Dialogue Among Civilizations To Build “Peace in the Minds of Men”

In our increasingly diverse societies, it is essential to ensure harmonious interaction among people and groups with plural and varied cultural identities as well as their willingness to live together. Therefore the fostering of dialogue among cultures and peoples, can only occur on the basis of the recognition of and respect for cultural diversity. In this context, UNESCO advocates for inclusive and participatory policies as a guarantee of social cohesion, the vitality of civil society and peace.

Roads of Dialogue

The concept of “roads” or “routes” has been at the heart of many of the Organizations’s intercultural dialogue projects. Roads are itineraries by which individual travelers or communities have conveyed their ideas and customs across continents and oceans. From the Silk Route to the Slave Route to the Iron Roads in Africa, history has shown us that routes are venues for the exchange of cultural experience, ideas, values and goods through art, trade and migrations.

A principal objective of a dialogue is to bridge the gap in knowledge about other civilizations, cultures and societies to undertake concrete activities, inspired and driven by dialogue, especially in the areas of education, cultural diversity and heritage, the sciences and communication and media.

For more information, please visit:
*Dialogue Among Cultures, Civilizations and Peoples Infosheet
*Youth and Creativity
*Promoting multilingualism
*Inter-religious dialogue
*The Rabat Commitment: Conclusions and Recommendations of the Rabat Conference on Dialogue among Cultures and Civilizations through Concrete and Sustained Initiatives, June 2005
*Convention on the Promotion and Protection of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions
*Global Alliance for Cultural Diversity
*Creation for a Global Center for Cultural Enterprise and Entrepreneurship in Santa Fe, NM
*Check out the UNESCO-Courier special issue on the Dialogue among Civilizations!
*Activities by National Commissions for the Promotion of a Dialogue Among Civilizations