International Days and Weeks are an opportunity to educate the public on issues of concern, to mobilize political will and resources to address global challenges, and to celebrate and empower the achievements of humanity. The existence of International Days predates the founding of the United Nations, which, once established, adopted them as a tool to defend its existence.

Following the debate on the concept of the clash of civilizations in the mid-1990s and the celebration of 2001 as the United Nations Year of Dialogue among Civilizations, which was also marked by the events of 11 September 2001, the General Assembly adopted United Nations A global agenda for dialogue among civilisations (resolution 56/6 of 21 November 2001).

On 7 June 2024, the United Nations General Assembly adopted resolution A/RES/78/286 declaring 10 June as the International Day of Dialogue among Civilizations.

I mentioned it in my contribution to the seminar on human and digital rights held in Madrid on 25 June, because the resolution proposed by China and co-sponsored by more than 80 countries stresses that all civilizational achievements represent the collective heritage of humanity.

The resolution stresses the importance of respecting civilizational diversity, including the human rights of both the West and the East, and emphasizes the key role of dialogue in maintaining global peace, achieving collective progress in common development and enhancing human well-being.

Last but not least, the resolution recognises the essential role of dialogue in promoting awareness and understanding of universal values as set out in the UN Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and affirms that the achievements of civilisation are part of the common heritage of humanity, not of individuals.

The international conflicts we witness every day cannot be the sole result of religion, culture or civilisation. It must be said bluntly: there is no clash of civilisations. It is a clash of interests, a clash of ignorance and the illusion of knowing what will happen tomorrow and the day after tomorrow.

Pojem civilizace is not easy to define and is therefore often subject to misinterpretation. At UNESCO, it refers to a universal, pluralistic and non-hierarchical phenomenon rooted in the understanding that civilizations are inherently intercultural, retaining unique identities.

In the era of globalisation and post-globalisation, dialogue as a holistic process based on openness to others is existentially important to overcome ignorance, ignorance of the way of life, values, language, history and heritage of others. It is also true here that ignorance does not excuse, that it is the root of prejudice and wars of all kinds, and that only ecological, effective and economic dialogue will not lead humanity to a dead end.

Ministerial Meeting: the Dialogue of Global Civilisations

The ministerial meeting will be held in Beijing on 10-11 July on the theme Protecting the diversity of human civilizations for world peace and development. Representatives from around 140 countries and regions will attend the meeting to discuss and promote the importance of intercultural exchange and understanding. As of the date of this paper, July 8, more than 600 participants have registered, and it is not known whether and how many will be from the Czech Republic and Germany. I assume that the politically correct media in the Czech Republic and perhaps elsewhere in Europe will not cover the meeting, but that at least one embassy representative will attend and a short report on the meeting and its results will appear on the website of one of the European Ministries of Foreign Affairs and the EC website.

The aim of the Dialogue of Global Civilizations is to promote mutual understanding and respect between different civilizations and to recognize their unique contributions to humanity. One of the main contributions is culture. Culture in general is the most precious heritage of humanity. But will it survive if wars, violent conflicts and attempts to resettle peoples continue to erupt in different parts of the world? Without peace, all the wonderful creations of mankind can be reduced to rubble, as the fighting in Ukraine and elsewhere demonstrates.

Already, therefore, the Beijing meeting is likely to address the role of dialogue in addressing global challenges, promoting peaceful coexistence and the progress of humanity, as was the case at the recent 17th BRICS meeting. This has been completely ignored by the politically correct media in the country, because it is not fashionable to talk and write about peace and dialogue, but even more so about fear and preparations for war.

The Beijing meeting comes at a time when global challenges require international cooperation and a shared commitment to building a more harmonious, connected and just world. This is clearly in contrast to the enforcement of the law of the jungle, which is becoming the global norm: Silnější má pravdu.

In the context of this is the reality of the state of the United Nations in today's world. Global governance has never been as weak as it is today, with the US trying to weaken the UN and China actively promoting Global Civilisation Initiative. It emphasises the promotion of shared values, heritage, innovation and international exchanges of people. As this is an existential process, on 9 June 2025, the United Nations Headquarters in New York convened a thematic dialogue to commemorate the first International Day of Dialogue among Civilisations.

The meeting was chaired by Ambassador Fu Cong, China's Permanent Representative to the United Nations. Miguel Ángel Moratinos, High Representative of the Alliance of Civilizations of the United Nations, and representatives of various Member States then took the floor. The event was attended by more than 200 participants, including UN officials, diplomats, scholars and experts.

Zmiňuji se o Global Civilization Initiative, because China has gained wisdom through Conference on the Dialogue of Asian Civilisationswhich brought together thousands of Chinese and international guests to discuss the protection of the diversity of Asian civilisations, cultural tourism and people-to-people exchanges. China gained strength through the high-level dialogue meetings with global political parties, which promoted in-depth dialogues between global political parties on the experience of governance and civilizational inclusiveness. Not least through the recent China-Central Asia Summit and the ASEAN-China-GCC Summit.

The importance of dialogue and the art of dialogue not only between civilisations, but also between their official representatives is demonstrated by today's speech of the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen in the European Parliament. In her speech in preparation for the EU-China summit on 24 July, she put forward three conditions to China, including limiting cooperation with Russia.

To, jak Čína pokračuje v jednání s Ruskem a jeho válkou, bude rozhodujícím faktorem pro vztahy mezi EU a Čínou... Neomezená podpora Ruska ze strany Číny vytváří zvýšenou nestabilitu a podkopává bezpečnost v Evropě... S tím nemůžeme souhlasit, von der Leyen said, quoted on the EC's official website.

Conclusion

It is undeniable that culture, education and wisdom rooted in all civilizations are the best healers of the diseases, i.e., crises and wars created by the existing unjust world order. In fact, culture, education and wisdom can prevent wars, violence and above all social injustices. It is not for nothing that the UN motto for education, science and culture is: Because wars begin in the minds of women and men, it is in the minds of women and men that the defences of peace must be built. The ministerial meeting in Beijing is an important step towards advancing dialogue between civilisations and promoting a world without war. Consent is not needed.

Jan Campbell

Article published and written for CGTN China.