Rhodes Forum - World Public Forum "Dialogue of Civilizations"

Jenny Friedrich-Freksa, 
Editor-in-Chief „KULTURAUSTAUSCH“

In 2007 the magazine KULTURAUSTAUSCH announced an international competition, called: „the world’s most beautiful alphabet“. The competition was also communicated by DEUTSCHE WELLE, Germany’s oversea broadcaster. 2.500 people from 58 countries sent their favourite words in their native language to us. A judging panel then selected the prettiest entries. They assessed the originality of the word, its cultural characteristics and the explanatory statement.
The winner was awarded with a journey to Berlin.

Eduard Lipaiti Danielyan,
Leading scientific researcher, Institute of History NAS RA,
Doctor of History

In the history of mankind the origin and development of writing conditioned verbal preservation of spiritual values and their transfer to future generations. Fundamental significance of writing is in its culturologic universality. The study of history, as a history of civilization  is based on written sources.

Since the 18th century the term “civilization” has been brought into scientific use  with reference to all the epochs of human history, at the junction of economic, spiritual-cultural and social concepts in general system of philosophy. The study of main components of civilizations allows to consider their dialogue in the context of contemporary tendencies of geopolitical processes.

Michael V. Bibikov - Main scientific employee
of Institute of general history of the Russian Academy of Sciences,
Rector of the State academic university of the humanities

1981 during the International Byzantine Congress in Wienna in the National Library there was held a wonderful exibition of Byzantine manuscripts entitled “Byzanz und das Abendland”, that has demonstrated many fields of direct contacts between two worlds of culture. Few years ago in Florence during celebrating of the gold Medici epoch another extremely interesting exibition of manuscripts in the Biblioteca Laurentiana has proved the similiarity, if not in some cases identity, of type, technique and style of work by scribers and illuminators in Medici scriptorium as in respect to Greek manuscript books, so to the Latin, the Western, ones.

The dichotomic view on the history of Europe has as if proved the legitimacy of disection of European civilisation into two hemispheres. In this respect the “bizantism” is often used in the sense of opposition to the Western values.

Dr. Constantin Chera, Archaeologist

Archaeological excavations in Tomis, the town in which Publius Ovidius Naso bewailed his exile for almost ten years, have evidenced some significant elements regarding urban evolution on one hand and have brought to light a large number of proofs for the high level of Tomitan citizens’ spiritual life on the other hand.

The historical development of the Dorian colony founded in the 5th cent. B.C., is closely linked to relations with the native Getian population and in the 1st cent. B.C. to the Roman conquest during the years 29-28 B.C. Dobruja, the region between the Danube and the Black Sea, was then integrated to the Empire, becoming a province in 46 A.D. under the name Moesia Inferior. Roman politics at that time determined a continuation of Greek traditions in Pontic cities, so that Ovid was exiled to a prevailing Greek town at the beginning of the 1st cent. A.D. The existence here, at the exile moment, of a precincts wall, also mentioned by the poet when he describes the bravery of the city defenders against barbarian attacks, was documented by occasional excavations on the Constanta peninsula.