The United Nations Alliance of Civilisations is a platform that aims to curb extremism, strife and racial/religious tensions through international dialogue and cooperation
The initiative was put forward by José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero during the 59th General Assembly of United Nations in 2005. Knowing the facts about UNAOC is important within the context of the IAS Exam.
Aspirants would find the article very helpful in preparation for UPSC examination.
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Overview of the UNAOC
The UN Alliance of Civilizations reason that feat, misunderstanding between different faiths and cultures have been increasing throughout the years. The heightened inability of groups to coexist has given fertile ground for exploitation by extremist groups around the world, which in itself manifests as terrorism.
To quell such manifestations of terrorism, political leaders believed that common ground must be reached between ethnic and religious groups based on mutual respect for each other. Through this, a comprehensible framework could be established between diverse groups of people around the world ultimately supporting international stability.
Keeping this in mind the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations initiative was proposed by the 59th United Nations General Assembly in 2005.
In order to fulfil the aspiration of this proposal, the UN Secretary-General of the Time, Kofi Anan, assembled a group of 20 distinguished personalities who were skilled in leadership, media, academia etc to represent the myriad of religions and civilisations
Structure of the United Nations Alliance of Civilization
The primary leadership of the UNAOC is the High Representative who functions as a political facilitator and lead spokesman. He/she consults directly with the Secretary-General of the UNGA.
In January 2019, Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser was succeeded by Miguel Angel Moratinos as the High Representative. Mr Miguel is the former Foreign Affairs minister from Spain
The offices of the UN Alliance of Civilizations are located in the United Nations headquarters in New York City.
UN Alliance of Civilizations – Download PDF Here
Focus Areas of the UN Alliance of Civilizations
The focus areas of the UNAOC are as follows:
- Media: Both offline and online media play a critical role in moulding public perception, narratives and attitudes, thereby holding the potential to eradicate cultural gaps. Thorough new-age media tools like blogs, social media platforms, UNAOC media projects focus on building critical media; and imparting the technical know-how required to process the volume of information without any errors in the process.
- Youth: The young are significant agents of social change and technological innovation. Through education and training, the UNAOC empowers youths to become engines of global unity.
- Education: The education program of the UNAOC helps in acquiring intercultural competencies which will promote sensitivity needed for cross-cultural dialogue overcoming stereotypes and intolerance. In addition, its education program helps in preparing young people for an interdependent world.
- Migrations: In a globalised world, borders are becoming porous, through enhanced forms of transportation and communication. Such an environment facilitates migrations and this in itself presents a challenge as culture clash is inevitable. The UN Alliance of Civilisations takes steps to address such issues by cultivating inclusive societies.
To know about locations of headquarters of important world organizations, visit the linked article
Relevant Questions for UNAOC
What are some of the programs initiated by the UN Alliance of Civilizations?
Some of the UNAOC programs are as follows:
- UNAOC Youth Solidarity Fund
- UNAOC Fellowship Programme
- UNAOC Young Peacebuilders
What is the latest focus area of the UNAOC?
Women Empowerment is the latest focus area. For this purpose, High Representative Mr Moratinos intends to add ‘women as peace mediators’.
Candidates should go through the relevant links provided below to do preparation for UPSC exam even better-
Get the list of International Organizations and their Headquarters on the given link.
Aspirants can find complete information about upcoming Government Exams through the linked article. More exam-related preparation materials will be found through the links given below:
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