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Proceedings of the
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Jovan Ćirilov Due to the fact that I am coming from Serbia and Montenegro, a country with a wide spectrum of various ethnic groups and nationalities with different and complementary cultures, I am absolutely aware of the importance and the role of multicultural societies in fostering such a dialogue especially after the difficult period my country passed in the last decades of twentieth century, the period of tragic ethnic clashes. There is no need to assure you that the people of Serbia and Montenegro and our Government would never allow such a tragic experience to be repeated. We know that India has longstanding experience in fostering dialogue among different communities, cultures and civilizations and is a world exemplar of living, and lived, cultural diversity, which has been sustained through centuries of investment in the process of "Learning to Live Together.” This also the opportunity to underline UNESCO's commitment over the past many years, if not decades, to the promotion of dialogue among cultures and civilizations through a wide variety of initiatives, programmes and actions all over the world. In the past two years, since Serbia and Montenegro obtained full membership in UNESCO, we have positioned ourselves to participate in the mentioned efforts with all of our cultural capacities. Let me quote some figures to illustrate how deeply we are interested in promoting tolerance and dialogue among different peoples inhabiting the same territory: Serbia and Montenegro is a multinational, multiconfessional and multicultural community of peoples. According to the 1991 census (the last one), in addition to Serbs and Montenegrins, some 16-minority communities represent 33.7% of the population. According to the same census, the Republic of Serbia has 9,778,991 inhabitants of whom Serbs account for 65.92%, Montenegrins are 1.42% of the population and the rest are a member of ethnic minorities. The Republic of Montenegro has 615,035 inhabitants of whom 61.86% are Montenegrins, 9.34% Serbs and the rest are members of ethnic minorities. For instance, the Roma people are the third ethnic minority in Serbia and Montenegro and only in the new democracy are they recognized as an ethnic minority. Albanians are the largest ethnic group in Serbia. According to the 1991 Yugoslavian census, they made up 17.12% of the population. (It is important to note that ethnic Albanians boycotted the 1991 census, so this figure is an estimate.) Hungarians account for 3.52% of the population, Yugoslavs for 3.31%, Muslims for 2.52%, Roma for 1.43% and Croats for 1.08%; while Bulgarians, Czechs, Germans, Jews, Macedonians, Romanians, Ruthenian, Slovaks, Slovenians, Turks, Ukrainians, Vlachs and others each account for less than 1 % of the population. These ethnic minorities tend to live in groups dispersed throughout Serbia and Montenegro. The war in the territories of the former Yugoslavia has had a drastic impact on the number of inhabitants in Serbia and Montenegro and its ethnic structure. This is especially true of Kosovo/a, Sandzak and Vojvodina. The most dramatic changes took place in Kosovo/a, where casualties among the population caused by inter-ethnic conflicts, 'ethnic cleansing’ and forced migrations reached disastrous proportions. The disintegration of the former Yugoslavia and the war in its former republics have greatly reduced the political, economic, social and psychological space for meeting the needs of national minorities. Serbs and Montenegrins are usually members of the Christian Orthodox denomination. Most Kosovo/a Albanians, as well as those living in Montenegro, follow Islam. A small number of ethnic Albanians are Roman Catholics or Orthodox. In today's Serbia and Montenegro, the greatest concentration of Muslims as an ethnic group is in Sandzak. Croats generally follow Roman Catholicism. The Hungarians of Vojvodina are mainly Roman Catholic and a minority is Protestant. The Slovaks of Vojvodina are mainly Protestant, while the Bulgarians, the Romanians and the Vlachs are Orthodox. The Ruthenian belong to the Uniate Church (Greek Catholic). The Roma are usually either Orthodox or Muslim. The Romas’ religious affiliation is almost always congruous with the Orthodox or Muslim surroundings in which they live. There is a tiny Jewish community also. There are also small religious communities or sects, which are mostly in Belgrade and Vojvodina. All those mentioned are civilizations in permanent dialogue, which has temporarily been spoiled during past decade. In the rest of our country, except Kosovo, this dialogue continues on the basis of the best tradition of tolerant living together for more than a millennium. We contributed to the world's tradition of tolerance and understanding through the non-aligned movement, which has marked the twentieth century. Recent developments, such as the adoption by UNESCO's General Conference, of the "UNESCO Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity" (2 November 2001) by which the world has committed itself to preserve cultural diversity as a living, and thus renewable treasure, and to prevent segregation and fundamentalism which counter the message of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights proves that the whole world is basically on the same path. Important tasks have been set out for the world community, and UNESCO in particular, in the United Nations General Assembly resolution 56/6 (21 November 2001) "Global Agenda for Dialogue among Civilizations." We must also applaud the ongoing attempts to broaden the scope of the dialogue, calling for new commitments and innovative implementation. I must emphasize the growing necessity of identifying contemporary obstacles to a fruitful and constructive dialogue and to assess new forms of ignorance and prejudice in order to reorient the dialogue to make it more responsive and efficient. It is of great importance that we move beyond the stage of general agreement and statements of intent in relation to the Dialogue. New responses, using the vectors of education, science and technology, ethical and spiritual values with a view to constructing a framework for global dialogue in the 21st century are inevitable. Education is key to enabling us to develop long-term dialogue between cultures and civilizations and to ensure the participation of all in this dialogue. The key role of education lies in its inherent ability to release the potential of dialogue, provided it is accessible to all. The above action has been given new impetus by the Dakar Framework for Action on Education for All EFA (April 2000), and that two of the Dakar goals, attaining universal primary education by 2015 and gender parity in schooling, are also Millennium Development Goals of the United Nations. Education is indistinguishable from democracy when everyone plays a part in constructing a responsible and mutually supportive society that upholds the fundamental rights of all. We know that advances in communication technologies have had an unprecedented ability to bring together diverse communities, cultures and civilizations; yet many countries and individuals still lack the capacity to participate in the construction of knowledge societies. The new dialogue among cultures and civilizations must take note of this. The process of globalization coincides with a fundamental transformation to knowledge-based societies that are largely driven by information and communication technologies. The digital divide accentuates disparities in development, excluding entire groups and countries from the potential benefits of digital opportunities in networked knowledge societies. Let me draw attention to the rapidity with which science and technology have become increasingly vital for economic and social development in a globalized world, and to the fact that the globalization of knowledge must be promoted, particularly in developing countries, where the application of science and technology is vital in the eradication of poverty. This requires new ethical perspectives and approaches. The notion of scientific progress in its broadest sense must be weighed in ethical terms in order for it to become the keystone of responsibility and solidarity at all levels and for society as a whole. Ethical values are essential in developing sound international policies and contributing to the creation of norms and structures that are conducive to a more peaceful and just society. Dialogue will be key because a genuine "ethical approach" replies on prudence, allowing decision-makers to define and select actions in light of potential alternatives Finally, let me express full confidence in the capacity of the New Delhi Conference to launch a new global dialogue, which will promote respect for pluralism, tolerance and human unity through the central drivers of education, science and technology, and ethical values. |