Dr Vladimir Yakunin Highlights Rhodes Forum's Ability to Predict, and Resolve Crises

RHODES, Greece, October 10, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

Dr Vladimir Yakunin, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Dialogue of Civilizations Research Institute ("DOC", or the "Institute") gave a welcome address at this year's 15th Anniversary Rhodes Forum, a two-day event themed "Multipolarity and Dialogue in Regional and Global Developments: Imagining Possible Futures" which opened on 6 October in Greece.

In his address, Dr Yakunin thanked the people of Rhodes, the island's Governor and Mayor, for hosting the forum, and welcomed this year's high-profile guests including the Honourable Goodluck Jonathan, President of Nigeria 2010-2015, Dioncounda Traoré, President of Mali 2012-2013, Dominique de Villepin, Prime Minister of France 2005-2007, and Dr Ian Goldin, Professor of Globalisation and Development, Oxford University.

"In 2006, the Rhodes Forum had warned of the pending global financial crisis. After 2008, when the economic crises hit the world, the ideas of the Forum began to be heard. We were discussing the need for a new fair and humane system of interaction between nations, capable of taking into account the interests of the majority, and not to ignore the hopes for the future of those who - due to wars, revolutions, and coup d'états - were excluded from world development."

"Two years before the European refugee crisis began, the Rhodes Forum had warned that faulty inter-societal policies would inevitably lead to a migration crisis. And we all have witnessed how our forecasts came true," Dr Yakunin said.

Dr Yakunin stressed the transformations that the Rhodes Forum has undergone in the years since its inaugural edition, mentioning that thousands of people have participated in the Rhodes Forum and related events over its history.

"Our annual Rhodes Forum has developed over its fifteen-year history into a strong platform where world scholars, businessmen, policy-makers, and heads of government debate the most pressing global issues," Dr Yakunin said.

"The vocabulary and methodology of dialogue of civilizations, developed by our expert community, have firmly entered the language of international relations and have become a critical component in bridging what Samuel Huntington termed 'cultural fault lines'," Dr Yakunin said.

First convened in 2003, the Rhodes Forum brings together concerned members of the international political, business, civil society and academic communities in a spirit of dialogue and inclusivity. Every year, hundreds of participants from more than 70 countries explore the major challenges facing the world and seek concrete, applicable solutions rooted in shared values of equality, mutual respect and compassion.

About the DOC
The Dialogue of Civilizations Research Institute is an international think tank that researches and develops proposals to address key challenges faced by the international community today .

Committed to seeking dialogue-based solutions to humankind's most pressing issues, the DOC builds on the legacy and expertise of the World Public Forum Dialogue of Civilizations. We bring together global thought leaders from academia, public policy, business, and civil society in order to foster debate, share experiences, and develop sound policy recommendations.

The idea of a public forum that would promote dialogue as a means of easing and preventing conflicts, contrary to the theory of an imminent clash of civilizations, followed the adoption of key documents by the UN. On 9 November 2001, UNESCO Member States unanimously adopted the UNESCO Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity, and the UN General Assembly presented its Global Agenda for Dialogue Among Civilizations. These resolutions laid out principles of intercultural dialogue and laid the basis of the DOC.

The World Public Forum Dialogue of Civilizations (WPF), the predecessor of DOC, was founded to advocate for this initiative and help implement its objectives. The WPF was founded in 2002 by Indian entrepreneur and visionary the late Jagdish Kapur, business leader and philanthropist Dr. Vladimir Yakunin, and the businessman Nicholas F.S. Papanicolaou. The WPF has enjoyed UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) Special Consultative Status and regularly collaborates with UNESCO.

The DOC is an independent, non-partisan think tank, and receives no government funding.

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