©Ruedi Baur
Poster for the International Celebration of World Philosophy Day 2010 at UNESCO

On World Philosophy Day, UNESCO will host a major forum on the topic "Philosophy, Cultural Diversity and the Rapprochement of Cultures" at its Headquarters in Paris.
Philosophy is a living exercise of dialogue and rapprochement: philosophers of all countries and all eras cultivate, beyond the great diversity of their ideas, schools and cultures, the same confidence in the universal power of reason. As to diversity, it is often viewed as a static factor that must be preserved, without examining its active potential for peace-building and its role for a better common understanding of the challenges of today’s world. Faced with complex contemporary challenges, we shall strive to use all of the resources of the mind to build a common sphere governed by shared values.

This Forum will be the ideal occasion to express the importance of thought in action, bringing philosophers and policy makers together in dialogue. By giving the floor to both groups, we believe that a lively and meaningful debate will emerge, which is the best way of evading the trap of isolation. Is there any better example of rapprochement?

The Forum is organized by UNESCO, with the participation of Souleymane Bachir Diagne (Senegal), Tanella Boni (Côte d’Ivoire), Barbara Cassin (France), Bhuvan Chandel (India), Mezri Haddad (Tunisia), Sergey P. Kapitza (Russian Federation), Edgar Morin (France), Paulina Rivero Weber (Mexico), Ghassam Salamé (Lebanon) and Juan Gabriel Valdés (Chile).