7th Global Forum of the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations

From 25 to 27 April 2016, Baku, Azerbaijan will host the 7th Global Forum of the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC): “Living Together in Inclusive Societies: A Challenge and A Goal”.

Representatives of governments and international organizations as well as civil society actor will discuss the way forward to build inclusive societies. Assistant Director-General for Education, Mr Qian Tang, will represent the Director-General of UNESCO, Ms Irina Bokova, on this occasion. UNESCO and UNAOC collaborate on the basis of Memorandum of Understanding.

Two days to advance reflection and action towards “inclusive living” in today societies. This is the ambitious and well-timed objective of the 7th Global Forum.

Representatives of governments and international organizations as well as civil society actors will attend the Forum to exchange ideas and identify innovative solutions to “inclusive living” in today’s increasingly diverse societies.

The special focus will be on the “inclusive” aspect of living together, in line with Goal 16 of 2030 Development Agenda on the need to “Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels”.

For several years, UNESCO and the UNAOC have developed a partnership around joint initiatives related to intercultural dialogue and mutual understanding. New avenues will be debated to counter the present rise in violent extremism, religious intolerance and radicalization.

The two plenary sessions of the Forum - “Preventing Violent Extremism” and “Best Practices in Social Inclusion” - will provide a unique platform to address these pressing challenges. Breakout sessions with various panelists will take place in parallel during the two-day Forum.