The world is more and more interconnected but it does not mean that individuals and societies really live together – as reveal the exclusions suffered by millions of poor, women, youth, migrants and disenfranchised minorities. Today there is more information, technology and knowledge available than ever before, but adequate wisdom is still needed to prevent conflicts, to eradicate poverty or to make it possible for all to learn in order to live in harmony in a safe world.

The current surge of flaring conflicts, acts of violence and intolerance demands urgent actions. Peoples and nations have to join forces for the development of a universal global consciousness free from stereotypes and prejudices. The International Decade for the Rapprochement of Cultures is to be understood as a commitment for addressing this pressing need to take into account and clearly demonstrate new articulations between cultural diversity and universal values. The “rapprochement of cultures” implies that international security and social inclusion cannot be attained sustainably without a commitment to such principles as human dignity, conviviality and solidarity which are the corner stones of human coexistence, in all faiths and secular ideologies.

In much of the Arab region, affected and impacted directly and indirectly by conflict situations, UNESCO promotes intercultural dialogue through education, civic engagement, cultural and artistic expressions and sports especially among youth as change agents in transforming conflict, countering violence and building peace and sustainable communities.