Alliance of Civilizations
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Alexandria—In Istanbul on 12 November 2006, Dr. Ismail Serageldin, Director of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, attended the two-day final meeting of the High committee of the Alliance of Civilizations affiliated to the United Nations and under the auspices of the ministers of Spain and Turkey.
During the meeting the committee presented its final report, which aims at forging collective political will and mobilizing actions directed to overcome the prejudice, misperceptions and polarization that militate against such a consensus.
Secretary General of the United Nations Kofi Annan was presented with the group"s report, which provides an assessment of emerging threats to international peace and security, in particular the political, social and religious forces that foment extremism.
The High-Level Group of the Alliance of Civilizations hopes to contribute to a coalescing global movement which, reflecting the will of the vast majority of people, rejects extremism in any society. Events of recent years have exacerbated mutual suspicion, fear and misunderstanding between Islamic and Western societies. This environment has been exploited by extremists throughout the world. Only a comprehensive coalition will be able to avert any further deterioration of relations between societies and nations, which could threaten international stability. The Alliance seeks to counter this trend by establishing a paradigm of mutual respect between civilizations and cultures.