UNESCO to participate in promotion of dialogue and peace, Chair Yai speech at the Congress

 Honorable President of the Republic of Kazakhstan,

Distinguished guests,

Leaders of religious group,

Excellencies,

Ladies and gentlemen,

 Let me begin by thanking you for inviting me to participate in the Third Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions in Astana, capital city of the land of the celebrated poet, composer and philosopher Abay Ibrahim Qunanbayuli, the Republic of Kazakhstan.

 I would like to pay tribute to President Nursultan Nazarbayev and the organizers of the 3 Congress for this sustained commitment to the promotion of dialogue among religions since 2003, year of the first Congress. Central Asia has had a long history of encounters and fruitful dialogue between civilizations, cultures and religions and Kazakhstan, with its 130 ethnic groups from diverse religions, is indeed and authentic example of peaceful and respectful interfaith and interethnic existence.

 Globalization has had a two fold impacts on our societies. On the one hand, it has accelerated multicultural societies by increasing mobility and bringing together people of various ethnic, cultural and religious backgrounds in constant daily life interactions, and on the other, it has reinforced the trend towards the domination and hegemony of one culture inevitably threatening the survival and identities of many others, particularly the indigenous culture ad faiths.

 Although it is recognized that all faiths convey a massage of peace, justice and human solidarity, dialogue on religious issues between individuals and groups belonging to different religions or spiritual traditions has become a significant challenge in our times. It is therefore of paramount importance to reinforce our collective efforts to promote dialogue in order to curtail intercultural and interfaith misgivings and misunderstandings and create an atmosphere of self-esteem, trust and mutual respect. And each one of us has a crucial responsibility in that regard.

 We have to identify obstacles that hinder dialogue such as ignorance, indifference, prejudice, etc., and encourage a more holistic view of religion, intricately linked with human rights, ethics, justice, and other social and environmental issues. While it id important to safeguard all cultural identities and ensure freedom of belief and expression, it is equally vital to highlight the dialogue that has incessantly occurred through interactions and mutual influences all through the history of mankind, constructively resulting in cross-cultural borrowings and mutually fostered communities and societies. Each culture draws from its own roots but has been nurtured through its contacts and dialogue with others, as affirmed by the UNESCO Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity (2001). Reciprocal knowledge of religions and spiritual traditions should be enabled in order to reach respect of pluralism, diversity of beliefs and convictions - the only basis for nurturing harmony in multicultural and multifaith societies.

 It is well acknowledged that religious and spiritual leaders contribute to laying the seeds of tolerance, mutual respect and collaboration in people's lives. Religious leaders are called upon to reinforce dialogue between communities in order to enable them to appreciate and act by the fundamental ethic values, shared by individuals of all religious and humanistic backgrounds. The depth of knowledge and purpose of religions enables the latter to understand and protect not only human beings, but also their tangible and intangible cultural symbols as churches, synagogues, mosques, temples, rites, rituals, languages, etc. various meetings and seminars on interreligious dialogue held at UNESCO have highlighted the necessity of engaging new voices in dialogue about religious issues - those of women and youth. The participation and contribution of women, usually excluded from religious leadership, is ignored and marginalized despite the very important role they play in protecting their families and educating their children. The voices of the youth should not be silenced either.  

 Most pertinently, is the persistent weak representation or in some cases complete absence of traditional religious leaders in gatherings such as ours today. that is why, UNESCO continues, tirelessly, to advocate for the full inclusion in these events of all traditional religions, being from the people of the mountainous regions of Asia, to the aboriginal population of the vast plains of Oceania, the Pre-Colombian believes in the Americas and the traditional practices of Africa origin, etc. We strongly encourage their active involvement in order to reinforce their unique and priceless contribution for the promotion of true religious pluralism in our multi-faith societies.

 Mr. President,

 Distinguished participants,

 The General Conference of UNESCO, at its 34 Session adopted a draft resolution initiated by Kazakhstan and supported by Armenia, Azerbaijan, Russia and Ukraine concerning the "Proclamation of the International Year for the Rapprochement of Cultures - 2010" in order to promote harmony among cultures, civilizations and peoples with the aim of ensuring the world of stability, security and progress. The UN General Assembly endorsed this proposal by adopting Resolution 69/90 of 17 December 2007 and, one year later invited UNESCO in consultations with Member States to lead the preparations for the celebration of the International Year.  For this reason, I would like to invite you leaders of religious groups to sand as your innovative contributions through your countries' National Commissions for UNESCO, in order to enable us to take them into account during the execution of the plan of action which is being elaborated.

 This meeting is in Astana is therefore timely. There is growing recognition that interreligious dialogue is an important vehicle to take on the road to social cohesion and stability everywhere. Your discussion on the basis fro dialogue for dialogue among civilizations, the role of moral and spiritual values and ethics in today's world, the role of the rapprochement of cultures in solving issues of regional and international security will be eagerly awaited.  

 As indicated by Nr. Koichiro Matsuura, Director General of UNESCO, during his address at the second Congress in 2006 "the partnership of religious leaders is highly valuated by the Organization, and this Congress furnishes an excellent opportunity to strengthen our cooperation still further", I would like to assure you that UNESCO will continue to cooperate with your countries and all interested parties by taking into consideration the debates and recommendations of this Congress while developing its program for the promotion of dialogue and peace.

 I wish you successes in your deliberations.

 Thank you.  

 

Mr Olabiyi Babalola Joseph Yai was elected on Monday 5 November 2007 as Chairman of the UNESCO's Executive Board.

At the time of his election Mr Olabiyi Babalola Joseph Yai was Ambassador Permanent Delegate of Benin to UNESCO, Member of the Executive Board of UNESCO and former Chairperson of the Finance and Administrative Commission of the Executive Board.

During his mandate as Ambassador, Mr Yai has been a Member of the World Heritage Committee, the Committee of the International Fund for the Promotion of Culture (IFPC), the International Scientific Committee of the Slave Route Project, the Jury for the designation of Masterpieces of Oral and Intangible Heritage as well as for the Melina Mercouri and Simon Bolivar Prizes, a Member of the Board of Trustees of the Africa World Heritage Fund (AWHFD), President of the Culture Commission of UNESCO G77, of Commission IV (Culture) of the 32nd Session of the General Conference (2003) and Vice-Chairperson of the Executive Board (2001-2003).

Before his appointment as Ambassador, he was a Consultant for culture and language policy in Benin, Burkina Faso, Nigeria, Togo and Mozambique in the 1970s and 1980s. He taught as Professor at the Universities of Benin, Ibadan and Ife (Nigeria) and Florida (USA). He also acted as Director of the Institute of Cultural Studies, University of Ife, Nigeria and as Chair of the Department of African and Asian Languages and Literatures, University of Florida, USA.
Mr Yai holds a BA from the University of the Sorbonne (France) and a Post Graduate Diploma in Linguistics from the University of Ibadan (Nigeria). He was a visiting scholar at the Federal University of Bahia (Brazil), at the University of Birmingham (England) and at the Kokugakuin University in Tokyo (Japan).

A specialist in African literatures and languages, literacy, oral poetry and the cultures of the African diaspora, Olabiyi Babalola Joseph Yai, was born in 1942 in Benin where he received an African traditional education with sages and elders in his village.