Message from his Royal Highness PRINCE EL HASSAN BIN TALAL to the Eurasian Media Forum Crucial new challenges facing both east and west 21-23st April 2005

Regrettably, yet again, I am not able to be with you in person for this important conference.

As a networking participant in a number of international organisations that promote the important principles of human, social, economic and environmental awareness, I am pleased that I may share with you my thoughts on some of the challenges that equally face us all.

As we live in a multi-cultural world and share a common future, implanting a culture of altruism requires that we emphasise our shared values and nurture an unprejudiced mind about one another. I have long argued that shared values do exist across cultures, and every society today recognizes certain ancient traditions of good human behaviour, respect for life, justice, altruism and understanding.

Humankind is poised at a crossroads: in one direction lies self-destruction, in the other, the possibility of affluence and well-being for all. Concepts such as growth, stability and order are not ends in themselves, but have value only if they bring about the greater welfare of people. Moreover, our mutual ability to affect each other’s lives has never had the latitude and urgency that it has today.

We talk about Track 1 and Track 2, but I feel that what is needed is Track 1?, which is also addressed in the Helsinki Process on Globalisation and Democracy, where culture should be given equal priority to that of economy and security. The central importance of culture in human interaction in the 21st century cannot be underestimated. The forces that threaten the breakdown of order usually stem from a crisis in identity – a cultural crisis. Therefore, it is so important to develop shared solutions across cultures that transform the omnipresent culture of war towards a culture of peace. For peace is not just the absence of war; it is not a nothing that happens, but something that must be actively created.

The active creation of peace requires us to overcome what Gandhi called the seven deadly sins of the world: wealth without work, pleasure without conscience, knowledge without character, commerce without morality, science without humanity, worship without sacrifice, and politics without principle. We have to set the example for others to follow not merely through words and dialogue, for they are not an end in themselves, but through mutual action and co-operation.

As well as education that provides a means for enhancing inter-cultural dialogue in a world where people are increasingly becoming interconnected, bringing the media into the equation, I believe, can be an effective instrument of change. Its ability to communicate, influence and reach the minds and consciousness of people and possibly, uproot common held prejudices that we sometimes have of one another, is vast.
Dialogue between adherents of different traditions is necessary to pursue the common human agenda and in this respect our ‘Partners in Humanity’ project comes to mind. We have explored the obstacles and opportunities for Islamic-American cooperation in the fields of media outlets; humanitarian and development agencies; educational institutions and dialogue centres. Those who want to promote more moderate voices in the media should make themselves resources to the media by providing speaker and resource lists when events arise, helping put human faces on stories of moderation and reconciliation, providing polls that give voice to “the silent majority” in cases where only extremists are being heard, and learning how to write press releases, speak in sound bites, and hold newsworthy press events.
Unfortunately, half the world’s population lives in poverty. The gap between what I call the ‘haves’ and ‘have nots’ is constantly accelerating and creating an imbalance between the wealth of some and the poverty of others. Therefore, we must try to develop an ethic of responsibility by introducing inclusive policies, as well as creating a secure and stable environment through growth and the spread of affluence to the lives of ordinary people.

Therefore, it is my sincere hope that the next round of WTO talks will indicate its willingness to address, in principal, issues of demography, refugees, migrants, stateless persons under the title poverty alleviation and stabilisation, and not merely treat them as issues of political economy.

There is an urgent need to move beyond the Millennium Declaration toward transformational change and an international agenda focusing on the needs of the poorest and marginalised people in an unsafe, unequal, unjust and unsustainable world. The role of information is important in this respect. Today, network-centric forms of conflict and peacemaking are in confrontation. There is a need to reshape what has been described as ‘info war’ and ‘info peace’. This is one of the most serious challenges facing humanity in the new millennium.

Equally important among the priorities on the global agenda is the subject of the environment and its protection. This topic continues to raise considerable controversy, and unfortunately, is sensitive to political interests. Meanwhile, the arms race taking place today at such an accelerated pace does not give ground for optimism. Due to the deep interdependence of security, development, social justice and environmental stability, simultaneous action of several fronts is required.

My hope, as members of a global community, is that we can strive to engage in addressing challenging issues of poverty alleviation, underdevelopment and environmental degradation, with a spirit of wisdom and foresight. In addition, our duty as global citizens begins at home. We must all assume our responsibilities and set our strategies. Therefore, reacting nationally and regionally and thinking globally is required.
The onus lies with developing countries to form strategies and mechanisms that will enable them to gain their rightful place in international parlance, and assume an effective participation in policy-making in the global arena. Perhaps a planetary contract could be introduced that establishes a new partnership between the key players in the North and the South. A Global Marshall Plan, based not on charity, but a joint investment for the South to achieve self-reliance and narrow the social equity gap with the rich nations.
I wish you every success for your conference and I look forward, hopefully, to the possibility of joining you in person in a future meeting. It is also my pleasure to extend to you an invitation to hold one of your future Forums in Jordan.