In the context of globalization, the UNESCO Network launched an initiative for a “Flagship project on Interfaith Dialogue” in collaboration with religious figures in hopes of finding practical actions to promote cultural pluralism understanding through an enhancement of interreligious dialogue and intercultural education.

Religious conflicts are ubiquitous in today’s day and age, which result in a further divide among people of various cultures and faiths. Therefore, there is a clear need for this initiative to reinforce interreligious dialogue in order to raise mutual understanding and tolerance towards the diversity of religions, cultures and civilizations.

This flagship project of UNESCO’s support on Interfaith Dialogue is aimed to eradicate misconceptions about intercommunity conflicts for a harmonious coexistence between nations, with particular stress on countries in transition or in post-conflict situations. To do so, UNESCO gathers eminent religious leaders of various faiths to meet with the aim of discussing how to solve the complex issues that arise in each of their religions.

Fundamentally, the necessity of this flagship project on interfaith is to use interreligious dialogue as an instrument to reinforce social cohesion and increase the acceptance of the different communities, so that all parties can benefit in their decision-making.

The first Summit was held in Albania in December 2004. This was composed of interactive meetings during the Regional Summit Conference on Interreligious and Interethnic Dialogue in Tirana. Leaders were gathered to exchange their ideologies and views in order for the participants to be able to create new outlines as stronger endowments for establishing harmonious coexistence and implementing effective policies to respond to today’s world pressures such as religious conflicts.

UNESCO has a biennium program with a mandate to foster cultural pluralism through intercultural and interfaith dialogue. The expected results at the end of the two-year mandate are addressed as follows:

• Dialogue fostered, especially among youth, with involvement of religious leaders;
• Awareness increased among educators and civil society representatives about the role and value of inter-religious dialogue;
• Network of UNESCO Chairs in the field of intercultural and interreligious dialogue strengthened;
• Pertinent publications produced and disseminated .

The Flagship Project on Interfaith Dialogue is aimed at improving knowledge of the relationship between cultural diversity and intercultural dialogue through adequate educational and training workshops. The initiative hopes to achieve these expected goals:

• Good practice identified and analyzed;
• Capacity-building initiated;
• Policy strategies for intercultural dialogue implemented;
• Greater understanding of exchange processes and cultural interactions;
• Intercultural practices and approaches developed and implemented.

(The website of UNESCO’s Flagship Project on Interfaith Dialogue can be found at http://portal.unesco.org/culture/en/ev.php-URL_ID=29403&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html