The landmark bilateral conference on “Dialogue Among Civilizations” closed last Tuesday with the issuance of the Makati Declaration at the New World Renaissance Hotel (copy attached).

The two-day bilateral conference, the first forum of its kind to be hosted by the DFA, brought to light many important issues such as similarities in the Christian and Islamic faiths, the need for continuing interaction between peoples of divergent cultures, the need to appreciate and even celebrate pluralism in our world today, the dangers of cultural hegemony and jingoism and gender related concerns commonly shared by societies all over the world.

The dynamic interaction between the presentors/speakers, reactors and the audience present at the forum, served as a vehicle in drafting the Makati Declaration. The Declaration advocates for a consistent interaction of divergent cultures and societies, bringing to light the need for external and internal dialogue as a way to deter hostility and conflict.

The Declaration makes mention of the UN General Assembly Resolution 56/6 of 21 November 2001 which defines dialogue among civilizations as a process between and among civilizations, with the objective of integrating divergent views through dialogue. It also recalls the UNESCO Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity of 2 November 2001, wherein respect for cultural diversity, tolerance, dialogue and cooperation are considered the best guarantees for international peace and security.

The bilateral conference supports the call for all governments and civil societies to promote genuine and sincere dialogue among nations, as well as the call for an initiative in the United Nations for the establishment of an inter-faith council, leading to a mutual respect for cultural diversity. The participants also commit themselves to use and take advantage of the global phenomenon of interconnectedness and the rise of a “borderless world” to further unite people in order to achieve a caring global society. The Declaration also seeks to promote further dialogues among diverse cultures to have a “better understanding of ourselves and appreciate our own identities” through a holistic approach towards other cultures.

The holding of the conference came up at an opportune time amidst global concerns on terrorism and the mushrooming of violent fringe movements that manage to wreak mayhem in several predominantly Islamic Middle East countries, Russia, the United States, Central Asia, Southeast Asia and Sub-Sahara Africa. The Philippines and Iran have has its share of this kind of internal conflicts, which makes a dialogue of this kind more relevant or even urgent.

DFA Undersecretary Delia D. Albert  of  the  International  and  Economic  Affairs  Office  and  Iranian Ambassador Gholamreza Youssefi, expressed appreciation for the participation of the speakers, reactors, sectoral organizations, media, academe and other representatives of various government agencies who made the dialogue a fruitful endeavor. Both also stressed the need to conduct further activities of the kind, which gives significance to the international relations theory of functionalism, promoting understanding and cooperation between and among peoples. It is a means of conducting diplomacy at a level of low politics. It is through a functional approach that peoples from divergent societies begin to focus on what is indeed perceived as common among them, thus their apparent differences no longer seem that acute. Sans political any agenda, it is easier for people from divergent societies to relate with each other. It is a people to people relationship (akin perhaps to US-Canada relations), that supersedes state to state relations and therefore brings two diverse societies closer as they begin to genuinely appreciate each other. END.