International conference on “Dialogue of Civilisations and Cultural Diversity:” second plenary session panel III works

Minister Adviser to the President of the Republic Abdelhamid Slama Wednesday chaired works of panel III of the 2nd plenary session of the international conference on “Dialogue of Civilisations and Cultural Diversity,”currently held in Kairouan.

KAIROUAN - Minister Adviser to the President of the Republic Abdelhamid Slama Wednesday chaired works of panel III of the 2nd plenary session of the international conference on “Dialogue of Civilisations and Cultural Diversity,”currently held in Kairouan.

In his address, Mr. Slama said that it was high time to refer to the specialised international and regional institutions to reinforce and defend universal common values in the sense that they are official channels which might include all peoples, cultures and civilisations.

It is the duty of all political systems to target, in the first place, youths and women, he added, given their aptitude to cultural diversity. He also called upon specialised regional organisations that support cultural diversity to involve sports associations in disseminating the values of dialogue among cultures and civilisations, stressing that the olympic games and sporting events provide adequate opportunities for that.

Speaking in turn, former director general of the Intergovernmental French-Speaking World Agency Roger Dehaybe reviewed the tragic developments of current events on the international plane over the past years which resulted in the reappearance of the issue of dialogue of civilisations.

Secretary-General of the National Committee for the Christian-Muslim Dialogue in Lebanon Mohamed Sammak presented, for his part, the practical mechanisms aimed to reinforce dialogue within communities.

He quoted, in this regard, the call of President Ben Ali upon all the states longing for justice, law and peace to put an end to the repeated attacks against the religious, cultural and historical heritage of the occupied Palestinian territories.

Tunisian academic and member of UNESCO Executive Council Kamel Omrane emphasised the importance of international co-operation in the promotion of cultural dialogue and in materialising solidarity and mutual aid to manage to take up all the challenges of modern times.

World Bank chief education expert Mourad Ezzine focused on the activities carried out by the bank for the benefit of culture in different regions on the basis of the close connection between culture and economy . He affirmed that investing in culture allows to provide jobs and contribute to development .

Former diplomat and writer Jean Tardif said that globalisation does not concern only the economy but has also cultural dimensions and stressed the importance of creating a common media space to promote the dialogue of civilisations and cultural diversity.

The session was closed by ISESCO Director General Abdulaziz Othman Altwaijri who affirmed that the expected international co-operation should consist in large partnerships likely to boost civilisational dialogue to attain the noble human objectives as part of the regional and international conventions in force.

 

 

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