The Heritage of Ancient Civilizations: Implications for the Modern World

Following the Athens Declaration, at the invitation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Hellenic Republic, representatives of Egypt, Greece, the Islamic Republic of Iran and Italy, gathered at Delphi, in the premises of the European Cultural Centre of Delphi, on April 27-28, 1999 to further develop the programme concerning "The Heritage of Ancient Civilizations: implications for the Modern World", first proposed by the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran and initiated by the Athens Meeting of November 11, 1998.

As already agreed in the Athens Meeting, the first major Conference will be organized in Iran to present and discuss the most relevant aspects of the ancient civilizations of Egypt, Greece, Iran and Rome, with the aim to emphasize the significance of the dialogue and constructive interactions for the future of mankind. In order to meet at the most qualified level the specific requirements for the organization of this first Conference, the panel of experts has been extended to include eminent specialists from each country. Thus, the discussions that took place in Delphi covered the innermost implications of this far-reaching programme. There has been general agreement that, in spite of the great complexities and often controversial interpretations dividing scholars in the study of each civilization, it will be possible to develop a synthetic approach that will provide scientific bases to the political propositions for the future dialogue among different civilizations.

As stated in the closing paragraph of the Athens Declaration, the delegates have unanimously confirmed their committment to continue working to direct their present and future efforts to produce significant results for the U.N. General Assembly of the year 2001, purposely dedicated to the dialogue among civilizations.

The delegates have agreed to the proposition by the Iranian team to hold the first Conference in Iran. The Conference will take place on December 4-5, 1999, at the invitation of the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Over the period of two days the Conference will be articulated in four thematically sessions:

1. Origins and Formation
2. Specific Characters
3. Diffusion and Constructive Interactions
4. The Legacy: Yesterday and Tomorrow.

The aspects of each civilization will be presented according to these thematical divisions by a separate speaker reading a paper not exceeding 30 minutes. It has been agreed that some extra time might be allocated in each session for one civilization in order to better illustrate the specific complexities. In this case, a second speaker might be included in the presentation of those particular topics. A panel of discussions will be opened to the public at the end of each session to last approx. one hour. The Iranian organizers will invite scholars and other interested people to attend the Conference and participate in the discussion.

The final titles and speakers will be defined by the respective delegations for each civilization by the end of July 1999. It has been proposed to hold, if necessary, a small technical meeting for the final drafting of the programme around the middle of October in Rome, with the participation of one member for each delegation. The invitation is addressed by the Istituto Italiano per l' Africa a l' Oriente (Is.I.A.O.) who will host the delegates.

The delegates have also agreed that following the Conference in Iran, a second Conference should be held in Egypt, by June 2000, titled "Dialogue among Civilizations: Implications for the Modern World". A meeting for the organization of the follow-up Conference in Egypt will be held at the end of the Conference in Iran.