The second international conference on Civilizations: How we see others, how others see us will bring together academics and intellectuals from different continents at UNESCO Headquarters on January 30 (Room IV) to continue discussions begun at the first conference in December 2001 as part of the UN Year of Dialogue Among Civilizations. Encouraging dialogue between civilizations and cultures is central to UNESCO's mission and activities. Examining the interaction between cultures and highlighting their contributions and exchanges brings better understanding of long-term processes and promotes tolerance.

Organized by UNESCO and France’s Ecole pratique des Hautes Etudes (EPHE), the conference will feature three roundtable debates. UNESCO Director-General Koïchiro Matsuura will open the event at 9.30 a.m. and Felipe Fernandez Armesto, will present an introductory lecture: “A short history of misunderstanding.”

The first roundtable, on Conflicts and dialogue between civilizations, will be chaired by Blandine Kriegel who will speak about the clash of civilizations and the development of humanity. Jean-Louis Bacqué-Grammont will take part in this session with a paper on “the clash of cultures from a positive stance: some examples”, Abdelkebir Khatibi (“Paradigms for an open dialogue”), Jacques Le Rider (“What do cultural transfers in Central Europe teach us about Franco-German relations in the 19th and 20th centuries?”) and Jerzy Kloczowski (“Topicality of the great traditions of dialogue among civilizations in Central-Eastern Europe”).

The second round-table, The historical dimension in the current debate on the dialogue among civilizations, will be chaired by François Déroche (“Histories of the other”) and include Ségolène Demougin (“Image of Rome, Europe’s model”), Jean Chesneaux (“The legacy of relationships of domination and traditions of mutual respect: which balance for the dialogue amongst civilizations?”), and Hartmut O. Rotermud (“Who’s afraid of foreigners? Cohabitation between the Japanese and Westerners at the end of the XIXth century”).

The third round-table, Overcoming obstacles to dialogue among civilizations, will be chaired by Jocelyne Dakhlia (“From one culture to another: distinction of the limits and limits of the distinction”) and will include Oleg Grabar (“Relevance and dangers in the use of visual arts in the dialogue amongst civilizations”); Hector Gros-Espiell (“Legal obstacles to dialogue among civilizations”); Antoine Valéry (“A perspective of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights one year after September 11”) and Alain de Libera (“From invective towards dialogue: A typological essay”).