Alliance of Civilizations Second Forum starts in Istanbul
06/04/2009

General Coordinator of the OIC Youth Foundation on Intercultural Dialogue of Islamic Conference Youth Forum Leyla Aliyeva was elected as UN Youth Advisory Council member. 

The event is also attended by Leyla Aliyeva, General Coordinator of the OIC Youth Foundation on Intercultural Dialogue of Islamic Conference Youth Forum for Dialogue and Cooperation (ICYFDC) of OIC (Organization of Islamic Conference).

The Alliance of Civilizations was initiated by Turkish and Spanish Prime Ministers Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero and launched by the United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan, as a UN project in 2005. The first forum of the Alliance was held in Madrid in 2008.

A day before the forum – on April 5, Istanbul hosted a Youth conference which was attended by Leyla Aliyeva and Turkish Premier`s daughter Sümeyye Erdoğan.

During final meeting of the Istanbul Youth Conference, Leyla Aliyeva was elected as UN Youth Advisory Council member. Leyla Aliyeva proposed to hold the first meeting of global movement of UN Alliance of Civilizations and the proposal was supported.

Addressing the Forum participants, Leyla Aliyeva said the global youth movement should answer challenges which the youth face in international relations and the Alliance of Civilizations.

The Conference also brought together the former Portuguese president Jorge Sampaio, Advisory of Turkish Prime Minister Ali Sarigaya, Azerbaijani Ambassador to Turkey Zakir Hashimov and others.

The same day Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan hosted an official reception in honor of conference participants. Leyla Aliyeva participated in the reception, as well.

Afterwards, a photo exhibition “Trust in Turkey” was launched in the country`s Ciragan Palace.