The Alliance of Civilizations Sixth Global Forum, hosted by the Government of Indonesia, will take place next week on 29-30 August in Bali, Indonesia.
The Opening session will include keynote addresses by : The President of Indonesia, H.E. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyno, The Foreign Minister of Indonesia, Marty Natalegawa, The United Nations High Representative for the Alliance of Civilizations, Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser, The United Nations Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon and the Deputy Prime Minister of Turkey , the Foreign Minister of Spain as well as the UN President of the General Assembly, John Ashe.
Heads of state and government, ministers, thought leaders, business representatives, faith leaders, media professionals, and youth, from around the world will meet in Bali to exchange ideas about advancing mutual interests across religions and cultures. Participants will work toward forming lasting partnerships to address shared global challenges across community and identity lines.
The forum’s theme is Unity in Diversity: Celebrating Diversity for Common and Shared Values.
The forum program consists of two plenaries, 11 breakout sessions, and nine side events relating to UNAOC’s four pillar areas of activity: media, migration, education and youth. In addition, several cultural events will take place alongside the forum, as well as an award ceremony for the Intercultural Innovation Award.
The plenaries will explore “Unity in Diversity: Celebrating Diversity for Common and Shared Values” and “Knowing One Another – Urgent Need to Foster Dialogue and Understanding between Eastern and Western Civilizations.”
The sessions will delve in-depth into topics ranging from media coverage of migration and how to harness the positive power of social media, to the role of women in fostering understanding in different cultures and how interreligious and intercultural approaches can advance mediation in conflict zones.
The side events, sponsored by partners of UNAOC, will explore practical topics such as how to connect innovative ideas for social change with venture capitals or how young professionals can foster understanding and dialogue.
The Intercultural Innovation award will award 11 highly innovative grassroots and sustainable projects finalists monetary and in-kind support to help their project grow, as each one promotes dialogue and intercultural understanding, while making vital contributions to prosperity and peace in global societies.
During the forum, several partnerships and MOUs will be signed and the outcomes of these sessions and the plenaries will provide a framework for future programmes of the Alliance.
We encourage you to follow the forum on Facebook and Twitter and interact with these change-makers: #UNAOC2014 @UNAOC
The forum will be preceded by the UNAOC Youth Forum on August 28th, which will convene 100 youth from up to 40 different countries and provide an opportunity to share their opinions and perspectives with the rest of the forum attendees. For more information about the forum program, visit the forum website : www.unaoc6.or.id
The forum will be open for the media .
Media & Press contact : Ms. Nihal Saad, Spokesperson for the UN High Representative for the Alliance of Civilizations, saadn@un.org