Democracy and renewal in the Arab World: roundtable at UNESCO in support of transition to democracy, 21 June
About 20 internationally renowned personalities, experts on or from the Arab World¹, will participate in a round table on 21 June at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris (Room X from 9.30 a.m. to 6 p.m.) on the theme “Democracy and Renewal in the Arab World: UNESCO in Support of Transitions to Democracy”.
One of the main objectives of this high-level meeting will be to draw a roadmap for UNESCO and the international community which will allow them to provide better support to the movements of transition towards democracy taking place in the Arab World. It will be the setting for a dynamic and interactive debate combining youth and expert analyses to explore the on-going transformations, better understand the aspirations for democracy of the peoples of the region and share different countries’ experiences of democratic transition.
Inaugurated by Irina Bokova, Director-General of UNESCO, in the presence of Abdou Diouf, Secretary-General of La Francophonie, Nickolay Mladenov, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria, and Boutros Boutros-Ghali, former Secretary-General of the United Nations, the roundtable will include two thematic sessions which will allow participants to respond to political, social, cultural and educational challenges resulting from present and future social change.
Different dimensions of change will be examined such as freedom of expression and the existence of strong independent media; the imperative need for a free and independent judiciary; the issue of religion; education and awareness raising regarding democratic values and principles; the need to engage Arab women in the on-going transition and in the democratic system; the role of youth in the construction of their democratic future; the need to plan the process of reconciliation between conflicting groups within a given population; transparency of elections, public tenders, archives and databases; the crucial role of civil society in establishing democratic values at grassroots level.
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Journalists wishing to attend the event require accreditation
Contact: Isabelle le Fournis, Division of Public Information of UNESCO.
Tel.: +33 (0) 1 45 68 17 48. E-mail: i.le-fournis(at)unesco.org
[1]
Haila AL-MEKAIMI (Kuwait); Rana AL-SABBAGH (Jordan); Robert BADINTER (France) ; Amal BASHA (Yemen); Abdel BASSET BEN HASSEN (Tunisia) ; Dominique BAUDIS (France) ; Mahmoud Ben Habib BEN ROMDHANE (Tunisia) ; Ali BENMAKHLOUF (Morocco) ; Pascal BONIFACE (France) ; Alia CHERIF CHAMMARI (Tunisia) ; Mohamed Larbi CHOUIKHA (Tunisia) ; Aly ELSAMMAN (Egypt) ; Nader A. FERGANY (Egypt) ; Amr HAMZAWY (Egypt) ; Chérif KHAZNADAR (France) ; Latifa LAKHDHAR (Tunisia) ; Joseph MAILA (France); Said SADEK (Egypt); Antony TODOROV (Bulgaria) ; Leonardo VALDÉS ZURITA (Mexico)
A Celebration of Women
Arab World: roundtable at UNESCO, 21 June
June 18, 2011 by
