Istanbul: In a keynote lecture in Istanbul, Her Highness Sheikha Mozah bint Nasser has laid out her vision for ensuring the sustainability of the Alliance of Civilizations into the next decade.
Speaking to a distinguished audience of over 300 people including Mrs. Amina Erdogan, wife of the Turkish Prime Minister and Turkish Minister of State, Professor Dr Mehmet Aydin, Her Highness strongly encouraged the linking of the Alliance of Civilizations with the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), stressing the complementary nature of both.
Her Highness pointed out that she had already called for the need to forge a closer relationship between the Alliance of Civilizations and the Millennium Development Goals, at both the 3rd Forum of the AOC in Rio and at the MDG Advocates Group in New York earlier this year but that she had deliberately chosen the forum of this lecture to take her message further.
‘The convergence between the Alliance of Civilizations and the Millennium Development Goals is not just possible, it’s essential to achieve the world we aspire to – a world where the values of justice, equity and freedom are respected’, she said.
In the lecture, given in response to an invitation by the Turkish national committee for the Alliance of Civilizations and entitled, ‘The Alliance of Civilizations and the Middle East’, Her Highness also mentioned that in matters of matters of education and employment – both of which are sources of great anxiety in the Arab region and both of which Her Highness strongly supports through her initiatives – the programmes outlined in both the Alliance of Civilizations and the MDGs were looking to achieve the same goals.
Her Highness was adamant that the cornerstone to the development and progress which would help achieve the aims of the Alliance of Civilizations is a better and more practical education to meet the needs of the youth across the Arab region. She pointed out that one third of the 72 million children around the world who have no access to primary education live in areas of conflict and instability. This, she urged, was a situation which desperately required addressing.
Her Highness also raised the key issue of democracy in the region. She said it was an issue of ‘utmost importance’ to respect the principles of democracy so that the roots of a genuine participation in society could be sustained.
‘If we really want these principles (of democracy), the first thing we need to do is accept the will and choice of the people as they express it. And the international community has to respect their choice’.
She continued, ‘Democracy is not just a voting mechanism. It is a way of life where citizens can enjoy their rights fully, including their rights of education, healthcase, stable jobs, freedom of expression and development’.
Her Highness also spoke highly of the excellent relations between Qatar and Turkey emphasizing the many commercial and cultural links which the two countries share. She particularly praised the role that Prime Minister Erdogan has played in the Alliance of Civilizations stating that it was his personal energy and vision which persuaded her to first participate fully in the Alliance.
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