by KG/XINHUA The 12th Rhodes Forum concluded Sunday on the Greek island of Rhodes with the call for public efforts against the threat of global confrontation or even war. Addressing the closing plenary meeting, the forum's founding president Vladimir Yakunin, said that the presidency of the World Public Forum "Dialogue of Civilizations"(WPF) is deeply concerned about the recent deterioration in global affairs and about structural trends that jeopardise both humanity and nature. "The presidency of the World Public Forum 'Dialogue of Civilizations' strongly opposes the aggression against sovereign nations and peoples, the mass killing of innocent civilians, indiscriminate sanctions against the citizens of other countries, the intellectual and moral suppression of natural forms of human behaviour, mass surveillance programs as well as the wholesale destruction of humanity's social ecology," Yakunin said. He said the presidency will use all its powers and resources to support public efforts against the threat of global confrontation or even war and to work out new, sustainable socio-economic models. "We think that the 'dialogue of civilizations', underpinned by a rigorous conceptual basis, is the only way to achieve the goal we set 15 years ago, namely to enable us to assess the risks and threats to human civilization and thereby to establish a world order that will ensure the survival of society, mankind and future generations," said Yakunin. Yakunin said the WPF will set up several programs and initiatives to achieve the goal, including the Schools of Intercultural Dialogue, digital courses of civilization dialogue and a dedicated WPF think-tank. Themed "Preventing World War through Global Solidarity - 100 years on", the 12th annual World Public Forum "Dialogue of Civilizations" opened Thursday night on Rhodes. About 400 delegates from 60 countries and regions attended the four-day event. Co-founded by Yakunin from Russia, C. Kapur from India and N. Papanikolao from Greece, the Rhodes Forum has accomplished much through many conferences and international research projects by raising issues and proposing ways to deal with them. The co-chairmen of the WPF are former Austrian Chancellor Alfred Gusenbauer and Professor of Notre Dame University Fred Dallmayr. The first annual session of the forum took place in September 2003 on Rhodes. Since 2013 the World Public Forum "Dialogue of Civilizations" has had a special consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council.
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