The General Conference
Authorizes the Director-General
(a) to implement the corresponding plan of action in order to:
(i) promote cultural pluralism, based on best practices and regional approaches, and implement policies drawing on the General Histories and projects undertaken with indigenous peoples; identify best practices in cultural pluralism through the UNESCO Chairs network; improve local capacities in this field; and enhance intercultural dialogue in different regions and on an interregional basis;
(ii) promote intercultural education and cultural diversity;
(b) to allocate for this purpose an amount of $1,821,000 for programme costs and $25,400 for indirect programme costs at Headquarters.

Strategic approaches. The strategy will consist of improving knowledge of the relationship between cultural diversity and intercultural dialogue in the context of globalization. In response to threats of inwardlooking attitudes prompted by the quickening pace of socio-cultural change, it will highlight the requirements, procedures and potential of intercultural dialogue in order to foster cultural pluralism and thus contribute to the prevention of intercommunity conflicts. Emphasis will be placed on the analysis of practices conducive to "living together" in order to devise conceptual and methodological tools and contribute to the formulation of policies that incorporate intercultural dialogue, including the spiritual and religious expressions thereof. To this end, a combination of approaches – geographic (such as the Arabia Plan, the Balkans, the Great Lakes region, Central Asia and the Caucasus, Euro-Arab Dialogue) or thematic (cultural pluralism in urban environments, interreligious dialogue, and indigenous peoples) – will be developed in support of the United Nations Global Agenda for Dialogue among Civilizations and 32 C/Resolution 47. These two approaches will be used to promote cultural ties between peoples and communities, thus strengthening social cohesion. Particular attention will be paid to building the capacities of stakeholders and decision- makers in the management of cultural diversity and intercultural dialogue. To that end, appropriate educational and training activities will be initiated to improve mutual knowledge and respect, in particular through the promotion and dissemination of the General and Regional Histories. Joint intersectoral action will continue to be pursued with respect to the links between biological and cultural diversity [MLA 1].

This strategy, which requires a better grasp of traditional mechanisms for the transmission and exchange of knowledge, will identify global common and shared values likely to facilitate mutual understanding. The aim is to foster each society’s capacities to appreciate neighbouring and distant cultures. In addition to the observation of cultural plurality within each society, the aim is to develop intercultural policies that broaden the range of cultural choices, without calling identity markers into question. It entails dialogue that may raise questions about speakers’ identities without placing them in jeopardy. To that end, the factors that structure intercultural communication will be sought in each field (artistic, scientific, philosophical and religious). Lessons learnt from intercultural Routes projects, in particular the Slave Route flagship project and the 2004 celebration of the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle against Slavery and its Abolition, will enable curricula to be developed and to strengthen the skills of stakeholders and decision-makers in the field of intercultural communication. Cultural convergences identified will contribute to educational efforts in the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development [MLA 2].