World Public Forum - A platform for global development

Experts, scholars exchanged views on the issues of new development of international relations, post-crisis structure of global economic systems, education, religions and culture as well as youth issues, and reached Rhodes Declaration 2009 on the Greek island of Rhodes.

More than 500 experts and scholars from some 60 countries gathered here in Rhodes, an Aegean island of Greece, launched dialogues of civilizations.

Participants hold that the current global crisis emerged in particular "because many of the decision makers forgot their responsibility for the common good."

The Forum reiterated its appeal to the leaders of the world to refrain from any cold war rhetoric and to return to a climate of constructive dialogue which shows humane responsibility and brings together all available forces to meet the global challenges and to find common solutions for the greatest threats to mankind.

The Forum urged states and International Organizations to commit themselves to cooperation based on mutual trust in order to overcome the global crisis which is by far not only an economic and financial one but to a large extent a crisis of a society which lacks of values and well understood responsibility.

The Declaration stressed that international economic cooperation must be based on mutual interests instead of raw national egoism and shift from global domination to the balanced multi-polarity including the new emerging economies.

Scholars are convinced that all civilizations, nations, peoples, religions have much more in common than what may divide them, therefore dialogue will prevail over confrontation.

They agreed to commit to the spirit of Rhodes which is the spirit of equality of all human beings and of mutual respect which should be reflected in good neighbourly relations at local level as well as in international relations and cooperation.

The Seventh Annual Session of the World Public Forum 'Dialogue of Civilizations' was held on the Island of Rhodes from October 8 to 12, 2009.

Discussions at the Rhodes Forum 2009 were centered at the present global situation that demands to spell out conceptually sound foundation and requires special efforts in order to preserve the "structural integrity" of the global community in the perspective of post-crisis world development. Xinhua