The Foreign Affairs Ministrys Director General of Public Information and Diplomacy, Esti Andayani, remarked during a media gathering here on Friday that as the host, Indonesia was expecting a plan of action for promoting harmony in civilizations as the outcome of the event.
"Looking back at the previous events in Vienna, Austria, in 2012, Europe has pledged a plan of action to bridge the gap among various religions, cultures and other civilizations in order to promote harmony, and so we hope that Asia too will have the same," Esti stated.
Moreover, Esti noted that the Sixth Global Forum of UNAOC in Bali will be the first time that the conference will be held in the Asian region.
"It is an honor for Indonesia to host such an important conference for the civilizations where the world also recognizes our efforts to promote harmonization among our society through inter-religion and inter-media dialogues," she emphasized.
As the host of the Sixth UNAOCs Global Forum, Esti added that Indonesia is also keen to strengthen the understanding of pluralism, as Indonesia alone has long followed the concept of "Bhinneka Tunggal Ika" or "unity in diversity" and also uses it as its national motto.
"We aim to promote and come out with a plan of action on how to accept and respect the diversity as a blessing, instead of a source of disunity," she stressed.
The Sixth UNAOCs Global Forum in Bali will be participated by 114 members of UNAOCs Group of Friends (GoF), including 11 state leaders that have been invited by Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, 25 international organizations, and 100 people from UNAOCs youth delegation.
Esti noted that President Yudhoyono had invited 11 state leaders of Spain, Turkey, Brazil, Qatar, Austria, Myanmar, China, India, Timor Leste, Papua New Guinea, and South Africa.
"The eleven countries are representing each region on diversity issues," she noted.
Esti explained that the neighboring country, Myanmar, had been invited in the capacity of the ASEANs chairman, even though it is not yet a member of UNAOCs GoF.
The UNAOC was initiated by former UN secretary General Kofi Annan on July 14, 2005, and co-sponsored by former Spanish prime minister, Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero and Turkeys Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
The first UNAOCs Global Forum in Madrid, Spain, in 2008, was held through a common consideration in condemning extremist actions, such as bomb attacks in Bali, Madrid, Egypt, Istanbul, and London.
(A060/INE/B003)
EDITED BY INE.
Reporter: Azi Fitriyanti
Editor: Suryanto
Copyright © ANTARA 2014
