São Paulo – The 3rd Forum of the Alliance of Civilisations, promoted by the United Nations (UN), to take place from the 27th to the 29th in Rio de Janeiro, should bring together eight heads of government and 50 Foreign ministers from several countries, as well as the secretary general of the UN, Ban Ki-Moon. Among the authorities to be present is Mozah Bint Nasser Al Missned, the wife of the emir of Qatar, Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani. The Middle Eastern country should host the 2011 edition of the Forum.
This should be the first time that the forum takes place outside Europe. The first was in Madrid (Spain), in 2008, the second in Istanbul (Turkey), last year. The Alliance, which includes 100 countries and 20 non-governmental organisations, aims to find solutions that result in dialogue and in peaceful coexistence among societies with diverse cultures and religions.
To discuss the matter there should be 12 theme sessions. Among the themes to be discussed are “Democracy, Good Governance and Cultural Diversity”; “Empowering Women Through Education”; “Living Together in Urban Societies”; “History as a Tool for Cultural Cooperation”, among others.
In his welcome message to the delegations coming, on video, president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva explained that the city of Rio de Janeiro, as is the case with other cities in Brazil, house several social and cultural realities. “Our nation is built on the concept of integration,” said the president in his address.
On Friday, at 9:00 am, the president should participate in the opening of the forum, alongside other authorities like presidents Cristina Kirchner, Argentina, Evo Morales, Bolivia, Pedro Pires, Cape Verde and Abdoulaye Wade, Senegal, and the prime ministers of Spain, José Luis Zapateiro, Turkey, Tayyip Erdogan, and Portugal, José Sócrates.
On Wednesday (26), around 150 youths, aged between 18 and 35 years of age, from 65 countries, participated in the Youth Cultural Walk at the Saara, a low-cost shopping area located in the centre of Rio, which houses immigrants from several countries and cultures, among them Arabs and Jews. The event was organised by NGO Abraham Path in partnership with the Saara association. The objective of the walk was to show the youths the peaceful coexistence between people from different cultures.
All activities of the forum should take place at the Modern Art Museum (MAM). The organisers of the event hope to receive 3,000 participants, among them journalists, activists, businessmen, religious leaders, intellectuals and members of NGOs. To view the full programme visit the forum site: http://www.unaoc.org/rioforum/program/
*Translated by Mark Ament
