister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation Spain

Roxana MorduchowiczDirector, School and Media Project, Ministry ofEducation Argentina

Christine MoroConsular General of France to Turkey France

Iman MostofaConsular General of Egypt in IstanbulEgypt

Kgalema Petrus MotlantheMinister of State, Advisor, South Africa South Africa

Amre MoussaSecretary GeneralLeague of Arab States

Anas Muhammed Moussa SarmanJordan Youth ExchangeJordan



113

Michael MousseauAssociate Professor, Koc UniversityUnited States

Loay MudhoonFederal Foreign Ofce, AdvisorGermany

Fuad MuradovNayoraAzerbaijan

Pelin MusabayIslamic Conference Youth Forum for Dialogue andCooperation Turkey

M. Vimalan MuthupandianPrincipal Assistant Secretary (International),Policy and Strategic Planning Division, Ministry ofYouth and Sports Malaysia

Fasil NahumSpecial Advisor to the Prime Minister of Ethiopia

EthiopiaEdward NalbandianMinister of Foreign Affairs of ArmeniaArmenia

Candido Zaqueu NambureteHead of the Department for International Coop- eration, Division for Planning and Cooperation,Ministry of Education and Culture Mozambique

Jose NandhikkaraDirector, Centre for the Study of World Religions,Dharmaram College India

Azim Naser-ZiaAmbassador, IstanbulAfghanistan

Samir NassarSilatechYemen

Maher NasserUN Vienna Ofce Media DirectorAustria

Juan María Naveja de AndaDirector General, Public Education Secretariat Mexico

Marcin NawrotDirector, Department of the UN System andGlobal Issues at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Poland

Moustapha NiasseFormer Prime Minister of SenegalSenegal

Salvatore NigroCEO, Europe EFESpain

Dr. Anastasia NikolopoulouDean, School of Humanities, University of Cyprus Cyprus

Amy NovogratzTED USA

Lucy NusseibehDirector, Institute of Modern Media, Al-QudsUniversity, Ramallah Palestinian Territory, Occupied

Deepak ObhraiParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of ForeignAffairs, Head of Delegation Canada

Joon OhDeputy Minister for Multilateral and Global Affairs Korea, Republic Of

Adeola OjeniyiRegional Programme Coordinator, West AfricaYouth Network Nigeria

Daisuke OkadaJapanese Embassy in Turkey, Second Secretary Japan

Aivo OravAmbassador of Estonia to TurkeyEstonia

Erol Nezih OrhonSchool of Communication Sciences, AnadoluUniversity Turkey

Ambassador Ömür OrhunPersonal Representative of the OSCE Chairman- in-Ofce on Combating Intolerance and Discrimi-

nation against Muslims OSCE

Emriye Bağdagül OrmancıFirst Secretary, Permanent Mission of Turkey tothe United Nations Turkey

Jacqueline O’RourkeSheikha Mozah, Her Highness Ofce, Consultant Qatar

Hidayat OrujovHead of State CommitteeAzerbaijan

Jacqueline Osei-OwusuWest African Network of Young Women Leaders Ghana

Driss OuaouichaPresident, Al Akhawayn UniversityMorocco

Ahmed Saïd Ould BahHead of the Cabinet of the Director General ISESCO

Fusun OzatavDirector of Online Education Programs andProfessor, Business Administration, Istanbul BilgiUniversity, Istanbul Turkey

Azmi OzcanHistorian, Rector, Bilecik University, Turkey Turkey

Tunca ÖzçuhadarBranch Manager, Directorate General of Protocol,Ministry of Foreign Affairs Turkey

Ibrahim OzdemirMinistry of National Education, Director-General Turkey

Osman OztoprakTurkish Cultural Center New YorkUSA

Anil OztunaliBilkent UniversityTurkey

Abdullah OzturkRadio and Television CouncilTurkey

Nurullah OzturkRadio and Television Supreme Council Turkey

Urmas PaetMinister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic ofEstonia Estonia

Yahya PallaviciniVice President, Comunita Relgiosa Islamica;Chairman, ISESCO Council for Education andCulture in the West; Imam, Al Wahid Mosque inMilan - Ram Gaff Expert Italy

Umit PamirFormer Permanent Representative to NATO andto UN Turkey

Elsa PapadimitriouVice President of the Executive Commission ofIPO; Vice President of the Greek Parliament Greece

Renata PapschAnna Lindh Euro-Mediterranean Foundation Egypt

Sang Won ParkSeoul YMCA University Club / National Committeefor Youth Organizations in Korea Korea, Republic Of

Georgi ParvanovPresident, Republic of Bulgaria, Soa Bulgaria

Basak PasaliOxford Business GroupTurkey

Ion PascuAmbassador of Romania to TurkeyRomania

Agata PateckaAssociation des Etats Generaux des Etudiants del’Europe Poland

Ricken PatelFounder and President, Avaaz.orgUSA

Derya PehlivanMinistry of Foreign Affairs of TurkeyTurkey

Serafettin PektasIntercultural Dialogue PlatformBelgium

María Luisa Pellon de FloresChef de Cabinet du Secrétarire Général, Secré- tariat Général, Union Latine Latin Union

Muriel PeneveyreAdvisor, Swiss Federal Department of ForeignAffairs Switzerland

Awangku Kamal Ghada Pengiran Haji Suhaimi Brunei Youth CouncilBrunei Darussalam

Luce PépinExpert on European Cooperation; Former Director,Eurydice Network European Unit Belgium

Robert PérezSenior Vice President, Fenton Communications USA

Jose Manuel Perez Tornero

Professor, Autonoma University Barcelona Spain

Damir PerincicConsular General of Croatia to Turkey Croatia



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Ana Perona-FjeldstadExecutive Director, The European WergelandCentre Norway

Milica PesicExecutive Director, Media Diversity Institute United Kingdom

Aziza Peter ObiomaHigh World International Organization Nigeria

Elida PetoshatiDirector for Turkey, Italy and Greece, Ministry ofForeign Affairs of Albania Albania

Dimitrina PetrovaExecutive Director, Equal Rights Trust United Kingdom

Ambassador Alexander PhilonHead of the Academic Center for Analysis andPlanning, Ministry of Foreign Affairs

GreeceMarc PieriniHead of the Delegation of the EuropeanCommission to Turkey European Commission

Touko PiiparinenCentre of Excellence in Global GovernanceResearch Finland

Cristina Pineda PoloConsultant/Project Coordinator, Religion andDemocracy, Network of European Foundations France

Diogo PintoSecretary General, European Youth Forum Europe

Ivan PiperkovHead of the Department for Political Affairs,Directorate for UN and Global Affairs, Ministry ofForeign Affairs Bulgaria

Em PivovarRector, Russian State University for the Humanities Russian Federation

Genc PolloDeputy Prime Minister of AlbaniaAlbania

Giuseppe PorcaroUnited Nations & Global Youth Issues Coordinator,European Youth Forum Belgium

Reka PostaFilmmaker, Global ProgressUSA

Melissa PowellHead, Strategy and Partnerships, UN GlobalCompact Ofce United Nations

Ann-Belinda PreisSenior Programme Specialist, Strategic PlanningDivision, UNESCO UNESCO

Milos PricaAmbassador at Large, Ministry of Foreign AffairsBosnia and Herzegovina

Karin Proidl

Federal Ministry for European and InternationalAffairs Austria

Jan PronkFormer UN Envoy and former member of the Gov- ernment of Netherlands, Professor Theory andPractice of International Development, Instituteof Social Studies, the Hague

NetherlandsSimon PullicinoConsul General IstanbulMalta

Volodymyr PuzyrkoConsular General, Embassy of Ukraine to TurkeyUkraine

Khurram QadirDirector, National Institute of Historical &Cultural Research, Centre of Excellence, Quaid-IAzam UniversityPakistan

Hui Jun QiaoFocal PointChina

Bassam RaadBaalbeck Municipality, MayorLebanon

Bharathi RadhakrishnanGraduate Student, New York UniversityUSA

Aleksandra RadosavljevicMinistry of Foreign Affairs, CounselorSerbia

Mustaghroh RahayuResearch Coordinator, CRCS-Gadjah MadaUniversity Indonesia

Viola RahebConsultant, Ministry for European and Interna- tional Affairs of Austria, Vienna Austria

Gul Rukh RahmanChildren of AbrahamUSA

Zeenat RahmanSenior Coordinator, Public Affairs, InterfaithYouth Core USA

Mageed Abou RamadanMayor of Gaza, Palestine, President of the Asso- ciation of Palestinian Local Authorities (APLA) Palestinian Territory, Occupied

Laurel RappInternational Education Program Director,OneVoice Movement

USAKhan RasheedDaily Mashriq Peshawar Pakistan / VicePresident, Peshawar Press Club Pakistan

Anders Fogh RasmussenPrime Minister, Denmark, CopenhagenDenmark

Ebrahim RasoolSpecial Advisor to Kgalema Motlanthe, Ministerin the Presidency of South Africa South Africa

Heidi RautionmaaReligions for Peace European Women of FaithNetwork/ the Forum of Religions Is Helsinki Finland

Sara ReefProject Manager, IntersectionsUSA

Cecile RegnerRichard J. Daley CollegeUSA

Carole ReichCampaign Coordinator, Speak Out AgainstDiscrimination, Directorate General IV, Councilof Europe Council of Europe

Magali RheaultMuslim West Facts Project, GallupUSA

Mohamed RifISESCOISESCO

Iqbal RizaSpecial Advisor to the UN Secretary-GeneralUSA

Bob RobertsPastor, Northwood ChurchUSA

Gregory RobertsPresident/CEO, Muhammad Ali CenterUSA

Milan RocenMinister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic ofMontenegro Montenegro

Maria Laura RochaHead of Ministers CabinetBrazil

Max RodenbeckThe EconomistEgypt

Sarah RosengaertnerUNITAR

UNITARCaroline Rozieres ContencinAgence Francaise de DevelopmentFrance

Sabri RubaihatMinister of Culture of JordanJordan

Jean-Daniel RuchSpecial Envoy for the Middle East, Ministry ofForeign Affairs, Switzerland Switzerland

Lisbeth RugtvedtState Secretary for Minister of Education ofNorway Norway

Robert RuoffDirector, Basel Karlsruhe (BaKa) ForumSwitzerland

Marja RuotanenDirector, Private Ofce of the Secretary Generaland the Deputy Secretary General Council of Europe

Khairun RustemExecutive Director, Foundation for theDevelopment and Survival of Humanity Turkey

Massimo RusticoConsular General of Italy to TurkeyItaly

Sergey RyabokonFirst Secretary, Ministry of Foreign AffairsRussian Federation

Faris S.MuftiAmbassador of Jordan to TurkeyJordan



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Mehmet Bora SönmezExpert, Radio and Television Supreme CouncilTurkey

Wafaa SouleimanMinistry of Foreign Affairs of Syrian Arab Republic Syrian Arab Republic

Juliao Soares SousaChercheur, Centre D’Études Interdisciplinaires duXX Siècle, Université de CoimbraPortugal

Maria Dolores Souza MeyerholzConsejo Nacional de TelevisionChile

Taskin Tankut SoykanAdviser on Combating Intolerance and Discrimi- nation Against Muslims OSCE/ODIHR Turkey

Metod SpacekMinistry of Foreign Affairs, Director of theCabinet of the State Secretary

Slovak RepublicMichael SpindeleggerMinister of Foreign Affairs of AustriaAustria

Feodor StarcevicAssistant Minister of Foreign Affairs, GeneralDirectorate for Multilateral Affairs Serbia

Miroslaw StawskiConsular General of Poland, IstanbulPoland

Katerina StenouDirector of Division of Cultural Policies andIntercultural Dialogue UNESCO

Frantisek StepanekConsular General of the Czech Republic inIstanbul Czech Republic

Michael StopfordDeputy Assistant Secretary General, StrategicCommunications Services, NATO Public Diplo- macy Division NATO

Diana StrofovaState Secretary of the Ministry for Foreign Affairsof Slovak Republic Slovak Republic

Mitja StrukeljAmbassador of Slovenia to TurkeySlovenia

Marcelo M. Suárez-Orozco Professor of Globalization and Education, NewYork University, New York USA

Federico SuberviProfessor and Director, Center for the Study ofLatino Media and Markets, School of Journalismand Mass Communication, Texas State Universityat San Marcos USA

Zeeshan SuhailFuture Leaders of PakistanPakistan

Fatema Zahir SumarProfessional Staff Member in U.S. SenateCommitteeUSA

Neil SumilasGerman Marshall Fund of the United StatesUSA

Rita SüssmuthPresident, German Association for East EuropeanStudies Germany

Elena SutorminaFirst Vice-President of Board, Russian PeaceFoundation Russian Federation

István SzabóAmbassador, Embassy of the Republic of Hungary Hungary

Maria SzekelyConsul GeneralHungary

Mirela TabakuAssistant of the Deputy Prime Minister of Albania Albania

Nayla TabbaraEditor-in-Chief, AdyanLebanon

Cho Tae-IckDirector, Human Rights and Social Affairs Division Korea, Republic Of

Saad Eddin TaibAmbassador, the Organization of the IslamicConference OIC

Baris TanProfessor of Operations Management, Dean, KocUniversity Turkey

Nobuaki TanakaAmbassador of Japan to TurkeyJapan

Mahmoud Tarabay

Lebanese American UniversityLebanon

Zoltan TaubnerCouncil of Europe/Director of External RelationsHungary

Ambassador Aleksandar TavciovskiAmbassador, Ministry of Foreign AffairsMacedonia, The Former Yugoslav Republic of

Samy TayieProfessor, Cairo UniversityEgypt

Linda TaylorCoordinatorUnited Nations

Ambassador Heidrun TempelSpecial Representative for Dialogue AmongCivilizations, German Federal Foreign Ofce Germany

Patricia TeodoracopulosProfessor, Instituto de Formacion Docente No. 128 Argentina

Heleen TerwijnDirector, IMC Weekend SchoolNetherlands

Geza TessenyiPresident, Intercultural Communication andLeadership School Italy

Astrid ThorsMinistry of the Interior of Finland, Minister ofMigration and European Affairs Finland

Jean-Pierre TitzHead of History Education Division, COEFrance

Mustapha TliliFounder and Director Center for Dialogues:Islamic World-U.S.-the West USA

Kasım Jomart TokayevChairman of the Senate of Kazakhstan, AstanaKazakhstan

Kadir TopbasMayor of IstanbulTurkey

Danilo TurkPresident, Republic of Slovenia, LjubljanaSlovenia

Ali Tinaz TuyganAmbassador, Permanent Representative ofTurkey to UNESCO Turkey

Malek TwalMinister Plenipotentiary, Ministry of ForeignAffairs

JordanMariam Tyabji-GuyerSilatechMorocco

Frank UbachsHuman Rights and Peacebuilding Department,Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs Netherlands

Agneta UckoSecretary-General, Interfaith Council on Eth- ics Education for Children; Director, ArigatouInternational Switzerland

Michael UlvemanHead of PressDenmark

Suheybi Rumi UnalMinistry of Foreign Affairs of TurkeyTurkey

Sadik UnayIRCICA-OIC Research Centre for Islamic History,Art and Culture Turkey

Oya Unlu KizilDirector, Corporate Communications, Koc Holding Turkey

Ozgur UnluhisarcikliGerman Marshall Fund of the United StatesTurkey

Oguz UrasResearch Assistant/Fatih UniversityTurkey

William UryDirector, Global Negotiation Project/Program onNegotiation at Harvard Law School USA

Cemal UsakIntercultural Dialogue PlatformTurkey

Jesper VahrAmbassador of Denmark to TurkeyDenmark

Ayse ValentinOxford Business GroupTurkey

Gabriel ValfreArgentinian Youth Organization for the UnitedNations (OAJNU) Argentina



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Rien van GendtChairman of the Network of European Foundations Belgium

Tapio VarisProfessor of Vocational Education, University ofTampere Finland

Jan VarsoAmbassador, Director of UN Department, Ministryof Foreign Affairs Slovak Republic

Diogo VasconcelosCisco SystemsUnited Kingdom

Jose Virgilio Vasquez VegaYouth Council of NicaraguaNicaragua

William F. VendleySecretary-General, Religions for PeaceUSA

Maxime VerhagenMinister for Foreign Affairs of the NetherlandsNetherlands

Vitaly VeriginMember of board, Moscow friends' clubRussian Federation

Andreja ViherDirector, EMUNI FoundationSlovenia

Emilio Rui VilarPresident of the Board of Trustees, CalousteGulbenkian Foundation Portugal

Meghann Aurea VillanuevaIAVE Youth Ofce in CataloniaSpainStein VillumstadDeputy Secretary-General, Religions for PeaceUSA

Marina VivesRepresentative, Executive Secretariat of EuromedPermanent University Forum Spain

Silvia VizilioCouncil of Europe, Press CorrespondentItaly

Hannele VoionmaaAmbassador, Department for the Americas andAsia, Ministry for Foreign Affairs Finland

Constantin Von BarloewenMember of the Scientic Council for InternationalStudies, Harvard University; Head of a Programfor Dialogue Among Cultures and Civilizations atSchloss Neuhardenberg Foundation (Berlin) Germany

Matthias Ludwig Von KummerAmbassador of Germany to TurkeyGermany

Alexandra VoudouriAthens International RadioGreece

Aivars VoversAmbassador of Latvia to TurkeyLatvia

Maya VrtaricState Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairsand European Integration of Croatia Croatia

Paul WaltonAnna Lindh Foundation Communication ManagerUnited Kingdom

Colleen WardDirector, Centre for Applied Cross-CulturalResearch, Victoria University of Wellington New Zealand

Shaukat WarraichDirector/Right Start Foundation InternationalUnited Kingdom

Henry WarrenCEO, Gemin-I.Org – Parent Organization of Ra.Ki, An Innovative International Virtual SchoolPartnershipUnited Kingdom

Sundeep WaslekarPresident, Strategic Foresight GroupIndia

Ralf-René WeingärtnerDirector of Youth and Sports, Council of EuropeCouncil of EuropeJoshua WeissManaging Director, Abraham Path InitiativeUSA

Lucas WelchPresident and Founder, SoliyaUSA

George WeymanMeedanUnited Kingdom

Triyono WibowoDeputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of IndonesiaIndonesia

Hillary WiesnerDirector, Islam Initiative Carnegie Corporation of

New York USA

Marcin WilczekAmbassador of Poland to TurkeyPoland

Simon WillisVice President of the Cisco Internet BusinessSolutions Group United Kingdom

Kinsey WilsonSenior Vice President and General Manager,Digital Media, National Publi Radio (NPR) USA

Kim Won-SooSenior Advisor, UNSGUnited Nations

Bart WoordInternational Federation of Liberal YouthUnited Kingdom

Corey WorrellRegional Youth Caucus Representative of Barba- dos, Commonwealth Youth Ambassador Barbados

Sotiros XenaksisSpecial Advisor to the MinisterGreece

Gong XiaoshengAmbassador of China to TurkeyChina

Li XiguangExecutive Dean, School of Journalism andCommunication, Tsinghua University China

Fotios-Jean XydasAmbassador of Greece to TurkeyGreece

Dato Mohammad Kamal Yan YahayaDeputy Secretary-General II, Ministry of ForeignAffairs of Malaysia Malaysia

Professor Yakın ErtürkUN Special Rapporteur on Violence againstWomen United Nations

Alexander YakovenkoDeputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of the RussianFederationRussian Federation

Salam YamoutCisco SystemsLebanon

Juan Antonio Yáñez-BarnuevoAmbassador, Permanent Representative of Spain

at the UN Spain

Pasa YasarRadio and Television Supreme CouncilTurkey

Suttinee YavaprapasExecutive Director, Ofce of the National CultureCommission Thailand

Mustafa YesilJournalists and Writers FoundationTurkey

Arzu YilmazAbraham Path InitiativeTurkey

Gillian YoungsSenior Lecturer, Department of Media andCommunication, University of Leicester United Kingdom

Ahmed Samir YounisSilatechUSA

Magda H. ZakiDirector, Department of the Dialogue AmongCivilizations League of Arab States

José Luis Rodríguez ZapateroPresident of the Government of SpainSpain

Samuel ZbogarMinister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic ofSlovenia Slovenia

Vasil ZhechevConsulate General of the Republic of Bulgaria inIstanbul Bulgaria

Lisbet Zilmer-JohnsSenior AdviserDenmark

Ilyes ZineUnion Tunisienne des Organizations des JeunesTunisia

Sonia ZouariAbul Abaz FoundationAfghanistan

Harriet ZurndorferSenior Research Scholar, Faculty of Humanities,Department of Chinese, Leiden University Netherlands



118

Turkish Organizing Committee

Dr. Hakan FidanDeputy Undersecretary, Prime Ministry

Dr. Ahmet Hadi AdanaliSenior Advisor, Ministry of State

Ilgin AtalayHead of the Foreign Relations Department,Prime Ministry

Hasan GogusAmbassador, Director-General, Ministry ofForeign Affairs

Yalçın Kaya ErensoyAmbassador, Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Ismail AramazMinister Plenipotentiary, Deputy Director-General, Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Suheybi UnalThird Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Gungor IsikExpert, Prime Ministry

Bahadir BuyukbodukExpert, Prime Ministry

UN Alliance of CivilizationsOrganizing Committee

Helena BarrocoSpecial Advisor to the High Representative f or the Al liance of Civiliz atio ns

Jean-Christophe BasStrategic Part nerships Manager, Alliance ofCivilizations Secretariat

Malissa EndsleyAdministrative As sociate, Alliance ofCivilizations Secretariat

Emmanuel KattanCommunications Advisor, Alliance ofCivilizations Secretariat

Florence LauferMigration & Integration Project and ResearchOfcer, Alliance of Civilizations Secretariat

Isabelle LegareYouth Programme Manager, Alliance ofCivilizations Secretariat

Cecilia Logo-KoefoedIntern, Alliance of Civilizations Secretariat

Daanish MasoodCommunications Ofcer, Alliance of CivilizationsSecretariat

Anna PavlyuchenkoEvents Planner, Alliance of CivilizationsSecretariat

Marc ScheuerDirector of the Alliance of CivilizationsSecretariat

Jordi TorrentMedia Literacy Education Manager, Alliance ofCivilizations Secretariat

Dex Torricke-BartonMedia Consultant, Alliance of CivilizationsSecretariat

Thomas UthupResearch Manager, Alliance of Ci vilizationsSecretariat

Melanie YoungIntern, Alliance of Civilizations Secretariat

APPENDIX: LIST OF ORGANIZERS



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ii forum estambul 2009 informe

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