ARGENTINA’S SUPPORT AND THE FIRST REGIONAL INITIATIVE

The Alliance of Civilizations is an undertaking originally inspired by the governments of Spain and Turkey in 2005, which soon afterwards met with the UN’s formal support through the then Secretary-General Kofi Annan. The new Secretary-General of the UN, Ban Ki-moon, went on to appoint the former President of Portugal, Jorge Sampaio, as High Representative and established a High Level Group consisting of notables from all continents.

From the very beginning, Argentina supported this initiative, and in that context Argentine Foreign Minister Jorge Taiana announced, at the First Alliance of Civilizations Annual Forum on 15 January, in Madrid, that the city of Buenos Aires will host on 28 and 29 April a Regional Seminar on Gender Issues, organized by the Argentine Ministry of Foreign Affairs, International Trade and Worship and as part of the Forum’s key activities.

Before representatives of more than 70 countries of the five continents and international organisation delegates, the Argentine Foreign Minister explained at the time the considerations behind the topic chosen by Argentina: “Girls account for 70% of the infant population that does not go to school. Women account for two-thirds of the 960 million adults that cannot read and women and girls account for three-fifths of the poorest one billion people of the world. Local and regional initiatives are necessary to prevent women from continuing to be left behind in such an outrageous manner,” he stated.

The Foreign Minister recalled: “Argentina takes shape thanks to the fruitful meeting of different cultures and peoples. It is a country that has arisen from the confluence of indigenous peoples with those who reached our shores from the major 16th century centres, especially from Spain, but also from the Middle East, Asia and Africa. The history of our country summarizes the immigration phenomenon, with its epics, glories and hardships, but the origin of a person has never meant an obstacle to their integration. Argentines, men and women belonging to creeds and traditions that in other corners of the world were trapped on account of exclusion and discrimination were able to grow harmoniously in Argentina.”

On 15 and 16 January 2008, the First Alliance of Civilizations Annual Forum took place in Madrid. This forum made it possible to consolidate international support for this initiative through a series of concrete projects and regional initiatives. The Regional Seminar Women and the Alliance of Civilizations. Challenges and Opportunities, to take place in Buenos Aires on 28 and 29 April 2008, is a concrete expression of the dynamism and validity of the Alliance of Civilizations as a proposal aimed at offering valid responses to the challenge of diversity in a globalized world.