Rio de Janeiro – The 3rd Forum of the Alliance of Civilizations, promoted by the United Nations, opened on Friday (28) in Rio de Janeiro, included the presence of several international authorities who called for the strengthening of the alliance between people for peaceful routes. "The Alliance of Civilisations serves to create ties between peoples,” said president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
According to him, Brazil is a multiethnic country that brings together varied cultures and religions. "Here, millions of descendants of Arabs and millions of Jews coexist peacefully,” said the president, who also mentioned the Asians, Africans and Europeans who live in the country. "They are all part of what we call the Brazilian civilisation,” he added.
The need for investment in education, the fight against racism, poverty and xenophobia for a greater alliance between nations was also mentioned by the other authorities present, like the secretary general of the UN, Ban Ki-Moon, the prime minister of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the minister of Foreign Affairs of Spain, Miguel Ángel Moratinos, the high representative of the Alliance of Civilisations and former president of Portugal, Jorge Sampaio, and the wife of the emir of Qatar, Mozah bint Nasser Al Missned, of the Foundation for Education, Science and Development of Qatar.
According to Moon, the power of cultures is enormous. Three quarters of the global conflicts are of cultural dimensions. “It is necessary to build an inclusive society,” said the secretary general, who believes that the work of the Alliance is a process, a work in progress. “Peace and reconciliation may not be imposed,” he said.
To finish his address, Moon used a Brazilian proverb, “goodwill shortens the road”. As is the case with the secretary general of the UN, sheikh Mozah also mentioned in his address a phrase by an educator and Brazilian thinker, Paulo Freire. “This thinking is very important for us to follow on,” she said.
Mozah said that it was necessary to recall the Palestinians in Gaza, who live surrounded by a wall built by Israel, without the right to come and go. “What will be of these youths in future?”, he asked.
Mozah also made use of the opportunity to speak about the Arab immigrants who left their countries and moved to America. “We are proud of the Arabs who came to South and North America,” she said.
*Translated by Mark Ament
