Peace and global security top the agenda at the World Forum on Intercultural Dialogue

Over 700 participants from 110 countries came together in Baku for the sixth World Forum on Intercultural Dialogue.

“It's unique because it states every time it gets together, the need to talk, the need to change, the need to understand the others,” assistant director-general for social and human sciences at UNESCO, Gabriela Ramos, said of the forum. “I feel it's very important that in the context of conflict, war, division, stress in our countries, we are reminded that humans need to talk,” she added.

Other issues on the agenda included poverty, education, gender inequality and migration. According to the 2024 World Migration Report, the number of displaced individuals has surged to the highest levels in modern-day records, reaching 117 million. Ramos said: “Migrants in Europe are so stereotyped ... increasing populist leadership is bringing these divisions because they look different, because (their) identity is different. Then it must be a problem, which it is not.”

President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev attended the opening of the three-day forum and reflected on the success of the Baku Process, a global strategy for intercultural dialogue. He said: “When we launched the process, we could not have even imagined that it would transform into a global platform bringing together people - intellectuals, politicians, decision-makers, media representatives, representatives of civil society, and religious leaders - united with one goal of making the world safer and more secure. Because dialogue between cultures is the basis for this.”

Climate issues were also high on the agenda as Baku prepares to welcome the world when it hosts COP29 in November.

“We are defending saving the planet. My mandate and today's conference are to