Representatives of some 60 countries wind up a UN forum Wednesday after announcing initiatives to bridge cultural divides, including a 100-million-dollar fund to finance major film productions that combat “ugly stereotypes.”
MADRID: Representatives of some 60 countries wind up a UN forum Wednesday after announcing initiatives to bridge cultural divides, including a 100-million-dollar fund to finance major film productions that combat “ugly stereotypes.”
The Alliance of Civilisations Forum aims to “contribute to isolating extremist and intolerant discourses on the part of those who try to utilise religion or culture for political purposes,” Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero said in his speech.
Zapatero proposed the initiative at the UN General Assembly in September 2004, six months after the Madrid train bombings that killed 191 people, and three years after the September 11 attacks in the United States that claimed nearly 3,000 lives.
Around 350 people from 63 countries are attending the forum, including Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a co-sponsor along with Zapatero, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, and former Portuguese president Jorge Sampaio, the UN high representative for the Alliance of Civilisations.
But Sampaio was realistic about the results that the forum could achieve. “The work on the ground is essential work, in small steps,” he told AFP. “We haven’t found a miracle solution for peace in the world.”
The gathering, announced initiatives aimed at promoting greater understanding between cultures. Queen Noor of Jordan unveiled a 100-million-dollar fund to back major film productions that help combat stereotypes. The fund will “support the production and distribution of films that entertain as well as enlighten — films that will enhance the connections that already exist between different societies, but are seldom noted on screen and in popular culture,” she said.
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