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I.P.O. President joins
International Coordinating Committee of World Public Forum "Dialogue of
Civilizations"
Rhodes, Greece, 2 October 2006/P/RE/19968c-is The President of the International Progress Organization, Dr. Hans Koechler, has been appointed as member of the International Co-ordinating Committee of the World Public Forum "Dialogue of Civilizations." The decision was made at the Fourth Annual Session of the Forum in Rhodes, Greece, which concluded its deliberations yesterday with an appeal for inter-faith dialogue and a call for strengthening the civilizational factor in international relations. In a lecture delivered at a special NGO Forum, held in connection with the Annual Session in Rhodes, Dr. Koechler gave an overview of the International Progress Organization's efforts in the field of civilizational dialogue, which the organization had stated as one of its founding principles in the year 1974. He explained that, according to the experience of the I.P.O., the dialogue among cultures and civilizations is the cornerstone of lasting co-existence between nations in the political, economic and legal fields. He specifically warned of the danger of the West getting entangled in a vicious circle of self-affirmation that would strengthen existing enemy stereotypes, and he explained that the current antagonism between political unipolarity on the one hand and civilizational multipolarity on the other makes genuine dialogue among civilizations imperative for the survival of mankind. At the sidelines of the meeting, the President of the I.P.O. held consultations with NGOs that have joined the international network under the auspices of the World Public Forum. He also met with Mr. Ahmed Maher, former Foreign Minister of Egypt. The World Public Forum was attended by over 500 hundred participants from more than 50 countries. In a Declaration adopted at the conclusion of the meeting, the delegates stressed the need for broadening the dialogue at the political and religious levels in view of the challenges posed by different forms of violence, oppression and terrorism. On the basis of a decision adopted at the Third Annual Session in 2005, the World Public Forum "Dialogue of Civilizations" has been registered as an international non-governmental organization with headquarters in Vienna, Austria. END/I.P.O. President joins International Coordinating Committee of World Public Forum "Dialogue of Civilizations"/P/RE/19968c-is |
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