The Minister for Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, José Manuel Albares, advocated greater involvement of civil society, youth, women, religious leaders, corporations and the media in initiatives that promote intercultural dialogue and tolerance for peace.
Albares travelled with H.M. King Felipe VI to (Cascais) Portugal, where the tenth Alliance of Civilisations Forum is being held from Monday, this year titled “United in Peace: Restoring Trust, Reshaping the Future. Reflecting on Two Decades of Dialogue for Humanity", with the participation of UN Secretary-General António Guterres and High Representative Miguel Ángel de Moratinos, as well as the President of the Republic of Portugal and other Ministers for Foreign Affairs and personalities from civil society from 130 countries.
Alliance of Civilisations Group of Friends
Minister Albares was speaking at the opening of the Alliance of Civilisations Group of Friends ministerial meeting, which brings together representatives of governments, international organisations, religious leaders, politicians, civil society, foundations, academia, the private sector and young people. This meeting aims to address the leading contemporary intercultural dialogue issues, and Albares argued that civil society must become more prominent and play a decisive role.
In this sense, Albares, who spoke alongside Guterres, Moratinos and his Turkish and Portuguese counterparts, stressed that the work of foundations, associations and universities in promoting intercultural understanding and in identifying problems and solutions is essential, which is why they play a privileged role in the Alliance of Civilisations.
During his speech, he praised the Alliance of Civilisations as “an instrument for tackling the challenges posed by an increasingly intercultural, complex and interconnected world”. Albares also expressed his hope that the Cascais Forum will provide a valuable contribution in terms of ideas, initiatives and projects for the future work of the Alliance of Civilisations and in favour of the shared responsibility of its member countries towards a Culture of Peace.
Spain, as a co-sponsor of the Alliance of Civilisations together with Türkiye, features prominently in the Forum sessions and opening, together with the UN Secretary-General, António Guterres; the President of Portugal as host country, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa; the Turkish Minister for Foreign Affairs, Haka Fidan; and the High Representative of the Alliance of Civilisations, Miguel Ángel Moratinos.
Working sessions
The topics covered in the sessions included: reflection on two decades of dialogue for humanity; lessons learned; prevention of hate speech, religious intolerance, anti-Semitism, anti-Muslim hatred and anti-Christianity; intergenerational dialogue for peace and sustainable development; sport for the promotion of peace and inclusiveness; the contribution of migration to peaceful societies; education for dialogue; disinformation; religious mediation for peace; intercultural dialogue and mediation. The Alliance of Civilisations Group of Friends, composed of countries and international and regional organisations, participates in the fora.
These meetings also allowed Minister Albares to hold bilateral meetings: with the foreign ministers of Bangladesh, Iran and Morocco and with the UN Secretary-General and the High Representative. He also accompanied H.M. the King in the bilateral meeting with the President of Portugal.
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