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(21 March 2001)

"Poetry is an age-old art. It is the art of language, an interplay of words, speech in all its beauty. Poetry is better recited than read.

"This is how poetry has spanned the centuries and crossed the continents. It is a fruit of both individual and collective imagination and, like music, dance and the visual arts, the cement of life in society. It is all-pervasive, yet elusive. Its apparent fragility, born of intangibility, makes it a major art, inviolate despite the assaults of time and intolerance.

"Like all intangible heritage, poetry deserves our full attention. For all its universal acclaim, it is little published, still less translated. Though it lies at the heart of every language, it is all too often considered inaccessible.

"Poetry is an art in which language takes root and is renewed; it is a most trustworthy messenger of culture; a unique, sophisticated witness to history. Poetry has much to teach us about other people’s worlds, values and dreams. It is a door open to dialogue and understanding between peoples that we are celebrating in this United Nations Year of Dialogue among Civilizations.

"UNESCO is already engaged in promoting the teaching of poetry in schools and supports all efforts to publish and translate poetry. I would also like to invite Member States to contribute in every possible manner to the enduring promotion of poetry."

Koichiro Matsuura