Building on efforts in the UNESCO General Conference of October 2011, the United Nations General Assembly has proclaimed the Decade 2013-2022 as the International Decade for the Rapprochement of Cultures, with UNESCO as the lead Agency.
The Decade is part of a strong momentum created by the International Decade for a Culture of Peace and Non-violence for the Children of the World (2001-2010) which called for peace and non-violence at every level of society.The 2006 UNESCO General Conference in its resolution on Promotion of dialogue among peoples had called for
“the development of a universal global consciousness”
Based on dialogue and cooperation in a climate of trust and mutual understanding and for a
“new humanism for the twenty-first century”.
The year 2010 had been designated as the International Year for the Rapprochement of Cultures “to promote universal respect for, and observation and protection of all human rights and fundamental freedoms.”
Cultures encompass not only the arts and humanities but also different ways of living together, value systems and traditions.It is true today that, to an unprecedented degree, people are meeting together in congresses, conferences and universities all over the globe.
However, in themselves, such meetings are not dialogue and do not necessarily lead to rapprochement of cultures.
There is a need to reach a deeper level. Reaching such deeper levels takes patience, tolerance, the ability to take a longer-range view, and creativity.
For any UN-sponsored Year or Decade to have a real impact, there must be wide initiatives and actions by civil society: non-governmental organizations (NGOs), academic institutions and the media.As Citizens of the World have been in the lead in efforts to create a new humanism for the twenty-first century.
They welcome this 2013-2022 Decade and will play their part to highlight the creative efforts of individuals who have helped to create bridges of understanding among cultures.
Henry Usborne. World Citizen Activist.
Henry Usborne (16 Jan. 1909 -16 March 1996).by Rene Wadlow. Henry Usborne was a British Member of Parliament (M.P.); elected in the Labour Party landslide in 1945. He was re-elected…
Alexandre Marc: Con-federalism, Cultural Renewal and Trans-frontier Cooperation
Alexandre Marc ; (19 January 1904 – 22 February 2000) was born as Alexandre Markovitch Lipiansky in Odessa, Russia in 1904. He later simplified his name by dropping Lipiansky; (which…
Stringfellow Barr. Joining the Human Race.
By Rene Wadlow. Stringfellow Barr: 15 January 1897 – 3 February 1982) Stringfellow Barr; whose birth anniversary we mark on 15 January; was a historian; largely of the classic Greek…
Carl Rogers: Healing the Person and the State.
Carl Ransom Rogers; (1902 – 1987) an active World Citizen; whose birth anniversary is 8 January, was a US psychologist and educator and a leading figure of what is often…
Maurice Béjart: Starting Off the Year with a Dance
By René Wadlow January 1st is the birth anniversary of Maurice Béjart, an innovative master of modern dance. In a world where there is both appreciation and fear of the…
Antonio Gramsci: A Cultural Base for Positive Action.
By Dr. Rene Wadlow. Antonio Gramsci (22 January 1891 – 24 April 1937); was an Italian Socialist; and then Communist editor ; who is best known for his notebooks of…
Denis de Rougemont (1906-1985), The Future is within us.
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Abraham H. Maslow. Cultural-Bridge-builder through Psychology
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Robert Muller (11 March 1923 -20 Sept. 2010) The U.N. Networker.
Decide to Network use every letter you write; every conversation you have; every meeting you attend to express your fundamental beliefs and dreams; affirm to others the vision of the…
Albert Camus : Stoic Humanist and World Citizen.
By Rene Wadlow. Albert Camus (1913-1960) would have been 10 in November 2013, had he lived beyond the car crash, which took his life in 1960 as he and another…