Cultural Voice

Call  for  entries Deadline 30 June !    The United Nations Alliance of Civilizations and the International Organization for Migration again invite the world’s youth to submit original and creative videos focusing on PLURAL+ themes: migration, diversity and social inclusion.   Recognizing youth as powerful agents of social change in a world often characterized by intolerance, and cultural and religious divisions, PLURAL+ invites youth to address key challenges related to migrant integration, inclusiveness, identity, diversity, human rights and social cohesiveness, both at local and global levels.  Young people up to 25 years old are invited to submit short videos of five minutes maximum in length.   Michele Klein-Solomon, IOM Permanent Observer to the United Nations, said, “PLURAL+ videos touch very sensitive issues in a very real way.  They look at the realities that people are facing.  We like to see young people...

Sustainable Cultural Diversity: 2012 Intercultural Innovation Award Launched Now accepting applications. Over 400 participants in 2011. NEW YORK/MUNICH —The BMW Group and the UN Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) are inviting organizations to apply for the Intercultural Innovation Award. Grassroots initiatives that are promoting intercultural understanding and cooperation in new and sustainable ways shall be recognized. The Intercultural Innovation Award is a partnership between the BMW Group and the UN Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC), a special project of the UN Secretary-General. Both BMW Group and the UNAOC favor projects that are sustainable, make a long lasting impact and have the potential to benefit the widest possible audience. An international jury of scholars and experts from different regions of the world will assess this year’s applications to ensure that winning projects are innovative and impactful. Five top winners will be announced at an awards ceremony that...

“Diversity, dialogue and development”: these are three magic Ds. Add a fourth D from “Do one thing campaign” and join us in creating a positive narrative for our age of diversity. Living together in diversity within tolerant and inclusive societies is indeed a dream. But action is what dreams are made out of. Now is a time that we need action to produce results, for with dreams become true – just join us in the Do One Thing Campaign!” said President Jorge Sampaio, High Representative for the UNAOC. We are all one people...a Jamaican Concept with Global Relevance!  Ten simple things YOU can do to celebrate the World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development on May 21, 2012 Visit an art exhibit or a museum dedicated to other cultures. Invite a family or people in the neighborhood from another culture or religion to share a meal with you and exchange views on life. Rent a movie or read a book from another country or religion than your own. ...

Twelve young leaders from North America and Europe are arriving in Rabat this Monday with the aim to create new alliances, gain knowledge, and understanding of North Africa and the Middle East. From the Maghreb to the Gulf peninsula, twelve young leaders are now embarking on a journey across the MENA region. Every single day of the program is going to be rich in learning and in exchanges.  The UNAOC’s Fellowship Program focuses on creating opportunities for young leaders, across the Arab world and the West, to increase mutual understanding through experiential learning and direct interaction with civil society. The fellows will be part of a two-week program organized under the auspices of the UN Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC). The program is  funded by the German Foreign Office with the  support of the Guerrand-Hermes Foundation for Peace and developed in partnership with the League of Arab States, ISESCO, the Institute of International Education, the Government of...

PEACE, I strongly believe you WILL COME!!! Contributed By: Arevik Hayrapetyan Having been living for 18 years in a forgotten conflict zone, I have always had a dream. A dream to contribute somehow to the peace building process in the South-Caucasus region, which will be a place for mutual understanding and respect, love and tolerance, cooperation and prosperity for all, where young people will look at the map to plan their traveling, where youth synergy projects will bloom and people will enjoy their lives. Now that I am an adult I go back to 1990s and recall the sweet and pure memories of my childhood. Meanwhile I remember people whose eyes were full of pain, fear and sorrow. That time I was a child for whom it was inexplicable why people had to suffer, why instead of smile they had unhappiness on their faces. That time I was not able to understand the meaning of very frequently used words, like “war” or “violence” . I was only able to realize that the...

"World Peace is something worth striving for; I try not to think about eventual success or failure, but simply to participate in the endeavour." Jamil Majid I interviewed Jamil Majid, who I met in 2007 in Madrid for the United Nations Alliance of Civilization's inagural conference. Since 2007 he has spearheaded a youth media education campaign in Spain, which is now to be launched in Pakistan and Liberia. Tell us a little about you, where were you born, where do you live now?     I was born somewhere in Asia, but am currently in somewhere in Europe. What is your life's philosophy? Mainly to not have a philosophy J You made Media your platform for change, why? I think the media today is one of the key factors that influence people's perceptions of themselves, of the world, and of others in it. There are of course many pressing issues in the world that need attention, but I would venture to say that the media plays some role in shap...