Skip to main content

Promoting Dialogue among Civilizations

UNRIC, UNICRI and the Republic of San Marino celebrate United Nations Day

San Marino City -

Today, more than ever, dialogue between peoples, understanding diversity and tolerance are the keys to maintaining universal peace, development and security. For this reason, the Republic of San Marino, the United Nations Regional Information Centre (UNRIC) and the United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI) have chosen to celebrate the UN Day with a conference on dialogue among civilizations.

The meeting, which will be held on the 23rd of October from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Kursaal Conference Center, represents an opportunity for reflection and an exchange of experiences on intercultural dialogue, social justice and development.

Participants of the conference will include Guido Bellatti Ceccoli, Permanent Representative of Republic of San Marino to the United Nations and other International Organizations in Switzerland, Ambassador of the Republic of San Marino to the Republic of Tunisia and Co-agent of the Government of San Marino to the European Court of Human Rights; Michele Chiaruzzi, Ambassador of the Republic of San Marino to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Associate Professor of International Relations at the University of Bologna; Antonella Mularoni, Member of the Parliament of the Republic of San Marino; Giuseppe Torluccio, Associate Professor of Economics of Financial Intermediaries; Fabio Graziosi, UNRIC Desk Officer responsible for Italy, Malta, the Holy See and the Republic of San Marino; Jonathan Lucas, Director of UNICRI and Alessandra Liquori O’Neil, responsible for UNICRI programme on development and social justice. The meeting will be moderated by Giovanna Bertolucci, Web Chief Editor of San Marino RTV.

The subject of dialogue among civilizations is supported by a United Nations General Assembly Resolution of 2001, which constitutes a roadmap for Member States to promote inclusion, justice, dialogue, mutual understanding and shared values from the perspective of human rights and respect of fundamental freedoms.

The meeting in San Marino aims to support this perspective within the current historical context in which cultural and religious differences are often used as a pretext for fueling conflicts and destabilizing the development of whole regions and countries. The conference will be an opportunity to address dialogue among civilizations from the perspective of development and social justice.

On all continents and in the course of history, the repression of diversity, the denial of dignity and equality of all people have been at the origin of conflicts. The United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon stated, “Never in our lifetime has there been a more desperate need for constructive and committed dialogue, among individuals, among communities, among cultures, among and between nations.”

Link to the Secretary-General's Message for 2013 http://www.un.org/en/events/unday/2013/sgmessage.shtml

Download the Draft Agenda
Download the Invitation