Bulgarian UNESCO Chief Bokova: 'Clash of Civilizations' Talk Closed Page

Politics » DIPLOMACY | November 13, 2009, Friday // 11:55
Bulgaria: Bulgarian UNESCO Chief Bokova: 'Clash of Civilizations' Talk Closed Page Former Director General Japanese Koichiro Matsuura (R) congratulates New UNESCO Director General Irina Bokova of Bulgaria (L) as Chairman of UNESCO's executive board, Beninese Olabiyi Babalola Joseph Ya (C) looks on at the UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, Fr

In an exclusive interview for Novinite.com, Bulgarian Director-General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova, stated that rhetoric about the “clash of civilizations” during her recent election was now a “closed page”.

“I do not believe in the theory about the clash of civilizations. I would like to mention here that more than ten years ago I had the opportunity of participating in a discussion with the author of this thesis, Samuel Huntington, where I rejected it. I have always believed that this theory is not just dangerous, it is wrong,” Bokova told Novinite.com regarding reactions in certain countries and media that her win over Egyptian candidate Faruq Hosni in September 2009 was an epitome of “the clash of civilizations”.

Bokova has made it clear that she had received the support of all countries involved in UNESCO including the Muslim and Arab World states.

“This is also demonstrated by the fact that I got elected with more than 30 votes in the Council. The votes from the “North” that I received were not more than ten, and I got a total of 31 votes, which shows that I received votes from all regions of the world. Not to mention the voting in the General Conference where I was elected with 167 votes in favor, 7 votes against, and 2 spoiled ballots. After my election I had over 50 meetings with heads of states and heads governments, ministers, including from all Arab states, who expressed their support,” the new UNESCO Director-General explained.

She has expressed her regret over Libya's decision to suspend cooperation with UNESCO after her election but said she hoped the Libyan leadership would change its mind.

“So the atmosphere here in UNESCO is totally different after the elections, this page is completely closed. This is what happens at elections – one candidate wins, another loses. It is crucial now that we unite the organization, which is my goal, and move forward,” Bokova stated while also announcing that she had received an invitation for a formal visit to Egypt, which is to take place in December 2009.

Bokova also said that according to popular opinion Bulgaria’s campaign for the top job of UNESCO had been “the best, the most in-depth one, the most relaxed, open, and transparent one.”

“There are no lucky circumstances when it comes to such a hard battle on the international level; lucky circumstances just don’t occur in that case,” she said while making it clear she is looking forward to realizing her ambitious agenda of boosting UNESCO’s global leadership role in education, science, culture, and communications.

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Full Text of Novinite.com's Exclusive Interview with UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova READ HERE

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Tags: Irina Bokova, UNESCO, UNESCO Director General, clash of civilizations, culture, science, education

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