Civilizations: How we see others, how others see us

From 13-12-2001 to 14-12-2001 (France) 

As a pivotal event, the symposium somehow interconnected the various conferences held throughout the world on the theme in 2001 and so provided a review, while extending reflection to embrace the geostrategic upheavals that marked the year. As history is a political issue, even a weapon much wielded in the strategic controversies over the world’s values and visions, there has to be a response to the demand for understanding the complex socio-political parameters that shape the question of dialogue among communities, cultures and civilizations.

Such was the symposium’s goal, as reflected in this volume, third in the UNESCO Dialogue Among Civilizations series. The line of inquiry through ‘travels, texts and translations’ makes it clear that no knowledge or information can dispense with a critical analysis of documents and the first-hand accounts brought back over the centuries by travellers.

The impact of these exchanges is part of a wider issue of power and human governance. By giving rise to reflection on the nature and extent of local knowledge, these exchanges have also prompted a desire to appropriate exogenous forms of knowledge, which has sometimes resulted in real achievements.

The persistence of old images in the collective imagination is sometimes expressed in ‘dreams of empires’, even though new political models are continually being sought. While revealing a desire for openness to others, the exploration of ‘new forms of universalism’ also shows how hard it is to achieve a comprehensive view of the plurality of cultures and their constant interactions in time and space. This plurality also compounds the difficulty of defining ‘civilization’ itself.

Dialogue among civilizations is therefore the fruit of a wide variety of perceptions whose intersecting nature assists a greater grasp and understanding of others.

Koïchiro Matsuura
Director-General of UNESCO