The Centre for World Dialogue is an independent, privately funded

think tank A think tank, or public 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-governme ...

based in

Nicosia Nicosia, also known as Lefkosia and Lefkoşa, is the capital and largest city of Cyprus. It is the southeasternmost of all EU member states' capital cities. Nicosia has been continuously inhabited for over 5,500 years and has been the capi ...

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

. The Centre was founded by

Hossein Alikhani Hossein Alikhani was an Iranian NGO founder, political scientist, and author who was abducted in a sting operation by undercover United States Customs Service agents in 1992, and released after being held for 130 days. Life and career 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 ( ), ( ka, ტფილისი, tr ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia ( ...

, Paris, London,

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

and

Washington D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

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

Wijdan Ali Princess Wijdan Ali () (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 traditions of Islamic ...

of Jordan, Sir

Cyril Townsend Sir Cyril David Townsend (21 December 1937 − 20 November 2013) was a British politician. Townsend was elected Conservative Party (UK), Conservative Member of Parliament for Bexleyheath (UK Parliament constituency), Bexleyheath at the Februar ...

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 ...

John D. Marks John D. Marks (born 1943) is the founder and former president of Search for Common Ground (SFCG), a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., that focuses on international conflict management programming. Marks now acts as a senior advi ...

, Ambassador Richard W. Murphy and

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

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 (; ; born 1 October 1956) is an Iranian reformist. He is also a journalist, self-taught sociologist, and social activist. Biography Abdi was born in 1956. He studied polymer engineering at Tehran Polytechnic. He worked briefly in ...

and

Barry Rosen Barry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Barry (name), including lists of people with the given name, nickname or surname, as well as fictional characters with the given name * Dancing Barry, stage name of Barry Richards (born c. 195 ...

took place at the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

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