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International Conference on
"Dialogue among Civilizations"
Vilnius, Lithuania
23 - 26 April 2001
co-presided by:
The President of Lithuania
The President of Poland
The Director-General of UNESCO
 |
Dialogue
among Civilizations
The International Conference
in Vilnius, Lithuania
23-26 April 2001
The
question of the scope and potential of dialogue among
cultures and civilizations is achieving unprecedented
significance, especially in the present international
context. More than ever before, dialogue poses
a fundamental challenge and must be based on the
unity of mankind and commonly shared values, the recognition
of the world’s cultural diversity and the equal
dignity of each civilization, culture and individual.
This publication underlines the need to prevent
the emergence and nurturing of new prejudices
and stereotypes.
Dialogue
among Civilizations: the International Conference
in Vilnius, Lithuania, 23–26 April, 2001, is the
second publication in UNESCO’s Dialogue among Civilizations
series. It contains the proceedings of a major
event organized by UNESCO during the United Nations
Year of Dialogue among Civilizations (2001).The
Vilnius Conference brought together heads of
state, political decision-makers and diplomats, distinguished
scholars, academics and artists to debate about
the complex issues of culture and civilizations in the
contemporary world.
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 Kaunas - The Church
of St. Nicholas. |
Special
Introduction
by
Her Excellency
Ugné Karvelis
Ambassador
Permanent Delegate to UNESCO
(Translation of the
original French Text)
Ten years after the
re-establishment of its independence and its admission to UNESCO, Lithuania will bring
together in its capital, Vilnius, intellectuals, scientists, scholars and artists from
Europe, Africa, North and South America and Asia, for a conference devoted to
"Dialogue among Civilizations", thus answering the United Nations’ call in
its proclamation of the year 2001 as the United Nations Year of Dialogue among
Civilizations. |
By
doing so, Vilnius revives a tradition from
the Middle Ages: at that time, the
Grand Duchy of Lithuania, which spread from the Baltic to the Black Sea, was a principal
regional power and its capital was a compass card, a crossroads if you will, where the
cultures of the East and West met.
Ethnic Lithuania
represented only one tenth of a sparsely-populated, and ethnically, culturally and
religiously heterogeneous empire governed by Grand Dukes who were satisfied to rule
without seeking to colonise or to assimilate. From the beginning of the XIVth Century,
Grand Duke Gediminas, who made Vilnius his capital in 1323, launched a call to the
craftsmen and merchants promising them freedom to travel and tax exemptions for a 10 year period: Russians and
Germans soon flowed into Vilnius.
Lithuania remained
faithful to its ancestral pagan religion until 1387. By the middle of XIVth Century,
in Vilnius the alters where the holy fire burnt stood
next to the more recent Christian churches: the Catholic
and the Orthodox. At that time, two
brothers shared power for a period of more than 30 years. Kestutis, sovereign of historic
Lithuania, remained faithful to paganism, whilst Algirdas, who reigned over the Slavs,
married an Orthodox princess and baptised those of his children born on Christian soil,
while keeping those born in Lithuania pagan. This demonstrates a spirit of tolerance
rare at that time. |
 The ruins of
the Higher Castle
on the Castles' Hill.
Beyond is Vilnius Old Town. |
The first Act of
Privilege in favour of the Jews was promulgated in 1388. By the middle of the XVIIIth
Century, the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, united as a "Common
Republic" and sheltered the largest Jewish community in the world. Vilnius, where a
great synagogue was built, housed most famous rabbinical schools of the Ashkenazi
world, and became the "Jerusalem of the North". Karaîme and Tartar
communities also established themselves throughout Lithuania.
During the
Renaissance, Vilnius was a cosmopolitan metropolis where a freedom of expression
comparable to that which made the reputation of Basle reigned: from as early as 1522,
works were printed in Latin, Byelorussian, Polish and Hebrew. The University, founded by
the Jesuits in 1579, was one of oldest in the area and attracted many foreign scientists
such as Copernicus.
However, the sacking
of Vilnius by the Muscovite troops who rose against the Polish central authority marked
the end of this spiritual golden age. By 1795 the quasi-totality of Lithuanian territory
fell to Russia. The Tsars practised a policy of Russianization and particularly harsh
repression after the rising of 1863.
Vilnius remained,
nonetheless, as a multi-ethnic and pluri-cultural centre until the Nazi occupation
(1941-1944). During this time, a large majority of the Jewish population was exterminated.
Thereafter, the incorporation of Lithuania into the Soviet Union resulted in the exodus of
the Polish intelligentsia.
Situated at the
crossroads between not only East and West, but also between Northern and Southern
Europe, Lithuania hopes to become again a place of meeting and exchange, as well as a
privileged centre for dialogue between civilizations.
Ugné Karvelis
. |
