Strasbourg
The Levant Initiative for Global Peace, promoted by Emil Constantinescu at the Council of Europe
On October 3rd 2019, President Emil Constantinescu presented the mission and activity of the Institute for Advanced Studies in Levant Culture and Civilization at the Council of Europe in Strasbourg. The round-table meeting he took part in, organized by the Inter-Parliamentary Coalition for Global Ethics – a partner in promoting the Levant Initiative – was aimed towards implementing the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at a European level.
The autumn session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) was opened on September 30th through a series of events dedicated to the anniversary of 70 years since the institution’s foundation. Today, 47 states are part of the Council of Europe, and its Assembly is comprised of 324 titular members and 324 supplementary members, designated by the national legislative bodies of member countries. In 1999, the oldest European institution received a priceless gift from Romania: the Prayer sculpture by renowned master Constantin Brâncuși, since admired by all visitors to the Council of Europe.
The President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Liliane Maury Pasquier, together with attending members of the European Parliament convened to the round-table discussions and with participants from Costa Rica, Israel, Madagascar, Nigeria, Mali, Italy, Spain and Romania – resonant names in the efforts to promote humanitarian initiatives such as Dr Alberto Zucconi (World Academy of Art and Science), Haidara Aichata Cissé (vice-president of the Pan-African Parliament), Revered Mother Esther Abimbola Ajayi (founder of the eponymous foundation and referred to as “Africa’s greatest philanthropist”) or Dr Nadeem Ammar (of the Druze Association for Culture and Peace) – explored the practical avenues by which mankind might enshrine a true culture of peace, with emphasis being placed on education and on the involvement of future generations.
The proceedings of the round-table discussions were presided over by Spanish senator Antonio Gutierrez-Limones, whom President Constantinescu awarded an honorary diploma of Ambassador of Peace on behalf of the Inter-Parliamentary Coalition for Global Ethics and the Institute for Advanced Studies in Levant Culture and Civilization.
