Mercy Global Concern - 2004
Unlearning Intolerance
Secretary-General Kofi Annan opened the seminar
on “Confronting Islamophobia: Education for Tolerance and
Understanding” at United Nations Headquarters in New York
today, 7 December. This seminar is the second in a series entitled “Unlearning
Intolerance”, organized by the Educational Outreach Section
in the Outreach Division of the United Nations Department of
Public Information (DPI).
The series aims to examine different manifestations of intolerance
and explore ways to promote respect and understanding among peoples.
As its name suggests, the “Unlearning Intolerance” series
offers opportunities to discuss how intolerance, wherever it
exists and for whatever reason, can be “unlearned” through
education, inclusion and example.
Part of DPI's mission is to bring together voluntary organizations,
educators and other components of civil society for discussions
with the United Nations system on issues that are not just universal
in their scope, but have a direct and palpable impact upon the
lives of children, women and men everywhere. This series falls
squarely within that effort. It also responds to a specific request
to DPI from the Committee on Information (a committee of the
United Nations General Assembly), asking the Department help
disseminate information relevant to the “dialogue among
civilizations” and the “culture of peace”.
The seminar will be held at United Nations Headquarters in Conference
Room 1. After the opening statement by the Secretary-General,
Seyyed Hossein Nasr, University Professor of Islamic Studies
at GeorgeWashingtonUniversity, will deliver a keynote address.
There will then be panel discussions offering different perspectives
on Islamophobia today, on the role of education in fostering
tolerance and understanding, and on ideas for confronting Islamophobia
more effectively. Panellists will include eminent writers, scholars,
theologians and experts on Islamophobia and other issues relating
to tolerance and education. These discussions will be chaired
by Shashi Tharoor, Under Secretary-General for Communications
and Public Information, and will allow the audience and the panellists
to make comments and pose questions. In the afternoon, the panellists
will join in an overview of the day's discussions and further
interact with the audience and each other.
The day-long programme will be open to the delegations of United
Nations Member States, UN-affiliated non-governmental organizations,
media representatives and members of the public who register
in advance. (Please see contact details at end.) It will also
be webcast live at www.un.org/webcast
The DPI launched the “Unlearning Intolerance” series
at the mid-point of the International Decade for a Culture of
Peace and Non-Violence for the Children of the World, proclaimed
by the General Assembly in 1998. The first seminar, held on 21
June 2004, was on “Confronting anti-Semitism: Education
for Tolerance and Understanding”. Coverage of this
seminar and the text of the Secretary-General's opening
remarks are online at the top of the page of www.un.org/Pubs/chronicle/index.html
DPI's Educational Outreach Section also seeks to stimulate
informed discussion on global issues, including those relating
to discrimination and human rights, through the print and online
editions of UN Chronicle www.un.org/Pubs/chronicle/index.htm The
UN Cyberschoolbus www.cyberschoolbus.un.org of
the Global Learning and Teaching Project caters to online educational
needs
of primary and secondary schools and is currently preparing the
first comprehensive multimedia web portal on the Millennium Development
Goals for young people. An entire section of www.cybershoolbus.org is also devoted to providing a general introduction to human
rights. Most notably, the Global Learning and Teaching Project
was involved in a large-scale project on human rights for the
World Summit on Information Society which involved 880 schools
from around the world.
The Section's UN Works Programme www.un.org/works,
through an innovative blend of television programming, a multi-language
web site and successful global publicity/media campaigns has
given educational and media outreach a person-specific thrust
that is, at once, compelling, memorable and provocative. It puts
a human face on important issues such as poverty, AIDS, sustainable
development, child labour, child soldiers, girl's education in
its effort to educate civil society and raise awareness of the
Millennium Development Goals.
The Outreach Division has partnered with Court TV to produce
a programme on the International Day for Tolerance in 2003 entitled “We
Are Family: Educating Our Children for a Safer World”;
and its NGO Section www.un.org/dpi/ngosection arranges
public briefings, including a well attended meeting in early
2004 on anti-Semitism, Islamophobia and racism.
In conjunction with the “Unlearning Intolerance” seminar
on Confronting Islamophobia, a photo exhibition titled “ISLAM”,
by renowned Iranian photographer Abbas, will be open to the public
on 7 December at the Visitors' Entrance to United Nations
Headquarters at First Avenue opposite 46th Street. This exhibition
of his work is arranged by DPI in collaboration with Magnum Photos.
On the day of the seminar the International Film Festival for
High School Students in New York will screen the film “Journey
to the Sun” at the United Nations Dag Hammarskjöld
Library Auditorium at 1:30 p.m. Directed by the young cinematographer,
Yesim Ustaoglu, this award-winning film chronicles the story
of friendship between two people and their understanding of human
suffering caused by racial and ethnic intolerance.
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