Dear Participants, On behalf of the members of the Club de Madrid it is a pleasure to welcome you to the Club de Madrid’s first South Caucasus Forum organized in collaboration with the Nizami Ganjavi International Center with the support of the State Committee for the Work with Diaspora, Library of Alexandria and Foundation for Culture Peace. This year Forum will focus on Social Inclusion and Women’s Empowerment issues of great importance in this region of the world which represents a crossroad of cultures, religions and traditions. The Club de Madrid’s motto “democracy that delivers” is particularly relevant here in the South Caucasus, as there is much still to be done in the strengthening of democratic values. We are truly glad to be able to contribute in this direction. At this Forum the Club de Madrid will share the key messages of our Shared Societies Project. This project was launched back in 2007 in a response from leaders worldwide for options and action plansto address the challenge of coexistencethat every society faces. Since then our organization works globally with various governments, institutions and their leaders, advising them on the best approaches to building a shared society. We define a shared society as one in which all individuals and constituent groups hold status as equally contributing participants, free to express their differences while integrating their voices within the broader population. Fostering coexistence is not easy but, as we will discuss in this Forum, it is indeed possible. We will therefore focus these coupleof days on a discussion on how leaderscan constructively try to manage ethnic, cultural, religious and other identity differences. We will be zeroing in on issues such as shared societies as a tool for conflict resolution, inter-religious and inter-cultural dialogue, identity pluralism and combating human trafficking; all with the objectiveof identifying recommendations to move the agenda of shared societies forward in Azerbaijan and beyond. This kind of work is essential for global progress in the 21st century. As historically marginalized and minority groups persist in their struggle for acceptance and equality, so too will our project continue pursuing effective solutions. We all look forward to engaging in focused and dynamic discussions that will allow us to set benchmarks and forge projects with many of the outstanding individualsand institutions that have joined us in Baku. Social cohesion is a process that requiresa daily effort from all of us. Thank you for contributing to make this event a success! Warm regards, Wim Kok Prime Minister of the Netherlands (1994-2002). President of the Club de Madrid
Posted on: Sat, 08 Jun 2013 05:30:00 +0000
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