Doha International Center for Interfaith Dialogue Participated at the 4th Annual Forum of the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations

12 Dec Doha International Center for Interfaith Dialogue Participated at the 4th Annual Forum of the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations

A powerful network of Heads of States, Ministers of Foreign Affairs, NGOs, civil society representatives, the youth, foundations, media, academia and the corporate sector met in Doha December 11-13, 2011. The forum brought together OVER 2500 participants. This fourth UNAOC Forum saw participation of thousands of people including 400 young leaders who gave recommendations on cross-cultural and inter-religious understanding issues.

The First Lady H. H. Sheikha Moza Bint Nasser, attended the opening ceremony and joined by H.E. Mr. Ban Ki-Moon, the Secretary General of the United Nations, a representative of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, co- Chair of the AoC, H.E. Mr. Manuel Chavez, Vice President for Territorial Policies and Minister of Territorial Policies and Public Administrations of Spain, H.E. Mr. Heinz Fischer, President of Austria, in his capacity as host of the 5th AoC Forum, H.E. Mr. Michel Temer, Vice President of Brazil, in his capacity as representative of the country which hosted the 3rd AoC Forum, H.E. Mr. Jorge Sampaio, High Representative for the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations and former President of Portugal and by H.E. Mr. Christian Wulff the President of Germany.

Following the official opening of the Forum, there was a discussion on the dialogue between culture and development that was followed by the signing by by H.H. Sheikha Moza the Memorandum of understanding with UNESCO. The first day session were divided into breakout sessions and actions network sessions dedicated to intercultural dialogue and its link with development policies.

The question of Education and the role of women in modern societies was one of the main issues on the forum’s agenda; the Forum designed as a turning point by HH Sheikha Moza was also held at her initiative as a member of the High Level Group of the Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC). President Jorge Sampaio described the forum as the Ds event: It will based on the four “Ds”: «dialogue, dignity, democracy and development». It has underlined the necessity of integrating cultural factors and key values, such as trust and tolerance and fostering the development of cooperation and to achieve the Millennium Development Goals.

The Alliance of Civilizations, created in 2005, is an initiative of former General Secretary of the United Nations Kofi Annan and the governments of Spain and Turkey. It has a mission for improving the quality of dialogue between nations and peoples of different cultures and religions. The UNAOC benefits from the support of “group of friends”. A community of more than 130 member countries and international organizations including Qatar which has always played an important role through the involvement of H. H. Sheikha Moza.

DICID was represented at the forum through Prof. Aisha Yousef Al-Mannai, Dean of College of Sharia & Islamic Studies, Qatar University who spoke about the importance of religion in any inter-civilizational dialogue in a plenary session. Professor Patrick Laude of Georgetown University also represented DICID in a lab session on the importance of reviving the true spirit of religion in order to take part in any dialogue with the others. These sessions were very well attended.

DICID also distributed their publications through an exhibition booth at the conference. The booth was the best attended booth in the conference and all our books and newsletters were picked up the very first day. The visitors to this booth appreciated the work of DICID and were very impressed that an organization like ours with an international scope was based in Doha.