At the invitation of the Spanish Federation of Associations and Clubs for UNESCO (FECU), the Culture of Peace Foundation, the Archdiocese of Madrid, the Arco Forum Association and the Joven Ensemble Interreligioso Español (JOIRE), the General Director of the Foundación for Islamic Culture and Religious Tolerance (FICRT), His Excellency. welcomed Dr. Musabeh Saeed Alketbi, attended the Three Cultures Concert, held on Friday, May 12, 2023, at the Royal Basilica of San Francisco El Grande in Madrid, on the occasion of the UN General Assembly’s declaration of May 16 as the International Day for Coexistence in Peace.
The former Director of UNESCO and former Minister of Education and Science of Spain, His Excellency welcomed Federico Mayor Zaragoza, and the President of the FECU-UNESCO, H.E. welcomed Alberto Guerrero Fernández, welcomed the general director of the FICRT Foundation, and took the opportunity to appreciate the role and activities of the Fundación for Islamic Culture and Religious Tolerance, aimed at promoting communication and collaboration with the various state and religious institutions in Spain, interested in the defense and dissemination of the values and culture of coexistence, religious tolerance and peace.
During the meeting, the two leaders conveyed their greetings to the President of the Global Council for Tolerance and Peace (GCTP), H.E. Ahmad Bin Mohamed Al Jarwan, applauding the work and efforts of the GCTP and its main bodies, the International Parliament for Tolerance and Peace (IPTP) and the General Assembly, in promoting the values of tolerance and peace around the world through diplomacy, parliamentary action and partnership building in the fields of education, academia and research.
The Three Cultures Concert has featured several musical pieces, in which there were songs of the three monotheistic religions, which included lyrics calling for peace, fraternity and concord and carrying messages encouraging to strengthen intercultural dialogue, solidarity and to renounce conflicts and wars.
The president of the FECU has stressed the importance of dialogue as the best alternative for conflict resolution to achieve peace, and has conveyed his desire that the music of this concert, to seek the identity of the different beliefs and religions, with respect for cultural diversity, tolerance, dialogue and cooperation, while representing one of the best guarantors of Peace and International Security, thus helping to convey the motto of UNESCO: BUILDING PEACE IN THE MINDS OF MEN AND WOMEN.
For his part, the president of the Culture of Peace Foundation and former director general of UNESCO recalled the preamble of the United Nations Charter “We the peoples of the United Nations determined to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, which has brought untold sorrow to mankind, to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person, in the equal rights of men and women”. Making it possible for all of us to be equal in dignity with open and outstretched hands and never again armed, to have Peace on earth and Peace with the earth. I conclude by recalling the intergenerational duty we have to the generations to come.
