Background paper

Prepared by the Bureau of Strategic Planning, UNESCO

I. Background

1. As part of the follow-up to the High-Level Conference on Strengthening Co-operation in South-East Europe, held at UNESCO Headquarters on 4-5 April 2002¹, and the Regional Forum on Dialogue among Civilizations, held in Ohrid, 29 and 30 August 2003², the President of the Republic of Albania, H.E. Mr Alfred Moisiu, and the Director-General of UNESCO, agreed to co-organize in December 2004 a regional summit meeting in Tirana on “The Development of Inter-Ethnic and Inter-religious Dialogue as an Important Factor for the Stability and Progress of the Balkans”.

2. The contribution of a dialogue among cultures and civilizations to stability and progress in the South-East European region was spelled out in key passages of the “Message from Ohrid” adopted at the Ohrid Regional Forum on Dialogue among Civilizations. In particular it stated that “Mutual respect of traditions and people will be possible when the matrix of values and the underlying spiritual and ethical foundations can influence education systems in different societies”. For its part, UNESCO is committed to pursuing this objective and translating it into concrete projects and activities.

3. The Tirana Summit will focus on the contribution of religion and multi-ethnicity to the dialogue among civilizations and cultures. Refuting the Huntington vision of a “clash among civilizations”, it will seek to examine and assess how religion and multi-ethnicity can constructively contribute through dialogue in the areas of UNESCO’s expertise – education, culture, the sciences and communication and information – to further stability and progress in the region. These discussions will draw on experiences and best practices as well as lessons learned in the South-East Europe region.

4. The Summit will address the following key topics and questions:

• The South-East European experiences of inter-religious and inter-ethnic relations;

• The need to raise public awareness of the positive impact of ethnic and religious co-existence, understanding and harmony;

• The promotion of inter-ethnic dialogue among the peoples in South-East Europe as a tool to further mutual understanding and to resolve existing problems;

• Efforts to counter intolerance, discrimination and extremism which are destabilizing factors;

• The positive contribution an open dialogue among civilizations can make to peace, security and stability in the region.

5. The concept of a “Dialogue among Civilizations” has assumed increasing importance in the face of new and multi-faceted threats to global peace and security. Attracting attention at the highest political levels throughout the world, the promotion of a dialogue among civilizations requires the charting of future avenues for international endeavors and engagements. UNESCO’s constitution calls explicitly for the promotion of dialogue and the Organization has been active in dialogue-related activities ever since the mid-1950’s. Coinciding with United Nations General Assembly resolution 56/6 of 21 November 2001 adopting the Global Agenda for Dialogue among Civilizations, UNESCO has intensified its own action in the area of dialogue. These efforts received further impetus through 31C/Resolution 39 by UNESCO’s General Conference on the fight against terrorism, adopted in November 2001. This resolution underlined the importance and the role of the dialogue among civilizations in this fight. A series of global, regional and sub-regional conferences ensued, as described below, which culminated in a new resolution (32C/47) by the General Conference on “New Perspectives in UNESCO’s activities pertaining to the Dialogue among Civilizations”.

6. This resolution stipulates that UNESCO shall in its action place emphasis on pursuing concrete activities in the following key areas:

1. education, especially through the pursuit of the six Education for All (EFA) goals and efforts to promote quality education;

2. the sciences and technology, including the role of traditional and local knowledge systems

3. cultural diversity in all its dimensions, including world heritage;

4. the media and information and communication technologies.

7. We live in a world in which demands for recognition and accommodation of different ethnicities, religions, languages and values have become an inseparable feature of the political landscape of the 21st century. UNESCO’s 2000 World Culture Report observed that people everywhere are repositioning themselves in order to preserve part of their traditions, while at the same time engaging in cultural exchanges and redefining their relationships with their neighbors. In vastly different contexts and in different ways – from religious minorities in South-East Europe to indigenous people in Latin America to immigrants in Western Europe – people are mobilizing anew around old grievances along ethnic, religious, racial and cultural lines, demanding that their identities be acknowledged, appreciated and accommodated by wider society.

8. UNDP’s 2004 Human Development Report argues that people want the freedom to practice their religion openly, to speak their language, to celebrate their cultural heritage without fear of ridicule or punishment or diminished opportunity. People want the freedom to participate in society without having to slip off their chosen cultural moorings. The world’s nearly 200 countries contain some 5,000 ethnic groups. Hence, almost no country is entirely homogenous. In fact, almost two-thirds of the world’s countries have a least one substantial minority – an ethnic or religious group that makes up some 10 % of the population.

9. Responding to these demands and expectations has become an urgent challenge for all countries. Indeed, greater recognition of identities will bring about greater cultural diversity in society, enriching people’s lives. Struggles over cultural identity, if left unmanaged or managed poorly, can quickly become a source of instability within states and between them – and in so doing trigger conflicts that jeopardize peace and hinder development. The UNESCO Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity (2001) states in Article 2 that “Policies for the inclusion and participation of all citizens are guarantees of social cohesion. Thus defined, cultural pluralism gives policy expression to the reality of cultural diversity”.

10. Dialogue is at the core of such a vision. However; the challenge today is to move beyond general agreement about the value of, or the need for, dialogue, to concrete approaches and activities. New and complex challenges abound and demand innovative modalities, which allow for common reflection and commitments. Today, dialogue must become a tool to bolster peace and security and to advance sustainable development.

II. UNESCO - Intensifying the dialogue among cultures and civilizations

All civilizations celebrate the unity and diversity of humankind and are enriched and have evolved through dialogue with other civilizations…despite obstacles of tolerance and aggression, there has been constructive interaction throughout history among various civilizations…civilizational achievements constitute the collective heritage of humankind…³

11. UNESCO has striven to broaden the scope of the dialogue among civilizations and cultures by reviewing and assessing the concept and past approaches and organizing a series of international conferences in several parts of the world. Among these events were the International Ministerial Conference “Dialogue among Civilizations – The Quest for New Perspectives” held in New Delhi, 9-10 July 2003, the Regional Forum on Dialogue among Civilizations, held in Ohrid, 29-30 August 2003, the Colloquium on Dialogue among Cultures and Civilizations, Sana’a, Yemen, 10-11 February 2004, and the International Conference on “Eurasia in the 21st Century – Dialogue of Cultures or Conflict of Civilizations?” held in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, 10-11 June 2004, have contributed significantly to the sharpening and focusing of the conceptual framework underlying the dialogue and especially to defining practical and concrete activities in this area. 

12. General Conference Resolution 32 C/47 “New Perspectives in UNESCO’s activities pertaining to the dialogue among civilizations and cultures, including in particular follow-up to the New Delhi Ministerial Conference” set forth a clear direction for UNESCO’s future orientation and lead role in promoting dialogue among civilizations and cultures. It defined a framework for action in the Organization’s key areas of expertise and highlighted the need to hold regional and sub-regional events, as these will allow the identification of more concrete, better focused and relevant approaches and conclusions, beyond agreements on general frameworks and declarations. 

13. Reinforcing this trend, UNESCO’s Executive Board held a thematic debate in October 2004 on “New Approaches and Concrete Actions in the Dialogue among Civilizations”. On this occasion, UNESCO’s role as a lead agency in this field was re-endorsed, and the importance of education, the involvement of youth and the role of women in dialogue-related activities were highlighted among the key avenues to be pursued in future initiatives.

14. The Tirana Summit will thus be the first occasion to advance and concretize a specific regional focus, while building on the political consensus reached and on a universally agreed framework of shared norms and values that must be at the core of dialogue-related activities. 

III. Focus on Albania in the context of South-East Europe

15. Within the past decade, the countries of the South-East Europe region have suffered military, economic, and political crisis and conflicts and even war. Internal and external shocks impacted neighbouring countries, for example, through influx of refugees, dislocations of ethnic groups, disruptions in transport and trade, and loss of investor. In the last few years, the region has made good progress across a broad front. Economic growth has resumed, institutions of the emerging democracies and market economies are being created and strengthened, regional trade links are being restored, private investment is slowly growing and the prospects for poverty reduction have improved. The ability of all countries to maintain macroeconomic stability and sustain reforms has been the foundation on which progress has been built. For all countries, the capacity and willingness to generate - and sustain – internal and external dialogue across a range of issues will be a major determinant for advancing further on the road to peace, democracy, stability and sustainable development.

16. As regards Albania, it ended 46 years of Communist rule and established a multiparty democracy. The country faced a difficult socio-economic and political transition to democracy and open markets, while struggling with a series of challenges; e.g. widespread social and political unrest, the bankruptcy of hundreds of thousands of families due to the collapse of the pyramid investment schemes (1997), and the influx of half a million refugees from Kosovo (1999). 

17. International observers judged parliamentary elections in 2001 to be an important step toward democratic development, and the progress toward democratic reform enabled Albania to gain membership in the Organisation on Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). Efforts to establish a market economy caused severe dislocations, but they also opened the road for Albania to obtain significant amounts of aid from developed countries.

18. These profound changes entailed a significant societal shake-up after 1991/2. It caused widespread unemployment, which has risen to 35 % among young people aged 15 to 24. This constitutes a source of discouragement, discontent and potential problems. About a quarter of the population migrated to cities in search of new livelihoods, breaking supportive family and community bonds and taxing fragile social services.

19. Albania has a population of 3 million, distributed among essentially three confessions (Muslim, Catholic and Orthodox). Twenty percent of the populations left the country seeking employment opportunities abroad. The growth of an Albanian diaspora has implications for Albanian society, for regional inter-ethnic tolerance and for economic development.

20. The Albanian government is committed to implementing “The National Strategy for Socio-Economic Development” (November 2001), a poverty-reduction initiative based on the Millennium Development Goals, with a view to improving the lives of poor Albanians, especially children and women. Albania has also prepared its national strategy on the development of education, which was made public in mid-August 2004 as the basis for reforming the country’s educational system. An important part of the strategy for the period 2004-2015 is the process of decentralizing education. Moreover, a new system of curricula for elementary education is scheduled to be in place in 2008.

21. In cooperation with other national and international stakeholders, the Government is seeking also to develop a National ICT Strategy that addresses issues such as bridging the digital divide, introducing e-government, e-education and e-commerce initiatives, and the continued development of telecommunications infrastructure. 

IV. Possibilities for reinforcing the dialogue through education, culture, the sciences and communication and information

Education

22. The Delors report Learning: The Treasure Within (1996) spelled out that education can promote social cohesion if it strives to take the diversity of individuals and groups into consideration, while at the same time seeking to construct universally accepted philosophies and policies of education.

23. Dialogue can be reinforced through the pursuit of the six Education for All (EFA) goals and in particular through efforts aimed at promoting quality education at all levels focused on learning to live together. This does not merely encompass aspects of educational attainment, but particularly the qualitative aspects of teaching curricula and their content focusing on peace, universally shared values, human rights and civic education, democracy, tolerance, mutual understanding and multilingual education as well as the change of gender perceptions – all within the frame of promoting sustainable development. Promoting and securing gender equality at all levels of the education system will be an important overarching task. ICTs are more and more becoming an integral part of educational strategies, providing greater flexibility in learning situations, promoting increased interactivity and dialogue for learners and connectivity to people and learning resources.

24. The necessity to develop quality education is paramount. And educational institutions and materials are uniquely able to serve as a vehicle for peace, dialogue and intercultural understanding. A key modality for quality education is the improvement and revision of textbooks and teaching materials and the training of teachers. A revision of handbooks and teaching materials used in primary and secondary schools (public and private) will be an equally critical task so as to eradicate stereotypes and judgments leading to a demeaning of cultures and civilizations and related to gender roles. 

25. At the secondary school level, the teaching of history and sociology of civilizations and religions should also be included in curricula. Revisions should also aim to provide impartial, dispassionate and comprehensive knowledge about cultures and civilizations, especially in conflict and post-conflict situations, and promote the necessary forums for research and dialogue among concerned specialists of relevant disciplinary backgrounds.

26. The creation of exchange programmes and twinning arrangements among universities, and the promotion of virtual dialogues and engagement among students can be an effective vehicle for enhancing intercultural understanding and dialogue. An innovative example is the public-private partnership between UNESCO and DaimlerChrysler, Mondialogo, which comprises a worldwide school contest and an engineering competition, both built around - and through - intercultural dialogue at the country and school level.

27. Indeed, education at all levels – through formal, non-formal and informal approaches – has an inherent ability to release the potential of dialogue, provided it is accessible to all. The development of rights-based and values-oriented national approaches should be at the heart of educational efforts. Dialogue nurtured within the minds of human beings through appropriate education can inform and shape overt dialogues among individuals and among groups brought up in different cultural environments leading to a new harmonious existence responding to mutual interests and needs.

Science and technology

28. The speed of scientific and technological progress poses nowadays new challenges. Knowledge and its application is science and technology has always been a key component of development for all cultures and civilizations – yet its potential to advance and inspire dialogue has too often been neglected. On the one hand, there has been an enormous increase in the understanding of nature in all its aspects. On the other, tremendous opportunities keep opening up for the application of this knowledge in diverse areas of human needs.

29. The generation and application of the sciences and technology and scientific and technological interchange, sharing and networking, have become increasingly vital for economic and social development. Policies to address contemporary challenges increasingly demand scientific advice based on analysis, understanding, sharing and anticipation. More than ever, decision-making and policy formulation require understanding of the scientific underpinnings and consequences must be fully informed as to their scientific basis and consequences, drawing on input both form the natural sciences and the social and human sciences irrespective of national borders – the sciences delineate new frontiers for global unity and connectivity. Social sciences can specifically contribute to dialogue by organizing activities which reinforce tolerance, ethical approaches, the quest for gender equality and a culture of peace and by mobilizing against racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance.

Cultural diversity

30. At present, cultural diversity and heritage are emerging as fonts for identities and tools for reconciliation. Cultural heritage – in both its tangible and intangible forms - embodies the symbolic values of cultural identities and constitutes a fundamental reference for structuring society. As a shared experience, the foremost constituent value of the heritage is diversity. Once respect for cultural heritage allows people to understand themselves, it will also be a key to understanding others. The protection of heritage, and its presentation and transmission to future generations, are therefore ethical imperatives, inseparable from respect for dignity of the human person. Today, heritage must be made a cause for the protection of diversity of cultures and of dialogue between them.

31. The links that unify the defense of cultural diversity, the safeguarding of cultural heritage and the respect for sustainable development must be maintained. This was one of the important messages of the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, where cultural diversity was acknowledged as inseparable from the economic, social and ecological concerns, and qualified as a “collective force” at the service of sustainable development.

32. The furthering of mutual respect and tolerance among citizens of different ethnic origin is a principle to be sustained in the development of inter-ethnic relations. When an absence of solidly rooted norms of cooperation or structural incentives to co-operate has generated conflict, violence, deadlock and secessionism, the challenge of dialogue – and the capacity for dialogue – are particularly significant in the continuing transition towards stability and human and material prosperity. 

33. In areas that have experienced ethnic conflict - or wars – the emergence of multi-ethnic states, built on a commitment to democratic principles, protection of human rights and among them women’s rights, guaranteeing the freedom of religion, upholding the rule of law, as well as respect for and protection of minorities, and the development of good neighborly relations and cooperation are prerequisites for regional stability and peace. In conditions of open free-flowing communication and equality, contacts and dialogue between different ethnic and religious groups must be encouraged to generate mutual understanding, not conflict, leading to the emergence of what has been termed a “civic culture”.

34. States need to find ways of forging national unity amid diversity, and individuals have to be prodded to shed rigid identities if they are to become part of diverse societies and uphold values of tolerance and respect for human rights and the Other. At both levels, dialogue will be key.

Information and communication

35. Advances in information and communication technologies (ICTs) add a new dimension. They have an unprecedented ability to bring together diverse communities, cultures, civilizations and different faiths. Communication and information open new horizons for creating inclusive knowledge societies through education, the exchange of scientific knowledge, and the promotion of creativity and intercultural dialogue as well as interpersonal exchanges and networking. 

36. In this context, UNESCO’s core missions to “promote the free exchange of ideas and knowledge” and to “maintain, increase and diffuse knowledge” are exceedingly relevant. Freedom of expression is the cornerstone of any democratic society. Emphasis is on creating an environment among decision-makers and civil society that is conducive to the full enjoyment of freedom of expression in democracy. The promotion of freedom of expression and its corollary, the freedom of the press, is of particular relevance in the development of knowledge societies.

37. ICTs bring about new challenges for freedom of expression and cultural diversity, gender equality and reduction of disparities and new forms of exclusion existing in access to and participation knowledge societies. Capacity-building in communication and information is crucial for building knowledge societies based on freedom of expression and pluralism. In a rapidly changing media landscape, the constant evolution of ICTs and the emergence of new professional profiles in both communication and information fields require a continuous process of improving the skills and knowledge of professionals.

V. Future stability and progress in South-East Europe

38. Many of the challenges facing the countries in South-East Europe are not only common to all, but they also have cross-border dimensions. The return of refugees, the building of infrastructure, the advance of economic development and the fight against organized crime are examples for areas where countries need to cooperate closely so as to achieve results. Regional co-operation goes hand in hand with further development of the individual countries. It also constitutes an essential element and prerequisite under the Stabilisation and Association process with the European Union.⁴

39. Much progress has been made, as documented in the increasing number of bi-lateral co-operation agreements. Regional co-operation is becoming the natural way to tackle shared problems and to move towards progress, thus securing stability and mutual understanding. 

40. In this effort, dialogue will be indispensable. Dialogue favors the development of greater inclusivity; it subscribes essentially to a more democratic and peaceful society at the international as well as the national level. The concept of dialogue encompasses a shared concern with poverty and underdevelopment, in both material and human terms, and with fellow human beings of different ethnic backgrounds and religious faiths. The very notion of “dialogue” implies listening, learning about and accepting other, often different and even divergent points of view.

41. Inter-religious and inter-ethnic dialogue constitutes a potentially significant feature of social cohesion and stability everywhere. In South-East Europe in particular, the harmonious co-existence of three major confessions (Muslim, Orthodox, and Catholic) constitutes an interesting case of religious tolerance and coexistence. The region’s conflict-ridden and war-stricken recent past has brought to the fore the need to develop a new approach with which to promote the moral, ethical and spiritual values underpinning the dialogue between peoples and states and the respect for Others. This could be done be reinvigorating the historically entrenched modalities for inter-religious and inter-ethnic dialogue and interaction in the region.

42. The Tirana Summit will seek to draw on the inherent dynamic of dialogue, built on national and regional experiences, seek to define a framework for cooperation and identify concrete initiatives and programmes that should be pursued for the benefit, prosperity, development – and above all, peace within - and among - the countries and peoples of South East Europe.

Notes:

1. The proceedings of the Conference have been published in “Cooperation between UNESCO and its South-East European Member States” (UNESCO, 2002).

2. The Proceedings of the Regional Forum has been published in UNESCO’s “Dialogue among Civilizations” series (UNESCO 2004)

3. UN General Assembly Resolution 56/6, Global Agenda for Dialogue among Civilizations (21 November 2001).

4. Commission of the European Union. Report from the Commission. The Stabilization and Association process for South East Europe. Third Annual Report, Brussels, 30.03.2004.