In a lecture delivered yesterday in Tehran, Iran, the President of the International Progress Organization, Dr. Hans Koechler, Chairman of the Department of Philosophy of the University of Innsbruck, Austria, called for the western world to be more self-critical, and for a balanced international order as a fundamental prerequisite of genuine dialogue. He warned that attempts at dialogue will otherwise lack credibility and could generate further conflict.

Dr. Koechler made his remarks at a working session of at the International Conference on Environment, Peace, and the Dialogue among Civilizations and Cultures which was organized by the Islamic Republic of Iran (Dept. of Environment) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in co-operation with United Nations University and Unesco. The conference was inaugurated by Iranian President Ayatollah Seyed Mohammad Khatami and was presided over by the Executive Director of UNEP, Dr. Klaus Toepfer, and the Vice-President of Iran and Minister of Environment, Dr. Massoumeh Ebtekar (Ms.).

The conference adopted the Tehran Communiqué which demands, inter alia, that consideration should be given to the development of fora for preventive dialogue and confidence building, conflict resolution and post-conflict restitution; and that cultural, ethical and spiritual values must be fully integrated into strategies of dialogue for peace, security and development.

In a separate meeting after the conference, Prof. Koechler held consultations with Prof. Hamidreza Ayatollahy, Head of the Philosophy Department of Allameh Tabatabaii University in Tehran, on co-operation projects in the fields of philosophy and civilizational dialogue.

• Summary report

• Pictorial documentation by the International Institute for Sustainable Development

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