May 24-25 2013
As founder of the ”Initiative Levant for Global Peace, Emil Constantinescu organised in 2013 the international conference on ”The Levant, the Cradle of Cultural Diplomacy. Re-discovering the Mediterranean”. The conference was held at the Palace of the Parliament and the National Library, with the participation of the Romanian Senate, the Chamber of Deputies, the Romanian Government, the Romanian Cultural Institute, University of Bucharest and “Black Sea – the Caspian Sea International Fund”. The participants attended and held plenary presentations and talks, visited panels on the traditions, past and present and the perspectives of the cultural diplomacy in the Balkans, Middle East and North Africa as well as on the re-evaluation of the Mediterranean in the 21st Century. The principle aim of the participants was to set up new, interactive projects in Humanistic sciences, between writers, artists, architects that should enable the formation of an area of knowledge and understanding through cooperation and mutual respect.
Important leaders in the scientific, cultural and political leaders answered Emil Constantinescu’s invitation, e.g. the presidents of World Academy of Art and Science, Ivo Šlaus and Garry Jacobs, prof. dr. Michael Metzeltin (Institute for Romance Studies , Vienna University), prof. dr. Ruben Safrastyan (associate member of the National Science Academy of Armenia, director of the Institute for Oriental Studies in Erevan), Martin Hauser (the director of UNESCO Department in Bucharest University), prof. Mohamed Abdelhady (Cairo University), prof. Naim Afgan (member of the Academy of Science and Art in Sarajevo), acad. Momir Djurovic (president of the Academy of Science and Art in Podgorica, Montenegro) prof. dr. Kishore Chakraborty (Director of Research Center for Cultural Diplomacy Studies, Berlin), prof. dr. Bianca Valota Cavallotti (profesor emeritus Università degli Studi di Milano), prof. dr. Fotini Pomoni Papaioannou (National Kapodistrian University, Athens ); former presidents of Bulgaria, dr. Jelio Jelio and Petr Stoianov, of Albania, prof. dr. Rexhep Meidani, of Moldova, Petru Lucinschi, the president of Macedonian Parliament, prof. dr. Ljubisha Georgievski, Katalin Bogyay, the president of the UNESCO Parliamentary Assembly, rectors, deans, professors in the main universities of Romania.
Prof. dr. Remus Pricopie, Rector of the National School of Political Science and Public Administration
«If we accept the idea that the Oriental, the Levantine, as well as the Occidental civilisations had their own roles in developing the Romanian culture and society, that it is more important to understand the context, the causes and the effects of those influences and not only the extent to which they have manifested or continue to manifest on the Romanian territory, we will see that both understanding the spiritual outline, as well as the mentalities of Romanian people become clearer.»
Academician Ionel Haiduc, President of the Romanian Academy
«I am honored to speak here on the behalf of Romanian Academy. The Romanian Academy is a national academy of science, literature and arts covering all areas of knowledge and culture. A few years ago a Nobel laureate said – I quote ”in the past the strength of countries are measured by the size of their armies. Now it depends on their scientific potential, military and economic of course depending on science. Science means competition and cooperation.” I will speak about cooperation.»
Ivo Šlaus, President of the World Academy of Art and Science
«As important as the biological diversity is so is the cultural diversity. Indeed there is even a concept just like we have intelligence caution and emotional caution so we have a cultural caution so it actually measures how quickly we are using our cultural background in interacting with other cultures and creating a global world and possibly trying to solve the problems.
All of this are interconected with other important subject and this is the subject of education.»
Katalin Bogyay, President of the General Conference of UNESCO
«Soft power representing the future of international relations because we are destined to reach a level of consciousness where the threat of use of force, either military or economic, will be simply unthinkable. Of course, we will never lose the human urge for competition, nor should we. The societies will continue to influence each other within the framework of cultural peace and mutual respect, competing in their abilities, to get other to complete their goals through attraction and persuasion. Is it only a dream?»
