Fourth United Nations Alliance of Civilizations Forum in Doha, Qatar December 11-13, 2011

The Fourth United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC)Forum opened in Doha Qatar today with a welcoming speech by Sheikha Mozah bint Nasser Al-Missnad, wife of Qatari Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani. Over 2,000 participants, including political and corporate leaders, civil society activists, youth groups, faith communities, research centers, foundations and journalists have gathered to call for actions to improve relations across cultures, combat prejudice and build lasting peace. The Doha Forum includes sessions on the following:

a. The Role of Education in Sustainable Development;
b. Tourism Industry and Travel: Celebrating Diversity, Linking Cultures & Promoting Dialogue between Civilizations;
c. The Role of Creative Industries to Boost Development – From Education to Business;
d. The Impact of Migration in Development: a Two Way Street;
e. Sport’s Role in Promoting Intercultural Dialogue and Understanding
f. The future of Digital Freedom and public diplomacy

The full program of the conference can be accessed here.

The popular Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan sent a recorded video message to the conference that "reminded the participants that as long as long dictators in the Middle East who shower their people with gunfire and do not tolerate dissent, peace and stability will remain a far cry. Erdogan also slammed Israel without mentioning it by name and said with its state terror, peace and stability will not come to the region."( Arab News- Dec 11, 2011). This year's forum coincides with the Arab Spring, and no one has represented the voices of those struggling to bring democracy and civil society better than Erdogan. Arab dictators should take the advice of Erdogan seriously.

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