2 November 2013
Beijing, China
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Dear Colleagues,
I want to express you my profound gratitude for the quality and the level of the discussion this afternoon. I have been listening carefully and passionately your exchanges, and I have learned a great deal. Your ideas, your comments, your expertise are valuable and will greatly help the Alliance to develop its regional plan for Asia and south Pacific.
With the regional consultation organized by the UNAOC in Shanghai last November, and with this exchange today, the Alliance is indeed well equipped to come up with a meaningful action plan for the Asia and south Pacific region. An action plan that will hopefully contribute to foster dialogue and understanding among people and cultures in the region, and ultimately to promote peace and development.
Asia is home to 60% of the world‘s population, comprising a multitude of races, languages and ethnicities, and is the cradle of historic civilizations and religions. The presence of rich native philosophies, cultures and religions is at the core of the numerous diverse Asian societies. These factors result in the distinct identities of Asian peoples, which make the continent a rainbow of human diversity.
At times, this has contributed to generate conflict, tension and even war; at other time peace, economic growth and prosperity. Our common responsibility and objective today is to maximize the chance for peace and prosperity. This is at the heart of the mission and the mandate of the Alliance of Civilizations.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Harmony of civilizations and Prosperity for all requires an effort from all. The Alliance has encouraged member States to develop national strategies to encourage understanding among people and cultures and harmony , both within their nation , and between nations. It has also encouraged the development of regional strategies, first in South Eastern Europe, then in the Mediterranean and in Latin America.
I am confident that the Beijing Forum can play a productive role in contributing to China’s national strategy and the development of a regional plan.
The Alliance attaches great significance to Asia and south Pacific in the accomplishment of its mission. Our next global Forum will take place in Indonesia in August 2014. Our efforts to build bridges of understanding in the midst of religious, cultural and linguistic diversity will benefit greatly from our work with Asian civilizations.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
At the occasion of the UNAOC Asia South Pacific Regional Consultation held in Shanghai in November last year with participants from 16 countries, many concrete proposals emerged from the discussion. Please allow me to name just a few :
i) Facilitate a partnership with ASEAN to adopt and promote the UNAOC’s goals
i) Develop youth, students and professional cultural exchanges and promote cross cultural initiatives such as films, theatre, music, sports and entertainment
i) Encourage States to review text books and the way History is taught at school with respect to other cultures
i) Training programs to familiarize senior media professionals , including newspaper editors, senior journalists, and TV and radio programmers, with pluralist journalism;
i) Design a UNAOC inter-cultural and inter-religious mechanism of dialogue to address conflict situations in the Asia Pacific region at both State and civil society levels;
The Alliance has taken good note of the valuable proposals made today during this session by the distinguished panelists and participants.
We are aware that parts of Asia are currently facing tensions and risk of conflict. The situation calls for serious efforts for peace and reconciliation through dialogue, the respect for human rights, freedom of religion, and cultural tolerance, while at the same time ensuring that extremism and militancy are not allowed to take root. These realities make our cooperation all the more urgent and important, and I look forward to working closely with the Beijing Forum and partners throughout the region. I know that many of you have been supporting the efforts of the Alliance and greatly contributed to the success of the Shanghai consultation. I’m very grateful for your continuous support.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I view with great optimism the role of Asia and China in enhancing inter-civilizational understanding within the region and in the world at large. The world is in the midst of an unprecedent rebalancing with the rapid rise of Asian population and economic growth. It is our duty and our responsibility to make sure that the new world that is emerging is a peaceful world and ensures the harmony of civilizations and prosperity for all.
China’s tradition has the potential to enable it to play a key constructive role in the region, and beyond. It is for all these reasons that I look forward to close cooperation between the UNAOC, China and the Asian nations in realizing our common goal of the Harmony of civilizations and prosperity for all.
Thank you for your attention and best wishes to all of you, looking forward to seeing you in Bali next year for the sixth global Forum of the Alliance of Civilizations.