Paris, August 31 {No. 2000-75} - Heads of state or government are to hold a debate on the Dialogue among Civilizations, in a roundtable discussion organised by UNESCO, in co-operation with the United Nations with the support of the Islamic Republic of Iran, at UN Headquarters in New York on September 5, marking the launch of the United Nations Year of Dialogue among Civilizations, 2001.

United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan and UNESCO Director-General Koïchiro Matsuura will open the event at 10 a.m. Heads of State or Government will then take the floor, starting with President Mohammad Khatami of Iran, whose country first proposed the 1998 UN resolution proclaiming the Year for Dialogue Among Civilizations.

The morning session, scheduled to last until 1 p.m., will be moderated by Mr Matsuura and devoted to the Heads of State or Government. The heads of state or government who have already confirmed they will take part in the debate, are: Abdelaziz Bouteflika (Algeria), Edouard A. Shevardnadze (Georgia), Abdurrahman Wahid (Indonesia), Mohammad Khatami (Iran), Vaira Vike-Freiberga (Latvia), Alpha Omar Konaré (Mali), Joaquim Chissano (Mozambique), Olusegun Obasanjo (Nigeria), and Sheikh Hamad bin Kahlifa (Qatar).

The afternoon session, 3.30 p.m. to 6.30 p.m., will feature the participation of intellectuals and cultural personalities from around the world. This session will be chaired by the Director-General of UNESCO and moderated by Giandomenico Picco, Special Representative of the Secretary-General. Those personalities who have confirmed their participation so far include: Lourdes Arizpe (Mexico), Masanori Aoyagi (Japan), Richard Bulliet (U.S.A.), Mohammed Javad Faridzadeh (Iran), Hans van Ginkel (Netherlands), Attiya Inayatullah (Pakistan), Ugné Karvelis (Lithuania), Koh Byong-Ik (Republic of Korea), Edgar Morin (France), Rex Nettleford (Jamaica), Javier Perez de Cuellar (Peru), R.K. Ramazani (Iran), Ru Xin (China), Wole Soyinka (Nigeria), Prince Hassan bin Talal (Jordan), Alexandr Yakovlev (Russia).

The 1998 UN General Assembly resolution proclaiming the United Nations Year of Dialogue among Civilizations invites "Governments, the United Nations system, including the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, to plan and implement appropriate cultural, educational and social programmes to promote the concept of dialogue among civilizations, including through organizing conferences and seminars and disseminating information and scholarly material on the subject".

The celebration of the Year provides an opportunity to emphasise that the process of globalisation currently underway is not only economic, financial and technological, but also constitutes a profoundly human challenge to take cognisance of the interdependence of humankind and its diversity. The pressures caused by globalisation require a renewed commitment to promote and develop international co-operation on the basis of the recognition of the equal dignity of individuals and of societies. This is particularly vital at a time when theorists warn of a potential "clash of civilizations".

The promotion of dialogue among civilisations and cultures is a key component of UNESCO's mission and activities. Indeed, its Constitution states that peace must be founded on "the intellectual and moral solidarity of mankind". It further states that UNESCO has been created "for the purpose of advancing, through the educational and scientific and cultural relations of the peoples of the world, the objectives of international peace and of the common welfare of mankind for which the United Nations Organization was established and which its Charter proclaims."