Jorge Sampaio

PRESS RELEASE

September, 29, 2008

President Sampaio visits Strasbourg to address the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) and to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with the Council of Europe

On 29 September, UN High Representative for the Alliance of Civilizations, President Jorge Sampaio, will pay an official visit to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. He will address the Parliamentary Assembly and will meet among others the President of the Assembly, Mr Lluís Maria de Puig i Olive and the Secretary General of the Assembly, Mr Mateo Sorinas Balfegó. In his address President Sampaio will present an overview of the UN Alliance of Civilizations, its main goals and challenges, and will focus on how the Alliance and the Council of Europe can cooperate in addressing cultural divides.
In his address he says “Efforts to address cultural and religious divides are therefore of utmost importance and good governance of cultural diversity is part of any comprehensive approach to sustainable peace.”

On this occasion President Jorge Sampaio and Mr. Terry Davis will sign a Memorandum of Understanding between the Alliance of Civilizations and the Council of Europe. This Memorandum identifies the subject areas and the working mechanisms of future co-operation between the Alliance of Civilizations and the Council of Europe. It will specifically provide for a strategic partnership in the areas of youth activities, media and education for intercultural dialogue, human rights and democratic citizenship.
On the importance of this Memorandum, the UN High Representative said: «J’ose espérer que ce mémorandum marquera un tournant décisif dans nos relations et qu’il y aura désormais un « avant » et un « après ». Pour ma part, soyez certain que je ne ménagerai pas mes efforts pour éviter à la coopération entre l’Alliance et le Conseil de l’Europe de devenir un jeu de somme nulle et pour qu’ensemble, nous fassions toujours partie de l’équipe gagnante ». Moreover, he stressed the importance of the White Paper on Inter-cultural Dialogue launched last May by the Ministers of the CoE and recognized the unique role that the North-South Centre of the Council of Europe can play to support the cooperation with the Alliance.
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The Alliance of Civilizations (AoC) was established in 2005, at the initiative of the Governments of Spain and Turkey, under the auspices of the United Nations. It aims to improve understanding and cooperative relations among States and peoples across cultures and religions and, in the process, to help counter the forces that fuel polarization and extremism.
In April 2007, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon appointed Jorge Sampaio, former President of Portugal, as High Representative for the Alliance. This marked the implementation phase of the Alliance of Civilizations, with the development of an action-oriented implementation plan focusing on initiatives and projects in the areas of youth, media, education and migration.
The Alliance’s focus on concrete initiatives was reinforced and consolidated at the First Alliance of Civilizations Forum, which was hosted by the Government of Spain on 15-16 January 2008.
For additional information see: www.unaoc.org

For information and questions, please contact Helena Barroco (tp.obactennull@ocorrabh); tel + 351 91 777 63 09

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JORGE SAMPAIO Address to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe // Discours devant l’Assemblée parlementaire du Conseil de l’Europe
Strasbourg, 29 Sept. 2008