RHODES (Greece): The picture-perfect island of Rhodes with its bright-blue water and pebbly beaches on Thursday saw an unusual gathering of people on a mission to "converse."

The gathering, comprising a diverse group of political scientists, philosophers, religious leaders, economists, politicians, religious leaders and academicians, had come from 40 countries. They were here to attend the fourth general meeting of the World Public Forum Dialogue of Civilisations.

Attempting to resolve conflicts of every shade from fundamentalism to inequality and even racial bias through discussion, the forum hopes to create an alternative platform to deal with various issues.

Annual event

The forum is an annual event that started with a small group of 25 people four years ago.

With many more countries joining in, it has now become a movement that aims to go beyond the narrow politics of individual nations.

Network

``I didn't expect the resonance that we have acquired in the four years. It has shown how right the decision was. This year there are representatives from 40 nations; we think that not States but individuals can speak the language of civilisation,'' said Vladimir I. Yakunin, co-chairman of the forum in his remarks at the inauguration.

Going beyond just words, the forum aims to "add new value" to the platform of dialogue and in this respect seeks to score over most other similar conferences around the world.

``We hope to be able to start a network to add value. Fortunately, we share a humanistic approach with other organisations around the globe. We need to come from words to action and will network among organisations. My vision is that if a conflict arises like that of the Danish cartoon, we will need people from all nations to stop this from becoming a clash of civilisations. As the conference has grown we can provide this network,'' asserted Nicolaos Papanikolaou, co-chairman.

The forum hopes to break new ground with the real conflicts plaguing the world. Bringing in religious leaders from Russia, Greece and Iran, it seeks to go beyond the dogma of religion to find the common ground. The organisers hope to bring in people on one platform on controversies such as the Pope's recent remarks on Islam, the Danish cartoons of the Prophet and border conflicts in a peaceful atmosphere here and unite them against violence.

``We are confronted with new challenges. We have already had the fifth anniversary of 9/11. We are deeply divided in our response. Some of us found convenient enemies to heighten paranoia. But we need each other more now. We should learn from the hard lessons of history,'' said Walter Schwimmer, ex-Secretary-General, Council of Europe.

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