UNESCO Regional Roundtable on Good Practices in Intercultural Dialogue, and UNESCO Chairs workshop on Interreligious Dialogue
The Oslo Coalition and the UNESCO Division of Cultural Policies and Intercultural dialogue have for several years been planning a conference on intercultural and inter-religious dialogue in Central Asia. From UNESCO’s viewpoint, the conference was to be a follow up of the UNESCO Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity, adopted by the 31st Session of UNESCO’s General Conference in 2001 (appendix 1). From Oslo Coalition’s viewpoint, it was also a follow up of the Oslo Global Meeting of Experts in September 2004 (appendix 2), where one of the conclusions was (point 7): « UNESCO and the Oslo Coalition should encourage regional network meetings and workshops that could foster exchange of ideas and material and other kinds of cooperation at the regional level ».
The idea behind the conference was to focus on best practices and exchange of experience within intercultural dialogue, with special emphasis on inter-religious dialogue. Inter-religious dialogue is, however, a politically sensitive area, especially in the context of emerging nations after the break-up of the Soviet Union trying to forge a unique, single identity. The size of the task these countries are facing can be illustrated by the fact that Kazakhstan alone has 135 registered ethnic groups, each with their own version of Kazakhstan’s history. Both language and religion tend to be involved in the creation of a holistic identity, very often with negative consequences for minority groups.
The conference was seen to be so central in the UNESCO regional cooperation that it now has it's own conference website. See also below for a report from the conference, and conference papers
Papers from the Conference: