RIO DE JANEIRIO, 29 May 2010 – Jorge Sampaio, High Representative of the UN Alliance of Civilizations and former President of Portugal, today presented the final outcomes of the Third Forum of the Alliance, which was held in Rio this year, following previous meetings in Madrid and Istanbul.
Hosted and organized by the Brazilian government, the forum convened a unique audience of journalists, NGOs, heads of state and members of government, business leaders, and youth. Among the many highlights, the following announcements were made:
Dialogue Café network: inauguration of the two first Dialogue Cafés in Lisbon and Rio de Janeiro. Dialogue Cafe uses the latest video conferencing technology to connect young people in different parts of the world.
Announcement that the 1st conference of the Global Youth Movement for the UN Alliance of Civilizations in Baku in October 2010 at the invitation of the government of Azerbaijan.
Expansion of the Alliance Fellowship Program—an exchange of young leaders between the Arab world, Europe, and the United States—which will take place in November 2010.
Announcement of the Alliance of Civilizations summer school – “Bridging hearts, opening minds and doing things together” (Aveiro, Portugal, one week in August) – a multi-stakeholder initiative, to celebrate the International Year of Youth.
Launching of the third round of the Youth Solidarity Fund, an initiative to provide seed funding to youth-led projects that promote cross-cultural understanding.
The 2nd Global Model United Nations organized by the UN will take place in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in August 2010 on the themes of the Alliance of Civilizations, in partnership with the government of Malaysia.
The creation of the United Nations University International Institute for the Alliance of Civilizations, based in Barcelona.
Launching of The Online Community on Migration and Integration in partnership with the International Organization for Migration.
Presentation of the new Global Expert Finder website, a free online resource of experts and opinion leaders, which supports the work of journalists.
Presentation of a new resource for journalists of the Mediterranean region in collaboration with the Anna Lindh Foundation (ALF) and the European Commission. It is to be fully developed in the context of the joint UNAOC – ALF – European Commission strategy and in the framework of the future Action Plan implementing the UNAOC Regional Strategy for the Mediterranean.
Memoranda of Understanding and partnership agreements were presented/signed:
renewed MoU with UNESCO
MoU with IRCICA
Action Plan implementing previous MoU with OIC and ALECSO
Letter of Intent with ILO
finalization of the preparation of the MoU with the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) and the World Bank
The Rio Forum further confirmed the global scope of the Alliance of Civilizations and provided new and existing partners a platform to collaborate with each other on substantive projects in the field of intercultural relations.
For media comment:
Stephanie Durand
+55 21 802 783 23
stephanied@unops.org
Dex Torricke-Barton
+1 917-514-5894
Torricke-barton@un.org
The UNAOC mobilizes concerted action toward reaffirming a paradigm of mutual respect among peoples of different cultural and religious backgrounds. It aims to bridge the world’s divides and to build trust and understanding across cultures and communities. Established in 2005 as a UN initiative, the Alliance emerged out of a conviction that in order to achieve sustainable peace, long-standing divisions between cultures need to be addressed.
Major UN Forum in Rio Concludes with Outcomes in the Areas of Youth, Media, and Innovation
RIO DE JANEIRIO, 29 May 2010 – Jorge Sampaio, High Representative of the UN Alliance of Civilizations and former President of Portugal, today presented the final outcomes of the Third Forum of the Alliance, which was held in Rio this year, following previous meetings in Madrid and Istanbul.
Hosted and organized by the Brazilian government, the forum convened a unique audience of journalists, NGOs, heads of state and members of government, business leaders, and youth. Among the many highlights, the following announcements were made:
Dialogue Café network: inauguration of the two first Dialogue Cafés in Lisbon and Rio de Janeiro. Dialogue Cafe uses the latest video conferencing technology to connect young people in different parts of the world.
Announcement that the 1st conference of the Global Youth Movement for the UN Alliance of Civilizations in Baku in October 2010 at the invitation of the government of Azerbaijan.
Expansion of the Alliance Fellowship Program—an exchange of young leaders between the Arab world, Europe, and the United States—which will take place in November 2010.
Announcement of the Alliance of Civilizations summer school – “Bridging hearts, opening minds and doing things together” (Aveiro, Portugal, one week in August) – a multi-stakeholder initiative, to celebrate the International Year of Youth.
Launching of the third round of the Youth Solidarity Fund, an initiative to provide seed funding to youth-led projects that promote cross-cultural understanding.
The 2nd Global Model United Nations organized by the UN will take place in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in August 2010 on the themes of the Alliance of Civilizations, in partnership with the government of Malaysia.
The creation of the United Nations University International Institute for the Alliance of Civilizations, based in Barcelona.
Launching of The Online Community on Migration and Integration in partnership with the International Organization for Migration.
Presentation of the new Global Expert Finder website, a free online resource of experts and opinion leaders, which supports the work of journalists.
Presentation of a new resource for journalists of the Mediterranean region in collaboration with the Anna Lindh Foundation (ALF) and the European Commission. It is to be fully developed in the context of the joint UNAOC – ALF – European Commission strategy and in the framework of the future Action Plan implementing the UNAOC Regional Strategy for the Mediterranean.
Memoranda of Understanding and partnership agreements were presented/signed:
renewed MoU with UNESCO
MoU with IRCICA
Action Plan implementing previous MoU with OIC and ALECSO
Letter of Intent with ILO
finalization of the preparation of the MoU with the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) and the World Bank
The Rio Forum further confirmed the global scope of the Alliance of Civilizations and provided new and existing partners a platform to collaborate with each other on substantive projects in the field of intercultural relations.
For media comment:
Stephanie Durand
+55 21 802 783 23
stephanied@unops.org
Dex Torricke-Barton
+1 917-514-5894
Torricke-barton@un.org
The UNAOC mobilizes concerted action toward reaffirming a paradigm of mutual respect among peoples of different cultural and religious backgrounds. It aims to bridge the world’s divides and to build trust and understanding across cultures and communities. Established in 2005 as a UN initiative, the Alliance emerged out of a conviction that in order to achieve sustainable peace, long-standing divisions between cultures need to be addressed.