Contents

Address by Dr. Mohammed Aziz Bin Ashur

Minister of Culture and Heritage Preservation

In the Name of Allah the Compassionate and the Merciful

Excellency Dr. Mahathir Mohamad;

Excellency Amr Moussa, Secretary General of the League of Arab States;

Excellency Dr. Abdulaziz Othman Altwaijri, Director General of the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization,

Excellency Dr. Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, Secretary General of the Organization of the Islamic Conference;

Excellencies the Ministers;

Excellency Dr. Mongi Bosnina, Director General of the Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization;

Ladies and Gentlemen the representatives of Their Excellencies: the Secretary General of the United Nations Organization, the Director General of UNESCO, the Secretary General of the International Organization of the Francophonie, the Secretary General of the Council of Europe;

Excellencies prominent intellectuals and honorable guests;

Welcome in Tunisia as venerable guests at this international symposium on “Human Cultures and Civilizations: from Dialogue to Alliance”, held in cooperation between the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization -ISESCO- and the Ministry of Culture and Heritage Preservation in Tunisia, under the high patronage of His Excellency President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, President of the Tunisian Republic.

I am very honoured to welcome you again and I wish you a good stay in Tunisia, a meeting place and a haven for love. I thank you very much for attending this important international event that has been opened this morning by His Excellency the President.

I am pleased to express our country’s deep pride to partake in organizing and hosting this civilizational meeting. We are also honoured to yoke in joint, fruitful cooperation with the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, headed by His Excellency Dr. Abdulaziz Othman Altwaijri.

We seize this joyous occasion to reaffirm the significance of the laudable role taken by ISESCO in consolidating the Islamic civilizational identity and strengthening it to interact with various human cultures and respond to the present time issues. I am also very pleased to commend the support and assistance of the other specialized, cooperative international organizations. Their presence in this meeting is a sure evidence of the fruitful cooperation relations binding us.

Intellectuals, innovators, and artists in Tunisia take immense pride in "ISESCO Gold Shield for Dialogue among Civilizations", which the Islamic Organization has granted to His Excellency President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, in appreciation of his outstanding role in consolidating constructive dialogue between cultures and serving the issues of justice, peace, fraternity and solidarity among peoples. It is a token of recognition also for His Excellency’s unstinting efforts in contributing to the edification of a much more peaceful, just, and tolerant world.

Excellencies,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

We have listened this morning to the keynote address of His Excellency the President at the opening of the symposium. It attests to the President's enlightened thought, sharp vision of the current state of the world, and prospective outlook on the future. The address provides a typical approach to the issue of dialogue among human civilizations and cultures as well as the ways to strengthen inter-cultural and inter-civilizational alliance and solidarity. The analysis and ideas expressed in the President’s speech constitute a prescriptive guideline for the proceedings, recommendations, and proposals that will issue from this symposium.

Humanity is wading through deep and continuous changes, and unprecedented challenges are posed to it at the turn of the third millennium. Despite the remarkable development achieved in the areas of technology, sciences and communication, a new world state of affairs is being shaped which is characterized by the sweeping influence of economic globalization. This situation requires colossal efforts of adaptation and rehabilitation with the view to integrate into the new international economic order. We have also to be aware of the challenges looming large at the civilizational level and to brace ourselves to head off their attendant threats. The development of computer technology offers a large scope for integration at the international level. However, the domination of the “neo-liberal strategy”, which favours free trade and seeks to mould the entire world into a large open market, caused an increasing sense of fear from the dangers menacing the world's cultural identities. As a result, different tendencies have seen the light of the day. Some are inclined to defend the concept of “cultural exception” or “cultural diversity” and others integrate anti-globalization social movements. This gave birth also to some narrow-minded protectionism that only led to seclusion. These and other trends show the importance of the issue of consolidating identity in the present-time world.

Regardless of the impact of these tendencies, humanity has come to the realization that the most serious danger mortgaging its existence lies in bigotry, fanaticism, the swell of hatred and rejection, and the absence of communication and dialogue among human beings. This stark situation entails upon the international community to work towards laying firm bases for new world ethics, bearing in mind that culture is meant for bringing about unity and not partition.

Excellencies,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Tunisia has forever been in the vanguard of reform and modernization. We are adopting a comprehensive, cultural policy which seeks to maintain a balance between the importance of preserving our identity and its specificities and the necessity to accommodate the needs of the present time. This equation finds its origin as early as the second half of the 19th century in the cultural, political, and social heritage of our country. It is the result of a historical legacy of compassion and moderation as well as contributive action to human civilization.

Tunisia, under the leadership of His Excellency Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, considers excellence as the feature of the culture of authentic reform. A people's cultural and social specificity does not prevent intermingling and interaction with other cultures. Excellence consists in the ability to contribute to the universal human heritage, and locality leads on to universality.

Our country is striving to effectively engage in the new international discourse and contribute to our age-old cultural repository. In this context, I quote an eminent passage from a speech by His Excellency President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, wherein he underlines that “keeping abreast of modernity is primordial, but to embark on it is much more imperative and cardinal.”

Excellencies,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Indeed, conducting this symposium is expressive of the importance we accord to the principle of cultural diversity. Tunisia believes in the right of all indigenous cultures to have a part to take in the world cultural setting, which distinguishes it as one of the stakeholders in fostering the principle of cultural diversity between countries and nations.

Respect for the right to diversity and openness on the other are an essential ingredient for the world to establish dialogue between cultures, and an instrument to keep aloof from the dangers of fanaticism, extremism, and violence.

Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, I reiterate my country’s welcome to one and all. I whish you a good stay in Tunisia and may Allah bring this symposium to a successful conclusion.

Wassalamu alaikum warahmatu Allah wabarakatuh.

Publications of the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization

-ISESCO- 1428H/2007 A.D