The Centre for World Dialogue is an independent, privately funded

think tank A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governmenta ...

based in

Nicosia Nicosia ( ; el, Λευκωσία, Lefkosía ; tr, Lefkoşa ; hy, Նիկոսիա, romanized: ''Nikosia''; Cypriot Arabic: Nikusiya) is the largest city, capital, and seat of government of Cyprus. It is located near the centre of the Mesaor ...

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...

. The Centre was founded by Hossein Alikhani and his wife Jila Faramarzi in 1996. Its conception is based on the premise that global dialogue can bring individuals from diverse viewpoints face to face with one another in the hopes of reaching vital consensus on issues of global concern. The Centre further believes that conflicts can be prevented more effectively through engagement and dialogue than through sanctions, containment, or the threat of force. The Centre initiates and encourages dialogue on political, social, economic, and religious issues of global and regional concern, between individuals and organisations. The Centre for World Dialogue is a non-aligned, non-profit organisation, with no affiliation to any government or political body. Funding for programmes comes from individual and private contributions. Based in

, the Centre enjoys the advantages of the island's unique position as a bridge between East and West. The Centre also has representative offices in

Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the Capital city, capital and the List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia (country), Georgia, lying on the ...

, Paris, London,

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...

and

Washington D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, Na ...

The Centre counts diverse individuals as members of its Board of Governors: Princess

Wijdan Ali Princess Wijdan Ali ( ar, وجدان علي) (born 29 August 1939 in Baghdad, Iraq) is a Jordanian artist, art historian, educator and diplomat. She is the ex-wife of Prince 'Ali bin Naif of Jordan. She is best known for her efforts to revive the ...

of Jordan, Sir

Cyril Townsend Sir Cyril David Townsend (21 December 1937 − 20 November 2013) was a British politician. Townsend was elected Conservative Member of Parliament for Bexleyheath at the February 1974 election, and held the seat until retiring at the 1997 el ...

Gary Sick Gary G. Sick (born April 4, 1935) is an American academic and analyst of Middle East affairs, with special expertise on Iran, who served on the U.S. National Security Council under Presidents Ford, Carter, and for a couple weeks under Reagan as w ...

, John D. Marks, Ambassador

Richard W. Murphy Richard William Murphy (born July 29, 1929) is an American diplomat and career member of the foreign service. Biography Early life Richard William Murphy was born on July 29, 1929 in Boston, Massachusetts. After graduating from Phillips Exet ...

and

John Esposito John Louis Esposito (born May 19, 1940) is an Italian-American academic, professor of Middle Eastern and religious studies, and scholar of Islamic studies, who serves as Professor of Religion, International Affairs, and Islamic Studies at Geor ...

Events

The Centre has organised numerous events to facilitate discussion between individuals, academics, theologians, diplomats and world leaders. Some of the topics of these conferences and events have been Political Islam and the West, Iran in the Twenty First Century, Children's Rights and Wrongs and The Future of Iraq. A historic meeting between one of the former hostage-takers of the US Embassy in Tehran and his former hostage was initiated and organized by the Centre in 1998. The landmark meeting between

Abbas Abdi Abbas Abdi (; fa, عباس عبدی; born 1 October 1956) is one of Iran's most influential reformists, journalist, self-taught sociologist and social activist. Biography Abdi was born in 1956. He studied polymer engineering at Tehran Polytec ...

and

Barry Rosen Barry Rosen is an American former diplomat who was held hostage during the 1979–1981 Iran hostage crisis. Rosen was the press attaché at the U.S. Embassy in Tehran when it was seized by militants on November 4, 1979. He was held for 444 days, ...

took place at the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

headquarters in Paris and was described by Time magazine as "a powerful reconciliation".

Global Dialogue

The Centre publishes a quarterly journal on issues of global concern. The journal is called Global Dialogue.

References

External links

* {{Dead link, date=July 2021 Think tanks based in Cyprus