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SPAIN: Alliance of Civilisations Gets Off to an Auspicious Start

Tito Drago

MADRID, Jan 23 2008 (IPS) - The First Forum of the Alliance of Civilisations sponsored by Turkey and Spain concluded in Madrid with concrete commitments, including generous funding, and the announcement that the second forum will be held in Turkey in 2009.

Around 400 political, business and religious personalities from 82 countries participated at this first Forum, including the heads of state or government of Algeria, Finland, Malaysia, Senegal, Slovenia, Spain and Turkey, as well as Roman Catholic, Ethiopian Orthodox, Russian Orthodox and Protestant Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, Shinto, and Hindus.

"The Alliance of Civilizations (AoC) aims to improve understanding and cooperative relations among nations and peoples across cultures and religions and, in the process, to help counter the forces that fuel polarization and extremism," its official mission statement says.

The two-day meeting last week was opened by U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki- moon, Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The AoC – originally proposed by Spain and Turkey – was adopted by the U.N. in 2005.

Ban told the Forum that "the Alliance of Civilizations is an important way to counter extremism and heal the divisions that threaten our world," and said the Forum offered a unique platform to speak openly and honestly about cross-cultural concerns.

The closing ceremony was presided jointly by Ali Babacan, the Turkish foreign minister, Jorge Sampaio, the U.N. high commissioner for the AoC, and María Teresa Fernández de la Vega, the Spanish deputy prime minister.

It was "the greatest effort undertaken so far by the international community to increase security levels in the world, promote intercultural dialogue and combat irrational extremism," Fernández de la Vega said.

She suggested dropping the use of the term "the clash of civilisations" because, she said, all civilisations are open and porous, rather than closed and rigid.

Sampaio said that the Forum had met its intended goals at its Jan. 15-16 meeting, and pointed out that some countries, like Spain, have already set in motion national plans to carry out the Alliance’s aims.

In addition to the funds for unspecified amounts committed by governments and members of the business community present at the Forum, noteworthy contributions were announced by two women from the Arab world.

Sheikha Mozah bint Nasser al-Missned of Qatar announced funding of 100 million dollars for one of the Alliance programmes, the "Silatech" Global Initiative for Youth Employment, directed at creating jobs and opportunities for young people in the Middle East and North Africa. "Silatech" means "your connection" in Arabic.

Queen Noor of Jordan promised another 100 million dollars, with 10 million dollars upfront, for a fund that is to finance making movies with large Hollywood production companies, on a not-for-profit basis. The goal is to combat stereotyped images of communities and minorities in the media.

A youth solidarity fund was also set up, financed by 1.4 million dollars from Spain. Starting in 2008, scholarships will be provided to study in the field of intercultural exchanges, youth leadership, and active involvement in the media.

Another project is an Alliance Information Centre, with the particular purpose of educating journalists on cross-cultural issues. Eighteen universities have signed up to participate.

In parallel there will be a Rapid Reaction Mechanism for the media, consisting of an Internet database created by experts from all over the world, who will also act as consultants to reporters, especially in crisis situations.

Three countries – Spain, Turkey and New Zealand – announced national plans devoted to the development of Alliance programmes, in coordination with High Commissioner Sampaio and national coordinators in every member country.

The Alliance signed agreements with the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), the Arab League, the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (ISESCO), and several cities and local governments.

Fernández de la Vega paid tribute to these agreements and to the participants at the Forum, saying that, "it has done a good job in putting forward specific, practical proposals in order to implement the Alliance’s ideals of dialogue and understanding. The Alliance today is a going concern with a promising future."

Focusing particularly on the media, the deputy prime minister stressed that they must avoid presenting cultural differences in a biased or stereotyped way. She said, "the management of coexistence among cultures is a challenge of the highest order, and world security depends on it." This challenge, she said, demands "joint efforts, a common willingness, and harmonisation" around points of common agreement.

Sampaio stressed that representatives of the countries and international organisations in the Group of Friends of the Alliance, who met behind closed doors, committed themselves to contribute their efforts so that "words are transformed into actions."

In one of the Forum intervals, the British Association of Muslim Social Scientists (AMSS) presented the Building Bridges Award to Zapatero and Erdogan, for their initiative in creating the AoC.

This award is given to persons who, in the view of the Association, have made a special contribution to the field of science or to the promotion of social harmony and intercultural and inter-faith dialogue. The prize was handed to Zapatero by AMSS chairman Anas Al-Shaikh-Ali.

At the closing ceremony it was announced that Brazil, Qatar and Portugal had expressed interest in hosting the annual AoC Forums following the 2009 Alliance meeting to be held in Turkey.