Enhancing the Dialogue and Alliance of Civilizations: Perspectives from Peace Education

Over the past few decades, the role of culture and intercultural themes and issues has been increasingly recognized as vital in understanding and shaping relationships among diverse communities and nations. As immigrants arrived in North America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand to begin new lives, institutions from workplaces and bureaucracies to schools and families, began to adapt to the reality of cultural diversity. In the face of resistance and barriers raised by certain segments of dominant ethno-cultural groups and the continuing existence of discrimination and racism, policies of multiculturalism and multicultural education have nonetheless gained widening acceptance. Due to the accelerating forces of economic globalization, hitherto relatively culturally homogenous societies are now also obliged to resolve issues of integration arising from the inflow of migrant workers and intercultural marriages.