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The Second Academic Forum of UNESCO Chairs working in the field of intercultural and interreligious dialogue will be convened in Baku, Republic of Azerbaijan, on 4 May 2017, on the occasion of the 4th World Forum on Intercultural Dialogue. It is organized by UNESCO, with the generous support of the Government of Azerbaijan.

This Academic Forum, which will be opened by Nada Al-Nashif, UNESCO’s Assistant Director-General for Social and Human Sciences, will bring together 14 UNESCO Chairs from around the globe, to explore how the Chairs network can further strengthen the research-policy nexus. Building on the launch of the UNESCO Chairs publication Interculturalism at the crossroads, the meeting will serve as an occasion to explore new opportunities to enhance the impact and visibility of the Chairs’ work, ensuring that the network remains a strong community of practice on the management of cultural and religious diversity in our plural societies.

Within the context of the halfway point of the International Decade for the Rapprochement of Cultures (2013-2022), of which UNESCO is the lead UN agency, the meeting will also help to identify how the UNESCO Chairs in intercultural and interreligious dialogue can contribute to the implementation of the second half of the Decade.