Alliance of Civilizations
The Alliance of Civilizations, Eng. Alliance of Civilizations ( AoC ) is a UN initiative under Ban Ki -moon of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, with the aim to merge common approaches for action across different societies and cultures to combat extremism and cultural, religious and to overcome social barriers, mainly between the Western and predominantly Muslim world. Secretary General of the Alliance of Civilizations Jorge Sampaio is since April 2007.
History
José Luis Zapatero and Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Prime Ministers of Spain and Turkey, submit to the Secretary General of the UN on 21 September 2004, the idea of an initiative an "alliance of civilizations ". The proposal was received by Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Ángel Moratinos, in his address to the Arab League in the following December, and in a speech, held together with UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan on 9 March 2005, in Madrid shortly before the anniversary of attacks in Madrid. Javier Solana had called for such an initiative already in its security doctrine in 2003. The UN Secretary General Kofi Annan supported the idea and proclaimed it to Solanas birthday on 14 July 2005 as a UN initiative.
High Level Group
In order to develop a concrete action plan and formulate ideas that would form the basis of this alliance, a high-level 18-member group has been formed. You should conceive by the end of 2006, the philosophy of this project and a concrete action program that shows how extremist tendencies met and mutual understanding between cultures and civilizations can be created. On September 3, 2005 Kofi Annan appointed the Advisory Committee ("High Level Group ") for the Alliance of Civilizations. There are people who represent three categories of representatives from various cultures:
The first group includes former leading politicians and statesmen. These are not just officials but individuals who are known thanks to their intellectual potential and their contribution to the development of culture. These include the former Iranian President Mohammad Khatami, former UNESCO Director-General Federico Mayor Zaragoza, former French Foreign Minister Hubert Vedrine, Senegal's former Prime Minister Moustapha Niasse, Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos and former Spanish Prime Minister Felipe González.
The second category is a freelance intellectuals who have held no high administrative posts: The well-known British author Karen Armstrong, who writes about religion. She has written many books on this subject, including about Islam written. The American researcher John L. Esposito Islam, who heads a center for the understanding between Christians and Muslims at Georgetown University and is the editor of the Oxford Encyclopedia of the Islamic world.
The third category is regarded cleric Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa and the American Rabbi Arthur Schneier. This category can also include former Iranian President Khatami.
Tasks of the group
Following consultations with Spain and Turkey Kofi Annan identified three main tasks of the group:
- To give an assessment of the situation in the world, especially for the security issues and the threats posed by the extremist forces.
- Joint actions at the official level and at the level of civil society to design.
- Recommended A real program of action for states, international organizations and civil society, which is aimed at promoting the establishment of harmonious relations between different societies.
The fabricated Action Programme (the " Report" ) was submitted to the UN Secretary General in Istanbul on 13 November.
The Action Programme (the "report" )
The report is divided into two parts: Part 1 includes an analysis of the global relationship and the actual state of relations between Muslim and Western societies. He concludes with a set of policy recommendations. Part 2 reflects the view of the High Level Group that tensions between cultures have now already reached the hearts and minds of the population. To counteract this trend designs the group recommendations for four areas: education, youth, migration and media. The report concludes by suggesting how these recommendations are to be implemented.
Implementation plan 2007-2009
After his appointment as Secretary General of the Alliance of Civilizations Jorge Sampaio presented in May 2007 its plan to implement the Programme of Action 2007-2009. The plan is a media fund to support projects aimed at cooperation between cultures and religions and a youth exchange program. Similarly, to speak of a " media -response troops, " which is to engage in constructive debates with crises. A database with the parade examples of successful co-operation projects should be established.
In order to promote intercultural and interreligious exchange, we formed a so-called. " Group of friends ", including a network of over 60 countries.
The first Alliance Forum in Madrid
The first forum in Madrid, Spain, on 15 - 16th January 2008 is dedicated to the youth. Here, politicians, representatives of foundations and religious organizations, youth organizations and media take along devise sub- initiatives and projects. A fund will be established which is to fund this. On the list of participants there is also a writer Paulo Coelho and actor Antonio Banderas.
Ambassador
In order to follow the implementation plan, to Madrid in the name of ambassadors ( " 14 ways " ) are announced for the Alliance of Civilizations to popularize the idea. Besides Angelina Jolie already U2 singer Bono, George Clooney, Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz and Jeremy Rifkin were talking.
The Alliance of Civilizations and other organizations
The OSCE had already decided to support the Alliance in December 2005. NATO said its support in November 2006 at the meeting in Riga. The European Union, it is divided into the framework of cooperation in the Mediterranean of the so. " Barcelona Process ", and sees them as part of the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP ), there are links to Anna- Lindth Foundation and the European Year of Intercultural Dialogue 2008.
Ideological background
The Alliance of Civilizations sees its task as religious extremism to respond to any form adequately, so this is not explicitly limited to the discussion of the political Islamism. Even fundamentalist movements within other religions be critically evaluated. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki -moon called a model for tolerance and spiritual enlightenment for example, Jalal ad-Din ar - Rumi, and stresses that its teachings describe the goals of the Alliance.