B. Some short statements based on informal notes from some meeting participants

And a few cell photos. (these quick impressionistic notes only touch on a small number of the of the many ideas and sentiments expressed)

As more formal reports are issued we will add links on this page..

1. HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS PRINCE TURKI AL FAISAL AL SAUD (Saudi Arabia),

Chairman, Board of Directors, King Faisal Centre for Research and Islamic Studies

• There is a need to have these sorts of events on an ongoing basis.
• Today at the earlier meeting there have been all sorts of contributions, without inclination to preach or convert.

2. FOREST WHITAKER (USA),

Oscar Winning Artist, Film Director and Producer

There was a Short excerpt from film - Uganda. Former child soldiers and comments from FW

• Incredible number of displaced people in camps
• For reintegration into society - there is importance of staying with people and have new experiences. Not just reminded of the terrible times.

• As Director trying to understand what helped and sees that education helps so much.
• The different levels of acceptance. Of situation affect the healing. When people tell the stories of war experience and there is hope to find compassion.
• Millions of people there. Each has to find something within in order to have forgiveness of themselves and others.
• Education can lead to understanding and then peace and reconciliation. Through talking there can be the ability or possibility to find some purpose or hope helps in the process.

3. ABDULAZIZ OTHMAN ALTWAIJRI (Saudi Arabia),

Director-General of the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (lSESCO)

Suspicions have to be addressed to remove barriers. Strategy for youth must include principles of acceptance going beyond tolerance. The young are the future if love one another.

4. MEGHANN AUREA VILLANUEVA,

Youth Representative , Director of the Peace and Human Rights programme of the Fundacio Catalunya Voluntaria

Groups in Philippines, Muslims from one location and Christians form the other began slowly but eventually were speaking about the seeds of hatred. Learning to share personal experience and overcome bitterness. Realization was that it is not fair to blame all of the others in group for what some people did. We cannot have peace ourselves if we do not forgive.

5. JORGE SAMPAlO (Portugal),

High Representative of the UN Secretary-General for the Alliance of Civilizations; former President of Portugal

We want not to compete with others in the good work that needs to be done. But to bring people to together. Everyone must build solid bridges across divides based on aspirations for peace. We must have dialogues, as we do in day to day life and expand. We must reconcile our differences as richness. It is very complex task and we need a strong drive to accomplish progress.

6. IVONNE A-BAKI (Ecuador),

Artist, UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador, former President of the Andean
Parliament (2007) and former Minister of Foreign Trade of Ecuador (2003-2005)

There was long boarder dispute between Ecuador and Peru. This was 2 countries with same language, customs, traditions and religion. But on both sides they had been raised to hate the other. I was raised to hate Peru. 5 people of each Peru and Ecuador were brought together. We had to change places and present the position of the other. When you change places you feel the suffering of other. What can we do to make real. Creative solutions can be found when both sides want to change the situation and help find a solution to the others problem.. In this case, finally it was decided that the one country would be recognized by both as owning the land and would agree to lease it to the other country for life. This face saving device made of peace and the local people on both sides could end a long period of suffering.

When the meetings first started we all had to sit at a round table. We did not want to do that. To sit next to someone we had learned to hate seemed wrong. But then all of us were separated and one from each side had to go as a pair to a separate room and tell each other our story. Then we had to learn how to present to the others what we had learned. Our stories on both sides were so similar in the suffering and loss we and our families experienced. Many of us had tears as we told the stories of the others.

7. KJELL MAGNE BONDEVIK (Norway),

Founder and President of the Oslo Center for Peace and Human Rights; former Prime Minister of Norway
• Peace begins at home and peace begins at school.
• Language must not be used to marginize the other.
• In Norway we ha to change the way we addressed and taught religion in schools. We changed to teaching about Religion, Life Stances and ethics. By understand more about others we learn more about ourselves.
• To have peace one must have truth, forgiveness and justice

• Religion not main cause of problems. But the misuse of it by other for political, personal or other reasons is a cause.

• Need to listen very closely to what others say. The old saying points out that we have "two ears and one mouth" so we listen at least twice as much.: 2 ears o
• There is a need to identify common values and use these to mobilize. We need dialogue between parties to make positive change happen. Some common knowledge makes dialog easier. This can lead to peace and reconciliation.

• There are very hard to settle disputes around holy sites.
• It is necessary to have the religious leaders involved in discussing disputes of Holy sites. But also have to find ways to bring into the dialog, decision makers as well as religions. Since the decision makers and political leaders sometimes have different agendas that must be addressed in some way.

7. VISHAKHA DESAI,

President of Asia Society

• There is a need to think of the challenges that stand in way of making progress.
• We must recognize that there is more conflict in regions and within communities.
• Some use culture to separate people. It can be by class or cast.
• Education alone is not enough. We need to question what "type" of education.
• Need to have introduced "values" education, which includes ethnicity, heritage.
• Emotional part of individuals and communities is sometimes much stronger than the reasoning. Need to figure out how to integrate reason and feelings. Bring back sense of balance / __?.

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Comment from recording artists.

What is being done with refugees?. Goal to bring music to camps.
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IRINA BOKOVA, Director-General of UNESCO responded.

• She spoke about the issue of conflict situations and the recent UNESCO report:, The hidden crisis: Armed conflict and education, which also mentions the camps and especially children in camps (see link to report below)
• We see some progress - post conflict situations.
• But only 2 percent of aid goes to education.
• Education, especially after conflict brings normalcy and message of reconciliation.

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Reference Note :

"The hidden crisis: Armed conflict and education"  is part of the UNESCO, Education for All (EFA) Global Monitoring Reports.

• It cautions that the world is not on track to achieve by 2015 the six Education for All goals that over 160 countries signed up to in 2000. Although there has been progress in many areas, most of the goals will be missed by a wide margin - especially in regions riven by conflict.
• The world's refugees and internally displaced people face major barriers to education, the report warns. Armed conflict is also diverting a countries public (and also aid -donor countries') funds from education into military spending
• Education failures are fuelling conflict:
o The ‘youth bulge': In many conflict-affected countries, over 60% of the population is aged under 25, but education systems are not providing youth with the skills they need to escape poverty, unemployment and the economic despair that often contributes to violent conflict.
o The wrong type of education: Education has the potential to act as a force for peace - but too often schools can be used to reinforce the social divisions, intolerance and prejudices that lead to war.
o Failures to build peace. Education needs to be integrated into wider strategies to encourage tolerance, mutual respect and the ability to live peacefully with others.
Source : http://www.unesco.org/new/en/media-services/single-view/news/conflict_is_robbing_28_million_children_of_a_future_unesco_report_warns/

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Monitor - how does culture and arts figure on that?

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11. OMER ZULFU L1VANELI (Turkey),

Writer, musician, Film Director, UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador and Former Member of Parliament
• Solidarity and peace is a basic. See only human being first. Occupations divide us.
• "There is only one civilization but many branches". quote from Turkey, Ataturk.
• Originally, when musicians come from different countries that were historically turkey's enemies, and they were joined by local musicians, some condemned the effort. Some considered the local musicians traitors at first. But thousands came to the performances and that showed something different.
• When people from different cultures play music or sing together it makes a big difference. It is like the experience of sharing stories. When we understand the story it makes a difference. (This reminded the WHR participants of their similar experience of singing short WHR Theme song in different locations and with local participation and also hearing their local songs and performances in honour of peace and harmony).

Audience.- statement - question+
• Since we all share now in the global village, there is need to re- write the history to reflect that not all accomplishments were from the western world.
• It is important for young people to hear early about the accomplishment of their region, culture and country.
• It is important to learn the great accomplishments of all - it was not just the western. This is important for western children,, eastern, north and south - to know that all brought something to the common table.
• And we all benefit from it.

IRINA BOKOVA, Director-General of UNESCO responded.

• In teaching history it is important to get good original sources and newer works translated.

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 CHEN KAIGE (People's Republic of China), Film Director

• Need to speak about serious subjects in an entertaining way.
• He doesn't trust schools which don't' care about individual students.
• Using big words doesn't bring about peace. Peace is in the details.
o For example we all eat. Can eat with hands, with fork (metal)or chopsticks (wood, bamboo) and each have their own character.
o Even with chopsticks, two people can use them to eat differently in different cultures and it is good to understand the difference.
• It would be good if Unesco can help to understand the cultures through the details
• The approach of stressing the Yin and Yang must be balanced -
• We need reason but also equally we need imagination to be encouraged and allowed to develop

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Audience participation - woman

o People attempt to put individuals in various cultural camps and it is not always accurate
o Woman are often the first teachers of culture and have a big role to play in the future
o What they teach is important.

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KJELL MAGNE BONDEVIK (Norway),

Founder and President of the Oslo Center for Peace and Human Rights; former Prime Minister of Norway
o woman are usually closer to children, have more empathy
o We need to bring more woman into decision making.

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SABIHA AL KHEMIR (Tunisia),

painter, writer, curator and historian of Islamic art, Founding Director of
the Museum o f Islamic Art in Doha, Qatar
o It is not so simple that with more woman everything is better. Woman can also take decisions based on not best reasons. We all can think of examples in recent times.

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Audience comment

o In Pakistan have to go through islam education even if different religion.
o Blasphemy laws lead to killing.

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 ATTIYA INAYATULLAH (Pakistan),

Member of the National Assembly of Pakistan and former Minister for Womens Development, Social Welfare and Special Education of Pakistan

o In conflict, children are first to be harmed and last to be heard.
o Governments don't acknowledge (needs and abuse) and children afraid to report.
o Child militant. Child solider. Sad situation. We recognize now about needs of child soldier. Also have to recognize needs of child militant - needs care and concern. They are often abused
o Any discrimination in the system has to be condemned - cannot be condoned. Particularly if effects children.

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 ABDULAZIZ OTHMAN ALTWAIJRI (Saudi Arabia),

Director-General of the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (lSESCO)
o Schools don't kill imagination. Teachers do.
o In some cases we don't test teachers and put the lowest grades graduates to teach.
o Have to expose poor teaching, being new methods, training.

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 CHEN KAIGE (People's Republic of China), Film Director

o Schools need to need to help children and youth to know about human dignity.
o Need to improve situation, they are the future of human kind. Help children improve today.

Science and reconciliation.

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GUNTER BLOBEL (Germany),

Nobel Laureate in Physiology or Medicine (7999); John D. Rockefeller Jr.
Professor and Investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute at the Rockefeller University

o Unesco should extend world heritage recognition to achievements of science.
o Contribution of science history should be recognized as part of the heritage of all..

AMINATA TRAORE (Mali), President of the "Forum pour un autre Mali"; former Minister for Culture and Tourism
o The situation in many part of world is very troubling.
o Some try to blame low economic growth rate on religion or other cultural reasons for a region or country.
o The way economics is imposed can cause wars. And we know war and the results of war, can cause low growth rate for along time.
o Culture can have positive effect to bring people together and heal. For example sing is way to express stories.
o When youth are given work or training it gives hope.

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ESTHER COOPERSMITH (USA)

, United Nations Peace Prize Laureate and UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for Intercultural Dialogue
o Everybody must leave with hope. Life is good.
o One project that had very good response was "Seeds of peace" Youth from Jordan, Israel, Palestine, etc. showed how people can live together for short time and learn from each other. It carries forward for years..
o ==================
o About Seeds for Peace: Free from the pressures and prejudices of their home communities, hundreds of Middle Eastern and South Asian teenagers meet their historic enemies face-to-face at the Seeds of Peace International Camp in Maine. In this neutral setting, participants learn more than just leadership and coexistence skills-they develop the friendships and trust necessary to build lasting peace. From 46 Israeli, Palestinian and Egyptian teenagers in 1993, the organization has expanded its programming to include young leaders from South Asia, Cyprus and the Balkans. Source: http://www.seedsofpeace.org/

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HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS PRINCE TURKI AL FAISAL AL SAUD (Saudi Arabia),

Chairman, Board of Directors, King Faisal Centre for Research and Islamic Studies
o Most importantly, form what we have seen here today, we need more events like this in the future.

 

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CANDIDO MENDES (Brazil)

, Secretary-General of the Academy of Latinity and Dean of the Universidade Candido Mendes

o A new Brazil is being created.
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Q_ how can culture help in negations.

IRINA BOKOVA, Director-General of UNESCO responded.

• One of the very good things about the UNESCO world (cultural and natural) Heritage sites - is that the sites are seen as a part of the whole worlds cultural heritage. See List at http://whc.unesco.org/en/254
• Also see Intangible Cultural Heritage http://www.unesco.org/culture/ich/indexunesco. World heritage. Not just important for one country but for all.

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Interested participants want to stay longer.

It was past 5:30 and so many people are staying. It just shows how interested al the participants are in better world and what each other are doing about it. . This is cause for great hope for the future