|CULTURAL DIVERSITY|
A new universal ethic in the cause of development and peace.

The UNESCO Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity, adopted unanimously by the 185 Member States represented at the 31st session of the General Conference in 2001 in the wake of the events of 11 September 2001, is the founding act of a new ethic being promoted by UNESCO at the dawn of the 21st century. For the first time the international community is provided with a wide-ranging standard-setting instrument to underpin its conviction that respect for cultural diversity and intercultural dialogue is one of the surest guarantees of development and peace.

|INTERCULTURAL DIALOGUE|
The world’s cultural wealth is its variety in dialogue.

Among UNESCO’s chief missions is ensuring space for and freedom of expression to all the world’s cultures. It considers that, while each culture draws from its own roots, it must fail to blossom without contact with other cultures. It is not therefore a matter of identifying and safeguarding every culture in isolation, but rather of revitalizing them in order to avoid segregation and cultural entrenchment and prevent conflict. This cultural dialogue has taken on a new meaning in the context of globalization and of the current international political climate. Thus it is becoming a vital means of maintaining peace and world unity.

|CULTURAL DIVERSITY & DIALOGUE OF CULTURES|
The action of the Section for Culture of the UNESCO Office in Venice

To establish a platform aiming at reinforcing the dialogue among cultures and civilizations in the area, by reinforcing the promotion of the Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity and contributing to the potential creation of a new normative instrument on cultural diversity; to establish new partnerships aiming at promoting the intangible cultural heritage.