Dialogue among Civilizations: the Copenhagen Agenda, The Copenhagen Conference on Education for Intercultural Understanding and Dialogue; Copenhagen, 2008

The 2005 Rabat Conference ‘Fostering Dialogue among Cultures and Civilizations through Concrete and Sustained Initiatives’ is today widely acknowledged as a breakthrough in the development of a concrete and practical approach to intercultural dialogue. At the closure of the event, the Danish Centre for Culture and Development supported by the Danish Government offered to host a follow-up Conference to ensure continuity and progress.

The Copenhagen Conference, held on 21-22 October 2008, was the realization of this invitation. It is my pleasure to make the proceedings of the Conference – the Copenhagen Agenda - available in the present publication.

The high level presence of all the partners from Rabat confirmed the commitments made there: the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO), the Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (ALECSO), the Danish Centre for Culture and Development and the Anna Lindh Euro-Mediterranean Foundation for the Dialogue between Cultures. New stakeholders, including the Alliance of Civilizations and the League of Arab States, also joined in the Initiative, thus giving further impetus to the process.