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Sarajevo, December 14th, 2009

Press Release

First Alliance of Civilizations Southeast European Conference Held in Sarajevo on December 14th, 2009

The first conference of the Alliance of Civilizations for Southeast Europe was held on December 14th, 2009 in Sarajevo. The conference was organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina in cooperation with the UN Alliance of Civilizations Secretariat. Its aim was to draft the Alliance of Civilizations’ regional strategy on intercultural dialogue among Southeast European countries.

The conference was opened with the introductory remarks of BiH Presidency Chairman Zeljko Komsic, Minister of Foreign Affairs Sven Alkalaj, Secretary of State for the EU in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Spain Diego Lopez Garrido, Speaker of the House of Representatives of the BiH Parliamentary Assembly Milorad Zivkovic, and UN High Representative for the Alliance of Civilizations Jorge Sampaio.

In his introductory remarks, Minister of Foreign Affairs of BiH Sven Alkalaj stated that the decision to hold this gathering in Sarajevo was not only the right decision, but also a symbolic one since Sarajevo has, throughout its history, served as a true example that different cultures and religions can live together, not just side by side. He assessed that enhancing regional cooperation and mutual understanding represents a key for integrating the region as a whole into European structures. He also concluded that cooperation among the region’s countries is a prerequisite for stability and the region’s faster economic development.    

After the introductory remarks and a short video about the Alliance of Civilizations, the Alliance’s Regional Strategy on Intercultural Dialogue and Cooperation in Southeast Europe was adopted. The conference also adopted the Sarajevo Declaration, in which the governments of the region’s countries expressed their support for this process.

The Regional Strategy outlines basic principles for the implementation of key Alliance of Civilizations goals and several concrete actions in the fields of education, media, youth and migration issues. These goals should be achieved in the next three years with the aim of improving intercultural understanding and cooperation in the region.

Workshops were held during the afternoon session of the Conference, where delegation members discussed the main goals of the Alliance of Civilizations.