UNESCO. General Conference; 30th; Records ... - unesdoc - Unesco

podríamos hacer a escala mundial, en mi espíritu estaban presentes únicamente estas jóvenes generaciones, estos
parlamentarios que vinieron aquí a decirnos: ¡miren cuál es nuestro anhelo de futuro, cuáles son nuestros deseos,
cuáles son nuestras aspiraciones! Y ustedes recordarán que la primera de ellas era la paz, la educación, el respeto
del medio ambiente y la solidaridad.
27.43 Es muy importante que en las actas de esta reunión de la Conferencia General, en las discusiones en las
comisiones, tengan ustedes en cuenta este Manifiesto de la Juventud para el Siglo XXI. Yo desearía decir a todos
estos jóvenes lo que dice el poema del gran Rafael Alberti, que atravesó hace sólo unos días el límite entre la
visibilidad y la invisibilidad -porque, Rafael Alberti seguirá siempre a nuestro lado, inspirándonos-, ese poema
que dice, y se lo dedico a los jóvenes que vinieron aquí a entregarnos este manifiesto: “Cantad alto. Oiréis que
oyen otros oídos. Mirad alto. Veréis que miran otros ojos. Latid alto. Sabréis que palpita otra sangre”. Muchas
gracias por su atención.
(27.38) Madam President of the General Conference, Mr Chairperson of the Executive Board, Your Excellencies,
ladies and gentlemen, the twenty-first century is already dawning on the horizon as a new beginning. UNESCO and
the United Nations, on the initiative of our Organization, have greatly contributed to giving this new beginning a
name and a purpose: the culture of peace.
(27.39) In all regions of the world, as your statements in the general policy debate attest, women, men, youth and
children from all walks of life are already mobilizing to make the International Year for the Culture of Peace a year
of sowing, hope, openness to our neighbours, dialogue and solidarity. Yes, a year of sowing so that the devastation,
the hatreds, the rancour of a past made up of divisions, wars and violence may be covered over by the foundations
of a shared future.
(27.40) The culture of peace is the substance of peaceful coexistence, of that peace which must become part and
parcel of the daily behaviour of each individual in every sphere of the ever more complex life of our societies.
Today, too, we have before us the United Nations Year of Dialogue among Civilizations and a Declaration and
Programme of Action on a Culture of Peace, whose ideals and objectives we must from this day forward transform
into reality. Implementing the Programme of Action on a Culture of Peace, adopted by the United Nations on
13 September of this year, is now our most urgent task. Let nobody say that we do not know what we have to do.
The United Nations approved that programme as a system-wide programme and we have proposed a whole series
of activities that can really ensure that this transition from the “logic of force” to the “force of reason” is effected
rapidly.
(27.41) With regard to this dialogue among civilizations which is already part of this second year of the culture of
peace, I would like to cite a phrase from the address given by the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran,
Mr Khatami: “While the twentieth century has been that of the force of the sword with its train of winners and
losers, we must realize that the central feature of the coming century has to be dialogue if the sword is not to be
transformed into a double-edged blade that spares no one”. In this connection, I would also like to pay tribute to
the President of Ecuador, Mr Jamil Mahuad. We have provided you with information in which you can read about
the establishment of an office, reporting directly to the President of the country, which is responsible for all aspects
of civic education, education for peace and human rights education and for watching out for any symptoms that
could once again give rise to conflict and endanger peace.
(27.42) In the same vein, I would also like to mention - you heard it read out in this room - the Youth Manifesto
for the twenty-first century. In preparing the submission to the Millennium United Nations General Assembly in
the year 2000 of the four contracts about which I have told you - a new social contract, a new environmental
contract, a new cultural contract and a new ethical-moral contract - in thinking of this programme of endogenous
development that we might carry out on a worldwide scale, I had in mind only these younger generations, these
parliamentarians who came here with this to tell us: “Listen to our wish for the future, our desires, our hopes! And
you will remember that the first among them was peace, education, respect for the environment and solidarity”.
(27.43) It is very important that you give due regard to this Youth Manifesto for the twenty-first century in the
proceedings of this session of the General Conference and in the commission debates. I should like to echo to all
those young people the poem of the great Rafael Alberti, who only a few days ago crossed the frontier from the
visible to the invisible - because Rafael Alberti will always remain as an inspiration beside us - that poem which
says, and I dedicate this to the young people who came here to present us with the Manifesto: “Sing out loud. You
will hear that other ears are hearing. Look up high. You will see that other eyes are looking. Let your heart beat
hard. You will know that other blood is coursing through other veins”. Thank you very much for your attention.
28. The PRESIDENT:
I thank you, Mr Director-General. Dear friends, distinguished delegates, I remind you again that His
Excellency the Vice-President of the Dominican Republic will be arriving at 12.15 p.m., so will you please
remain in your seats as he will be addressing this gathering in a few minutes’ time.
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