Women, the half of the humankind, are not only playing a
significant part in promoting the dialogue of cultures but also
guaranteeing peace and promoting tolerance, several speakers at
an international forum in Baku said on Tuesday.
"Throughout the world history the women have been the greatest
guarantors of peace, stability and peaceful coexistence,"
Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev said in his welcoming message
at the International Forum on the "Expanding the Role of Women
in Cross-Cultural Dialogue" here in Baku.
President Aliyev's message was read at the two-day forum,
which is being attended more than 350 government officials,
women's rights activists, scholars, diplomats and journalists
from more than 50 countries.
According to Aliyev, women today were continuing their efforts
for the sake of protecting the interests of future generations,
mobilizing their energy to acquaint countries and cultures with
each other at the international level.
While agreeing with Aliyev, the director general of the
Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
(ISESCO), Abdulaziz Othman Altwaijri, said women were in a better
position to promote the dialogue of cultures and the alliance of
civilizations, a joint initiative of Spain and Turkey.
"The role of women in this field (promoting dialogue) is
vital, because their main action lies first and foremost with
education proper," Altwaijri said.
But he immediately said that here the education broadly means
on the values of dialogue of cultures, whether in domestic life,
in school, or even in public life.
"They are the lead mentor for coming generations; they are the
first nucleus of the family which forms society; they take charge
of instilling the young generations with ideal values and
principles," he said.
All the speakers agreed that by expanding the role of women in
cross-cultural dialogue, we can have a peaceful world.
The opening session was looked like a summit of first ladies.
Azerbaijan first lady Mehriban Aliyeva and her counterparts Maria
Kaczynska from Poland, Zanele Mbeki from South Africa, Lilita
Zatlere from Latvia, Ana Paula Dos Santos from Angola, and
Turkish Prime Minister's wife Emine Erdogan were the main
speakers at the opening session.
Argentinean Vice President's spouse Marta Cristina Cerutti de
Cobos, first lady of Texas Anita Perry and Russian Federal
Assembly deputy speaker Svetlana Orlova were also present at the
forum.
In her speech, Mehriban, who is also the president of Heydar
Aliyev Foundation and goodwill ambassador of the UNESCO and the
ISESCO, the main purpose of the forum was to strengthen the role
of women in cross-cultural dialogue.
"It is our intention to explore avenues on how women can
contribute to tolerance building efforts, drawing attention to
women's initiatives in cross-cultural dialogue," she said.
Turkish prime minister's wife Emine said that we were living i a world where there was a lack of love, dialogue and reconciliation.
"We don't have love, dialogue and reconciliation. I came here
not to fight but to love. Turkey along with Spain started this
initiative of alliance of civilizations to promote dialogue
between different civilizations," Emine, who always wears an
headscarf said.
The meeting will adopt the Baku Declaration on a roadmap
regarding on what steps the women should take in the future to
foster the role of women in cross-cultural dialogue.
Azerbaijan, an oil-rich nation in South Caucasus, is well
known for its long history of tolerance and has been functioning
as a bridge between the civilizations of both the East and the West. It was also the first country in the East to grant voting
rights to women in 1918, much earlier than the U.S., France and
other countries. (****)
