What does a dialogue among civilizations mean? One could argue that in the world there are two groups of civilizations – one which perceives diversity as a threat and the other which sees it as an opportunity and an integral component for growth. The Year of Dialogue Among Civilizations was established to redefine diversity and to improve dialogue between these two groups. Hence, the goal of the Year of Dialogue Among Civilizations is to nurture a dialogue which is both preventive of conflicts – when possible – and inclusive in nature.

To do this, Governments, the United Nations system and other relevant international and non-governmental organizations were invited by the United Nations General Assembly to plan and implement cultural, educational and social programmes to promote the concept of the dialogue among civilizations.

"History does not kill. Religion does not rape women, the purity of blood does not destroy buildings and institutions do not fail. Only individuals do those things," says Mr. Giandomenico Picco. Mr. Picco was appointed the Personal Representative to the Secretary-General for the United Nations Year of Dialogue Among Civilizations in 1999 in order to facilitate discussions on diversity, through organizing conferences, seminars and disseminating information and scholarly materials. Having served the United Nations for two decades, Mr. Picco is most recognized for participating in UN efforts to negotiate the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan and in bringing an end to the Iran-Iraq war. He believes that people should take responsibility for who they are, what they do, what they value, and what they believe in.

Dialogue knows no geographic, cultural or social boundaries. Even where conflict has created seemingly insurmountable walls between people, the spirit and vision of human beings has in many instances kept alive the flame of dialogue. Keeping that flame burning is one of the goals of the United Nations Year of Dialogue.

To this end the United Nations is identifying examples of human courage –the unsung heroes of dialogue who have faced adversity and looked beyond cultural, social, economic and racial issues to find a solution. Twelve 60-second public service announcements are being produced, each illustrating how an individual crossed the divide of difference to bring people together. Among such "unsung heroes" are peace activist Margaret Gibney, who as a 14-year-old girl from civil war-torn Northern Ireland helped create the Wall of Peace project in Belfast, and Kenyan ethnographer Sultan Sornjee, who as founder of African Peace Museum in Nairobi encourages indigenous communities to share their peace traditions. These PSAs may be aired by any television station that wishes to carry them and can be translated into any number of languages.

A group of eminent individuals selected by the Secretary-General is working with the Personal Representative of the Secretary-General, Mr. Picco, to prepare a book on the issue of dialogue focusing on the perception of diversity. The book, which will be presented to the Secretary-General during the 2001 session of the United Nations General Assembly, will lay the groundwork for a new paradigm in international relations.

Following is the list of eminent persons currently engaged in this project:

Dr. A. Kamal Aboulmagd (Egypt)

Professor Lourdes Arizpe (Mexico)

Dr. Hanan Ashrawi (Palestine)

Professor Ruth Cardoso (Brazil)

The Hon. Jacques Delors (France)

Dr. Leslie Gelb (United States of America)

Nadine Gordimer (South Africa)

HRH Prince El Hassan bin Talal (Jordan)

Professor Sergey Kapitza (Russia)

Dr. Hayao Kawai (Japan)

Amb. Tommy Koh (Singapore)

Professor Dr. Hans Küng (Switzerland)

Dr. Graça Machel (Mozambique)

Professor Amartya Sen (India)

Dr. Song Jian (China)

The Hon. Richard Spring, MP (Ireland)

Professor Tu Weiming (China)

The Hon. Richard von Weizsäker (Germany)

Dr. Javad Zarif (Iran)

Giandomenico Picco (Italy), Personal Representative of Secretary-General Kofi Annan

The endeavour is supported by the Dialogue Among Civilizations Secretariat at the School of Diplomacy and International Relations at Seton Hall University in New Jersey, USA.

Since the beginning of 2000, governmental and academic institutions and non-governmental organizations have held seminars and debates and sponsored research on the issue of dialogue among civilizations, bringing together a wide variety of civil society groups.

The Dialogue Among Civilizations was also the subject of a round-table at UN Headquarters in September 2000, supported by the President of Islamic Republic of Iran, Mohammad Khatami, and chaired by the Director-General of UNESCO. The Secretary-General, 12 Heads of State (Afghanistan, Algeria, Georgia, Indonesia, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Latvia, Mali, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Qatar and the Sudan), the Secretary of State of the United States and the Foreign Ministers of Azerbaijan, Costa Rica, Egypt, India, the Islamic Republic of Iran and Iraq) were in attendance. All parties resolved that with the help of such a dialogue among civilizations, all nations would be able to replace hostility and confrontation with discourse and understanding.

Visitors to the site can also engage in person-to-person dialogue online using both words and images. They can play three different games with the images designed by children and adults from around the world – then share these images with friends and colleagues. The site was developed with an intuitive graphic design so that it is acceptable to people speaking any language.

It is a direct, constant and free communication tool where people can make connections to one another and begin the "Dialogue".

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