| Ignorance of each other’s ways and lives has been a common cause, throughout the history of mankind, of that suspicion and mistrust between the peoples of the world through which their differences have all too often broken into war”. These words from the UNESCO Constitution (1945) resonate today with new urgency. While globalization has brought peoples closer together, it has also been accompanied by the emergence, or re-emergence in a new context, of disturbing forms of ignorance. Taken together, they form the “new ignorances”. This Conference focuses on four of them: ignorance of cultural diversity, ignorance of the Other, ignorance of ethics, ignorance of the future This Conference is designed to discuss how to meet the challenges of these “new ignorances” by developing “new literacies” – i.e., the knowledge, values and competencies necessary to meet them. It recognizes that learning to live together in a globalizing world implies a renewed commitment to learning about each other, to developing the free exchange of ideas and knowledge, to increasing communication between peoples, and to developing shared values. It recognizes that the challenges to such a dialogue may be daunting, especially in conflict and post-conflict situations, and where deep-seated animosities, stereotypes and intolerance undermine mutual respect and interaction. Over 50 speakers will take part in the conference’s panel discussions. So far, the following guests have confirmed their participation: Miguel Angel Aranaz Ibarra (Spain) – Mayor of Gernika-Lumo Mohammed Arkoun (Algeria) – Emeritus Professor of the History of Islamic Thought, Université Sorbonne Nouvelle, Paris III Xavier Batalla (Spain) – Journalist and Specialist in International Politics at “La Vanguardia” Jean Baubérot (France) – former Director of the “Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes”, and Professor for the History and Sociology of “Laïcité“ Edward S. Ayensu (Ghana) – President of the Pan-African Union for Science and Technology and former Director of the Office of Biological Conservation at Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Alex Boraine (South Africa) – Chairman of the Board of the International Center for Transitional Justice, and former Vice-Chair of the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission Manuel Campo Vidal (Spain) – Journalist, former News Anchor and former Director of Antena 3 TV Charlotte Cole (USA) – Vice-President for Education and Research, Sesame Workshop, New York Leonard De Castro (Philippines) – Program Director of the Bioethics Training Project, University of Philippines, Diliman Reza Deghati (Iran) – Photojournalist and President of “Aïna” Fatoumata Dembele Diarra (Mali) – Judge at the International Criminal Court and former Judge at the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia Jiri Dienstbier (Czech Republic) – former Foreign Minister of Czechoslavkia, former spokesman of “Charter 77”, and former Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Republic of Croatia and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Alphonse Pene Elungu (Democratic Republic of the Congo) – Professor of Philosophy at Kinshasa University and member of the International Bioethics Committee of UNESCO Héctor Gros Espiell (Uruguay) - Professor Emeritus at the University of the Republic and former Minister of Foreign Affairs Luis Eduardo Garzón (Colombia) – Mayor of Bogota Wolfgang Höpken (Germany) – Director of the Georg Eckert Institute for International Textbook Research, Braunschweig Hisanori Isomura (Japan) - President of the “Maison de la Culture du Japon” in Paris Ashok Khosla (India) – President of the Development Alternatives Group, New Delhi Thérèse Laferrière (Canada) – Professor at the Teaching and Learning Department, Université Laval, and former President of the Canadian Education Association Salomon Lerner Febres (Peru) – former Chairman of the Commission for Truth and Reconciliation Omer Zülfü Livaneli (Turkey) – composer, musician, writer and UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador Ole Henrik Magga (Norway) – Chairman of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues and Professor of Saami Linguistics at the Saami University College in Guovdageaidnu Guido de Marco (Malta) – former President of the Republic of Malta Vitit Muntarbhorn (Thailand) – Professor at the Faculty of Law of Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, and Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in the Democratic People´s Republic of Korea Farhan Ahmad Nizami (UK/India) – Founding Director of the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies and Fellow of Magdalen College, Oxford University José Manuel Pérez Tornero (Spain) – Vice-President of the International Association of Educational and Discovery Television Companies (AITED) Alejandro Piscitelli (Argentina) – Titular Professor of Telematics and Computer science at the Department of Data Processing, University of Buenos Aires Adama Samassékou (Mali) – President of the African Academy of Languages and former Minister of Education Arjun Sengupta (India) – Adjunct Professor at Harvard University, Harvard School of Public Health, and Chairman of the Centre for Development and Human Rights in New Delhi Steve Seidel (USA) – Director of “Harvard Project Zero” at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, Harvard University Manuel Joaquim da Silva Pinto (Portugal) – Associate Professor in Communication Science at the Universiade do Minho, and Ombudsman of the “Journal de Notícia”, Porto Margaret Somerville (Canada) – Founding Director of the Centre for Medicine, Ethics and Law at McGill University in Montreal, Founding Chairperson of the Ethics Committee of the National Research Council of Canada and recipient of the Avicenna Prize for Ethics in Science (2004) Enric Sopena (Spain) – Journalist and former Director of ComRàdio, Radio Nacional de España and TVE Catalunya Toh Swee-Hin (Australia) – Laureate of the UNESCO Peace Education Prize 2000, and Director of the Multi-Faith Centre, Griffith University, Queensland Mònica Terribas (Spain) – Journalist and Professor at Pompeu Fabra University, Barcelona Christiana Thorpe (Sierra Leone) – Founding Chairperson of the Sierra Leone Chapter of FAWE Gianni Vattimo (Italy) – Member of the European Parliament and Professor of Theoretical Philosophy at Turin University High-Level Segment The Conference will open with a High-Level Segment on September 6 (9 a.m. to 12 p.m.), including the participation of Heads of State and Government. The following personalities will participate in this event: HRH Infanta Elena of Spain; Valdas Adamkus, President of the Republic of Lithuania; Abdoulaye Wade, President of the Republic of Senegal; Pasqual Maragall, President of the Generalitat of Catalonia; Salvador Ordoñez, Secretary of State for Higher Education and Research; Joan Clos, Mayor of Barcelona; and Koïchiro Matsuura, Director-General of UNESCO.
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