The publication, which came out in 2006, gathers selected texts presented at the eponymous conference that took place in November 2005 in Seoul, Republic of Korea, in co-organization by UNESCO, the Global Academy for Neo-Renaissance at Kyung Hee University and the Korean National Commission for UNESCO.

The Inter-Regional Philosophical Dialogues is a UNESCO project launched in 2004 that aims at “establishing philosophical dialogues among scholars of various regions of the world, e.g. the Arab world and Asia, Africa and Latin America, Africa and the Arab World, Western and Eastern Europe, etc.” (Intersectoral Strategy on Philosophy). The end-objective of the project is to foster greater mutual understanding of the world traditions of philosophical thought, and to encourage intellectual partnerships in exploring the contemporary challenges to philosophical research and study.

In the framework of this Inter-Regional Philosophical Dialogue between Asia and the Arab world, philosophers from the two regions gathered in November 2005 in Seoul, Republic of Korea, to discuss, exchange and dialogue on democracy and social justice in these regions. The present publication is a collection of the selected texts that were presented on this occasion.

In this age of globalization, there needs to be a critical response to contemporary problems and issues of active and responsible citizenship. It is therefore even more important to look at the ways that the heritage of Asia and the Arab world has addressed democracy and social justice in the past, and how new and common solutions can be found to deepen the understanding between cultures and implement philosophy to promote justice.

The present publication is thus structured around four sub-topics, aiming to explore practical issues of democracy and social justice in Asia and the Arab world, namely: “Philosophical traditions and critical reconstructions in Asia and the Arab world”; “Social justice and human rights as challenges of globalization”, “Comparative models of democracy” and “Preserving identity and preventing exclusion”.

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Related Links:

Korean National Commission for UNESCO

Global Academy for Neo-Renaissance at Kyung Hee University