The United Nations General Assembly will meet in plenary meetings at its fifty-sixth session to commemorate the United Nations Year of Dialogue among Civilizations 2001 and consider follow-up actions

What does a dialogue among civilizations mean? One could argue that in the world there are two groups of civilizations--one which perceives diversity as a threat and the other which sees it as an opportunity and an integral component for growth. The Year of Dialogue among Civilizations suggests us to revisit diversity and to seek a new system of relations based on inclusion. Hence, the goal of the Year is to nurture a dialogue that is both preventive of conflicts-when possible-and inclusive in nature.

To do this, Governments, the United Nations system and other relevant international and non-governmental organizations were invited by the United Nations General Assembly in November 1998 to plan and implement cultural, educational and social programmes to promote the concept of the dialogue among civilizations.

In a resolution adopted on 13 November 2000, the General Assembly decided to devote two days of plenary meetings at its fifty-sixth session to commemorate the United Nations Year of Dialogue among Civilizations and consider any follow-up measures. The Assembly also encouraged Member States and observers to be represented at the highest possible political level at these meetings.