New York, January 19, 2016. At a Focal Points meeting, the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) made a presentation of the theme and programme of its 7th Global Forum on April 25-27, 2016 in Baku, Azerbaijan at the UN headquarters in New York.
With host government Azerbaijan in attendance, UNAOC Chief of Cabinet and Spokesperson for the High Representative, Nihal Saad, explained the rationale behind this year’s Forum’s theme “Living Together in Inclusive Societies: A Challenge and a Goal” to the audience of 140 representative of UNAOC’s Group of Friends on January 15.
“By stressing the “inclusive” aspect of “living together”, the 7th UNAOC Global Forum will harness the multiple perspectives of various sectors to meet the challenge of, and progress towards, inclusively living together in today’s increasingly diverse societies,” said Saad.
Host country Azerbaijan serves as a model of a country where people have been living inclusively together for centuries. “Living together in inclusive societies also converges with the three major pillars of the United Nations: peace and security, human rights, and development. Societies that provide avenues for political and economic inclusion reduce the rationale for violent approaches to seeking power and wealth. Beyond tolerance, respect for the human rights of minorities in inclusive societies helps minorities perceive themselves as full and equal members of their societies,” explained Saad further.
During the 2 day-long Forum around 3,000 state and non-state actors will gather and discuss the ‘Prevention of Violent Extremism’ and ‘Best Practices in Social Inclusion’ in two plenaries. In 14 breakout sessions, participants will exchange their views on various challenges to inclusive societies such as hate speech and cyber extremism, as well as opportunities for enhancing inclusiveness such as the role of youth media and business for peace-building.
The Forum will be preceded by a daylong youth event and will provide participants with numerous opportunities to network, consolidate and create new partnerships.
The Forum will be concluded by a joint declaration as well as the launch of a UNAOC Advisory Council.
For further information and registration please visit baku.unaoc.org.