22May2012

Rhodes Forum

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About Rhodes Forum

Every autumn since 2003 the ancient Greek island of Rhodes hosts a session of the World Public Forum "Dialogue of Civilization" called the Rhodes Forum that brings together public figures and statesmen, academics, religious figures and representatives of the arts, mass media and business spheres from all over the world. The sessions of the WPF "Dialogue of Civilizations" proved the urgency and efficacy of the Forum by brining the focus of world public opinion to the problems of intercultural dialogue and the need to work out instruments to make interaction among cultures and civilizations possible. The results achieved by the Forum give a hope for further harmonization of international relations and strengthening of stability in the world.

International Community

The participants of the Forum’s programs or Rhodes Forum claim that the dialogue of cultures and civilizations is quite possible. According to Vladimir Yakunin, the World Public Forum was constantly working in an international atmosphere of events that seemingly proved quite the opposite. But meeting at the Forum’s events the representatives of different civilizations have reaffirmed each time that beyond political sphere a dialogue on the level of civil society is not only desirable and necessary, but it is also practically possible. "Now the logic of Forum’s development has led us to the need of making this dialogue more substantial; in a way that would generate the functioning structures of a dialogue. Dialogue of Civilizations is called upon to develop a new culture of international partnership, co-operation and interaction, it has to foster new values and bring in new goals to the international community" — said Vladimir Yakunin.

Rhodes Forum - Main Photo

World Public Forum "Dialogue of Civilizations"

The World Public Forum (WPF) “Dialogue of Civilizations” is a deliberative-consultative body that unites into a single network various international and national nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), representatives of public and state institutions, civil society organizations and faith-based groups, academics, representatives of cultural, spiritual, business, and media spheres from different countries, members of diverse civilizations and cultural traditions, and individuals who share the principles of openness mutual respect which form the basis of the contemporary dialogue of civilizations.

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Round Table №1 Latin America

Rhodes Forum

World Public Forum “Dialogue of Civilizations”
Rhodes Forum – 2010, VIII Annual Session
October 7 – 11, 2010,

Island of Rhodes, Greece

Program of Rhodes Forum 2010 Events
Rhodes Declaration 2010
Download Press Release
Pictures from the Rhodes Forum 2010

The Eighth Session of the World Public Forum “Dialogue of Civilizations” was held on October 7 – 11, 2010 on the Island of Rhodes (Greece). The Forum considered the issues of the constructive projects aimed at creating institutions of public control and correction of the vectors chosen for post-crisis world development, as well as interests and values of cooperation underlying the projects proposed.

The present-day crisis state of the global community in economic, social, political, legal and other spheres has once again become a topical issue for experts and specialists dealing with the problems which have been underrated during the recent decades. There emerged a variety of promising projects and instruments for accommodating interests of the global community: e.g. European Monetary Fund, regional currency, industrial infrastructures, pipelines, electric power systems and various integration projects.

The stance of the Forum organizers is traditionally based on the following: it is possible to identify a real global agenda able to pinpoint and accumulate new resources for the world development, and this global agenda could only be provided in an atmosphere of the world’s dialogue community.

The Co-chairmen of the WPF “Dialogue of Civilizations” are the following persons: Vladimir Yakunin – Founding President of the Forum (Russia), Jagdish Kapur – President of the “Kapur Surya Foundation” (India), Nicholas S. Papanicolaou – President of the “Titan Capital Corporation” (Greece/USA) and Alfred Gusenbauer – former Federal Chancellor of the Republic of Austria.

Forum’s activity is supported by His Majesty Abdullah II, King of Jordan; Dmitry Medvedev, President of Russia; Mahmoud Abbas, President of the Palestinian National Authority; Sonia Gandhi, President of Indian National Congress; Abdul Kalam, former President of India; Mohammad Khatami, former President of Iran; Fidel Castro, former President of Cuba; Valdas Adamkus, former President of Lithuania; Giulio Andreotti, former Prime Minister of Italy; Milos Zeman, former Prime Minister of the Czech Republic; Walter Schwimmer, former Secretary General of the of the Council of Europe; Ayatollah Mohammad Ali Taskhiri, Secretary General of the World Forum for Proximity of Islamic Schools of Thought; Strobe Talbott, president of the Brookings Institution; Zhang Deguang, president of the Chinese Foundation of International Research; Koitiro Matsuura, former Secretary General of the UNESCO; Katerina Stenou, Director of Division of Cultural Policies and Intercultural Dialogue in UNESCO; Craig Calhoun, President of the Social Science Research Council, and other prominent figures.

The Forum works with different public institutions and organizations all over the world. Among them are the Council of Europe, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (ALECSO), Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO), and other nongovernmental organizations and different individuals.

The activity of the Forum "Dialogue of Civilizations" aims to mobilize the public forces in the interests of the world public development and to engage participation of civil societies in inter-civilization cooperation.

Rhodes Forum–2010 was held in the combined format of plenary sessions and panels devoted to the Evolution of Civilizations, Society, Economics, Politics, Culture, Media, Religion and Family. Prominent statesmen, politicians and public figures from over 50 countries have been invited to participate in the Forum. The Latin American civilization, as one of the main world civilizations, was presented within the framework of the Forum.

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National Center “Dialogue of Civilizations” (Armenia) Dialogue of Civilizations in Bahrain China Foundation for International Studies (CFIC) (China) Kapur Surya Foundation (India)