UN Alliance of Civilizations to stage first forum in Madrid

Jan 14, 2008, 16:01 GMT

Madrid - Nearly 400 political leaders and other representatives from about 100 countries were expected Tuesday in the Spanish capital Madrid for the first annual forum of the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations project, organizers said Monday.

The forum was to provide participants with a platform to develop initiatives and partnerships in an attempt to overcome the gap of cultural prejudice and misunderstandings, especially between the West and the Muslim world.

The forum was to be inaugurated by the Spanish and Turkish prime ministers, Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero and Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who launched the alliance, United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, and former Portuguese president Jorge Sampaio, the UN high representative for the project.

The guest list included the presidents of Algeria, Slovenia and Finland, European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana, Arab League Secretary General Amr Musa, actor Antonio Banderas, author Paulo Coelho as well as other personalities representing religious communities, the business world, academia, arts and civil society.

The United States, which is not a member of the 'Group of Friends' network supporting the alliance, will send its ambassador, while Israel was not expected to participate officially.

Soon after Zapatero launched the idea of the alliance in 2004, it received the backing of Erdogan, and was adopted by the UN in 2005.

In 2006, a group of 20 notables ranging from former Iranian president Mohammed Khatami to South African archbishop Desmond Tutu presented an action plan, issuing recommendations for areas ranging from education and the media to the integration of immigrants and peace initiatives.

The idea is for every country to now make its plans, according to the Spanish government, which was to present its own four-year plan at the two-day forum.