Serageldin in the Second High Level Group of UN Alliance of Civilizations
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Alexandria— Dr. Ismail Serageldin, Director of the Library of Alexandria, left to Doha, Qatar to participate in the Second High Level Group of UN Alliance of Civilizations during the period from 26-28 February 2006. The second meeting will focus on four main themes: Media, Immigration, Youth, and Education.
UN secretary General Kofi Anan announced on 2 September 2005 the members of the HLG in the launch of the initiative called for by the Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero and the Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to resolve cultural and religious differences between the Western and Muslim world. The declaration responded to the calls by the international community to deepen relations between peoples and civilizations to bridge divides, overcome prejudice, misconceptions, and misperceptions, and polarization which potentially threaten world peace.
The group is scheduled to meet quarterly to present a report with recommendations and a practical plan of action in late 2006 both at the institutional and civil society levels to advance mutual respect between the Western and Islamic world.
The group comprises eminent persons to guide the initiative including: Dr. Ismail Serageldin (Egypt), Director of the Library of Alexandria; Prof. Federico Mayor Zaragoza (Spain), President, Foundation for a Culture of Peace and Former Director-General, UNESCO; Prof. Mehmet Aydin (Turkey), Minister of State of Turkey; H.E. Seyed Mohammad Khatami (Iran), Former President of Iran; Her Highness Sheikha Mozah Bint Nasser Al-Missned (Qatar), Consort of the Emir of Qatar; Mr. Mohamed Charfi (Tunisia), Former Minister of Education of Tunisia; . Mr. Moustafa Niasse (Senegal), Former Prime Minister of Senegal; The Rt. Hon. Archbishop Desmond Tutu (South Africa), Mr. Hubert Vedrine (France), Former Minister of Foreign Affairs of France; among H.E. Mr. Ali Alatas (Indonesia), Former Foreign Minister of Indonesia.