The 7th Seminar on “Dialogue among Civilizations between Japan and the Islamic World” in Kuwait

March 5, 2009
Japanese

The 7th Seminar on “Dialogue among Civilizations between Japan and the Islamic World” will be held in Kuwait on March 11 (Wed) and 12 (Thu) under the joint auspices of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan and the Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs of the State of Kuwait.
This Seminar was proposed as one of the pillars of “Toward Multi-layered Relations with the Gulf Countries (Kono Initiative)” announced by Mr. Yohei Kono, then Minister for Foreign Affairs, when he visited the Gulf Countries in January 2001. The seminar was first launched in Bahrain in March 2002. Subsequent seminars were held twice in Tokyo, and once each in Teheran, Tunis and Riyadh. Up to now, six seminars have been held in total.
The 7th Seminar will be held with the participation of 15 Japanese intellectuals including Professor Yuzo Itagaki, Professor Emeritus of the University of Tokyo, and about 70 intellectuals and others from the Islamic world – the Middle East including the co-host, Kuwait, Europe and Southeast Asia. In the Seminar, the participants will have free discussions, under the overarching theme of “Harmonization of Civilization with Environment,” and on the four sub themes: “Cultural heritage and experience,” “Challenges on environment,” “Views for solution,” and “Method toward collaboration.”
A “Poster Session,” in which intellectuals will introduce their specialized study areas and activities to others, and a workshop of youth exchange between Japanese and Kuwaiti are planned to be held.
It is expected that this seminar will contribute to promoting mutual understanding between Japan and Islamic countries through discussions by intellectuals on their own free capacity from both sides, while sharing the common perception on how various civilizations can co-exist and maintain harmony despite the differences of cultures and ideologies.

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