SG/A/962
15 December 2005

Secretary-General Announces Complete Composition of High-Level Group for Alliance of Civilizations, Naming Two more Members

NEW YORK, 14 December (UN Headquarters) -- UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan is pleased to announce the complete composition of the High-Level Group for the Alliance of Civilizations with the two following additional members:

Latin America:  Professor Candido Mendes (Brazil):  Secretary-General, Académie de la Latinité.

East Asia:  Professor Pan Guang (China):  Director and Professor, Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences.

The final list of 20 members of the Group is as follows:

Alliance of Civilizations -- Members of High-level Group

CO-SPONSORS     

1. Mr. Federico Mayor (Spain; co-chair) President of the "Culture of Peace" Foundation and former Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)     

2. Prof. Mehmet Aydin (Turkey; co-chair) Minister of State of Turkey and Professor of Philosophy

MIDDLE EAST     

3. Seyed Mohamed Khatami (Iran) Former President of Iran

4. Her Highness Sheikha Mozah (Qatar) Consort of the Emir of the State of Qatar and Chairperson of the Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development     

5. Dr. Ismail Serageldin (Egypt) President, Bibliotheca Alexandria     

NORTH AFRICA     

6. Dr. Mohamed Charfi (Tunisia) Former Education Minister of Tunisia     

7. Mr. Andre Azoulay (Morocco) Adviser to His Majesty King Mohammed VI of Morocco     

WEST AFRICA     

8. Mr. Moustapha Niasse (Senegal)  Former Prime Minister of Senegal     

SOUTHERN AFRICA     

9. Archbishop Desmond Tutu (South Africa) The Rt. Hon. Archbishop of Cape Town     

WEST EUROPE     

10. Mr. Hubert Vedrine (France) Former Minister for Foreign Affairs of France     

11. Ms. Karen Armstrong (United Kingdom)   Historian of Religion     

EAST EUROPE     

12. Prof. Vitaly Naumkin (Russian Federation) President of the International Center for Strategic and Political Studies, and Chair, Moscow State University     

NORTH AMERICA     

13. Prof. John Esposito (United States) Founding Director, Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding-Georgetown University, and Editor-in-Chief of the Oxford Encyclopedia of the Islamic World     

14. Rabbi Arthur Schneier (United States) President, Appeal of Conscience Foundation, and Senior Rabbi, Park East Synagogue

LATIN AMERICA     

15. Mr. Enrique Iglesias (Uruguay) Ibero-American Secretary-General and former President of Inter American Development Bank     

16. Prof. Candido Mendes (Brazil)     Secretary-General, Académie de la Latinité     

SOUTH ASIA     

17. Dr. Nafis Sadik (Pakistan) Special Adviser to the UN Secretary General     

18. Ms. Shobana Bhartia (India) Managing Director of the Hindustan Times, New Delhi     

SOUTH-EAST ASIA     

19. Mr. Ali Alatas (Indonesia) Former Foreign Minister of Indonesia     

EAST ASIA     

20. Prof. Pan Guang (China) Director and Professor, Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences

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