[Translate to francais:] The Forum was opened by the UN Secretary General, Ban Ki moon, and UNESCO Director-General, Irina Bokova, and moderated by the well known international journalist Femi Oke.

“No state or society can afford to retreat into fear,” declared Irina Bokova. “We cannot allow cultures of exclusion to arise.”

The Forum took place right after the second meeting of the High Panel on Peace and Dialogue among Cultures, convened by UNESCO Director-General, Irina Bokova. The High Panel discussed the high stakes of reconciliation for peace today from the perspectives of artists, politicians, scholars and activists from across the world.

Forest Whitaker showed his documentary film on the reintegration of child soldiers, before discussing his personal engagement with this complex issue.

The discussion at the Forum was lively and open, taking in the consequences of conflict on students and the role of the arts for reconciliation. The 2O11 Education for All Global Monitoring Report on the impact of conflict on education figured prominently in the discussion. The importance of human rights education was explored, as was the power of cultural of diversity and the dialogue of cultures to foster understanding.

The importance of women in reconciliation was a red thread throughout the conversation. Members of the High Panel drew on their own experience of reconciliation, from inter-religious dialogue and actions at the grassroots to the role of science and communication.
 
“One of the great challenges we face is to work against forces that fragment humanity and to strengthen the values and ties we hold in common,” concluded Irina Bokova.

The High Panel includes:

• Prince Turki Al Faisal Al Saud (Chairman, Board of Directors, King Faisal Centre for Research and Islamic Studies),
• Ivonne A-Baki (Artist, UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador, former President of the Andean Parliament and former Minister of Foreign Trade of Ecuador),
• Abdulaziz Othman Altwaijri (Director-General of the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization),
• Arjun Appadurai (Goddard Professor of Media, Culture, and Communication at the NYU Steinhardt School of Culture, Education and Human Development),
• Homi K. Bhabha (Anne F. Rothenberg Professor of the Humanities & Director of the Mahindra Humanities Center at Harvard University),
• Günter Blobel (Nobel Laureate in Physiology or Medicine (1999) and John D. Rockefeller Jr. Professor and Investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute at the Rockefeller University),
• Kjell Magne Bondevik (Founder and President of the Oslo Center for Peace and Human Rights and former Prime Minister of Norway),
• Chen Kaige (Film Director),
• Esther Coopersmith (United Nations Peace Prize Laureate and UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for Intercultural Dialogue),
• Sabiha Al Khemir (painter, writer, curator and historian of Islamic art, and Founding Director of the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha, Qatar),
• Omer Zülfu Livaneli (Writer, musician, Film Director and Member of Parliament),
• Candido Mendes (Secretary-General of the Academy of Latinity and Dean of the Universidade Candido Mendes),
• Babatunde Osotimehin (Under Secretary-General of the United Nations; Executive Director of the United Nations Population Fund),
• Jorge Sampaio (High Representative of the UN Secretary-General for the  Alliance of Civilizations),
• Aminata Traore (President of the “Forum pour un autre Mali” and former Minister for Culture and Tourism),
• Forest Whitaker (Artist, Film Director and Producer).