Women not only play a significant role in promoting cultural dialogue, but also help guarantee peace and promote tolerance, several speakers said Tuesday at an international forum in Baku, Azerbaijan.
"Throughout world history, women have been the greatest guarantors of harmony, peace and stability," Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev said in his opening speech at the International Forum on the Role of Women in Cross-Cultural Dialogues.
The two-day forum is being attended by more than 350 government officials, women's rights activists, scholars, diplomats and journalists from more than 50 countries.
Aliyev said women were working to protect the interests of future generations, mobilizing their energy to promote friendship between countries and cultures at an international level.
The director general of the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO), Abdulaziz Othman Altwaijri, said women were in a better position to promote dialogue between cultures and the alliance of civilizations, which is a joint initiative of Spain and Turkey.
"The role of women in this field is vital, because their main activity lies first and foremost in providing education," Altwaijri said.
This education, he said, teaches the values of dialogue between cultures, whether in domestic, school or public life.
"They are the lead mentors for coming generations. They are the first nucleus of families, which form society. They take charge of instilling the younger generations with ideal values and principles," he said.
All speakers agreed by expanding the role of women in cross-cultural dialogue, the world would be a more peaceful place.
The opening session was referred to by some as a summit of first ladies. Azerbaijan first lady Mehriban Aliyeva and her counterparts Maria Kaczynska of Poland, Zanele Mbeki of South Africa, Lilita Zatlere of Latvia, Ana Paula Dos Santos of Angola and Emine Erdogan of Turkey were the main speakers at the opening session.
The spouse of Argentina's vice president, Marta Cristina Cerutti De Cobos, the first lady of Texas (U.S.), 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 the Heydar Aliyev Foundation and a goodwill ambassador of UNESCO and ISESCO) said the main purpose of the forum was to strengthen the role of women in cross-cultural dialogue.
"It is our intention to explore avenues of how women can contribute to tolerance-building, drawing attention to women's initiatives in cross-cultural dialogue," she said.
Turkish first lady Emine said we were living in a world where there is a lack of love, dialogue and reconciliation.
"We don't have love, dialogue or reconciliation. I came here not to fight, but to love. Turkey and Spain started this initiative of an alliance of civilizations, to promote dialogue between different civilizations," Emine said.
The meeting will adopt the Baku Declaration, which is a road map of steps to foster the role of women in cross-cultural dialogue.
Azerbaijan, an oil-rich nation in South Caucasus, was the first country in the East to grant voting rights to women, in 1918, before the United States, France and other countries.
