World Forum on Intercultural Dialogue
Intercultural Dialogue is Urgent
Intercultural dialogue is now high on the world agenda. It can contribute to peace-building, economic development and to ensuring that women and young people realise their potential and make a full contribution to society.
The importance of intercultural dialogue was highlighted at the recent World Forum, held at Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, by the support received from UNESCO, the Alliance of Civilizations, the Council of Europe, ISESCO, the North South Centre, Euronews and the government of Azerbaijan, which hosted the event and by the attendance of high ranking members of these organisations and of ambassadors from several countries in the region.
One session, introduced by Rev Dr Marcus Braybrooke, Co-Founder of the Three Faiths Forum and President of the World Congress of Faiths, was devoted to dialogue between religions. It was recognised that authentic religion, as against ideologies that hide in religious clothing, can help to break down prejudice and ignorance. Including interfaith dialogue in intercultural dialogue may, therefore, give it more prominence. It would, however, be an impoverishment of interfaith dialogue if it was reduced to a tool for social cohesion with the result that theological reflection and spiritual sharing, which are unlikely to be part of governments’ agenda, were neglected.
Azerbaijan is a secular Muslim democracy. Freedom of religion is guaranteed by the constitution. The government has supported the building of a synagogue for ‘Mountain Jews’, the restoration of the Ashkenazi synagogue and restoration of Orthodox churches and the building of a Roman Catholic church.
The Forum was attended by a large number of young people who subsequently met for the first Convention of the Global Youth Movement of the Alliance of Civilizations, at which Stephen Shashoua Director of the Three Faiths Forum played a leading role.
