Foreign

PROF. Toyin Falola of the University of Austin, Texas, United States of America, has called on African leaders to expand intercultural dialogues to achieve global peace and integration.

Falola, a Nigerian Historian and Professor of African Studies, made the call during the commomeration of the ongoing  45th anniversary of FESTAC ‘77, in Abuja.

The professor, who was a keynote speaker, spoke on the theme “Deepening Intercultural Dialogue and Integration for Global Peace”.

He said if global citizens must salvage the world from current problems, fortify global possibilities and secure the future to promote global peace, there was need to invest more time and resources into expanding intercultural dialogues.

He noted that this was because deepening intercultural dialogue would allow the creation of more understandings that could be amassed toward mutually set goals and allow for global developments.

“The subject of intercultural dialogue is gradually gaining currency on the global front and has been an essential topic for strengthening and sustaining global peace.

“The world comprises people with diverse cultures, languages, and most importantly, mindsets, the most challenging situation out of these realities is the clash of cultural values.

“If people must interact beyond their cultural boundaries and limitations, they need to establish intercultural relationships, intercultural dialogues are, therefore, the vehicles for these relationships,” he said.

According to Falola, intercultural dialogue allows for promotion of inter-territorial cohesion, reconciliation of disputed areas and the promotion of the principles of democracy in a way that will embrace the cultural particularisation of every society.

He said intercultural dialogue is the connection between language, social interaction, and intercultural communication among different people.

“While the world strives to bridge gaps that exist between different cultures of the world, it should prioritise global peace as the goal of many of the dialogues.

“This is because intercultural dialogue has proven to be the right way to bridge the differences of interest, possibilities, and tendencies of infractions and conflicts between countries and cultural groups.

“The most important thing about intercultural interaction is not that participants assume an existing difference but that participants from different groups that have opposite orientations and opinions engage each other, understanding the difference to repair it,” he said.

Falola noted that intercultural dialogue rests on tolerance, acceptance, and the readiness to listen to the rationales behind the cultural behaviours  of others.

He explained that the dialogue did not necessarily need to have an agreement in view.

He said that to ensure successful intercultural dialogue toward the promotion of global peace, there was a need to secure the commitments of world leaders.

He noted that these leaders were to stand as model citizens for their followers to put policies in place, and guide the general norms of their people.

According to him, each society’s political and opinion leaders must be involved in the dialogue process while the understanding gained from this can be adopted into policies, decision-making processes, and foreign policies.

He said that the world’s major problem was not societal and cultural differences, but violent extremism based on religious convictions.

“The world cannot deny that it is already divided along religious lines, and conflicts have risen based on those religious differences.

“Are world religions the problem of global peace? No, but violent extremists are.

“Extremists have faulty interpretations and conceptualisations of a particular culture or religion and develop hatred out of ignorance that compromises the peace of society in general.

“If there is a discussion about global peace, it is tantamount to having a discussion built around resolving violent extremism and terrorism,” he said. (NAN)

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