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In September 1972, in the course of
the foundation of the International Progress Organization, Hans Köchler
suggested to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization (UNESCO) the holding of an international conference on a
dialogue entre les différentes civilisations ("dialogue between
different civilizations"). 
He further worked out the notion in a position paper on
Cultural Self-comprehension
and Co-existence: Preconditions of a Fundamental Dialogue,
which he delivered at
the University of
Innsbruck
(19 October 1972). Less than two years after
this initiative, Hans Köchler embarked on
a trip around the globe to
promote the idea of cultural dialogue as basis of peaceful co-existence
among nations, and to discuss the International Progress Organization's
forthcoming conference on The
Cultural Self-comprehension of Nations (which was to
be held in Innsbruck, Austria, in July 1974
 ). In the course of his
consultations with academics, politicians, diplomats, NGO
representatives and journalists, he visited 28 cities in 26 countries
in a period of less than two months.
He met, among others, with the President of
Senegal, the Minister of Culture of Egypt, the Minister of Education and Social Welfare of India, and the Foreign
Ministers of Thailand and the United Arab Emirates.
In a lecture on
Cultural-philosophical
Aspects of International Co-operation
at Jordan's Royal Scientific Society in Amman
(9 March
1974) he outlined
his theory of cultural dialogue, an idea which
more than two decades later was
to be discussed under the label, initially
introduced by Köchler,
of
"dialogue among civilizations."
Interactive map
Detailed itinerary
Al-Goumhouria, Cairo, Egypt
Le Soleil, Dakar, Senegal
Abendzeitung, Munich, Germany
The
documentation below provides a brief
overview of Hans Köchler's
meetings and interviews in selected
countries.
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