Hans Köchler – Dialogue of Civilizations
CHRONOLOGY OF EARLY YEARS
Hans Köchler propagated the idea of a "dialogue among civilizations" for the first time in 1972, in a letter to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). In connection with the preparations for the foundation of the International Progress Organization, he explained the concept of "dialogue" in more detail in a programmatic lecture at the University of Innsbruck (Austria) in the same year. In 1974 he undertook a two-month trip around the globe to explain and discuss his conception of cultural hermeneutics with representatives of different cultures. In the same year, he also organized the first international conference on "The Cultural Self-comprehension of Nations." These activities occurred more than two decades before "dialogue of civilizations" had become the preoccupation of international politics in the wake of Samuel Huntington's pronouncements on a "clash of civilizations."
6 September 1972: Meeting at United Nations Headquarters/UNESCO Liaison Office in New York to discuss the organization of an international conference on the promotion of cultural co-operation between peoples.
26 September 1972:
Letter to the Director of the Division of Philosophy of UNESCO, Mrs.
Marie-Pierre Herzog, containing a proposal for the convening of an
international conference on questions related to the dialogue among
civilizations ("au sujet des problèmes résultant du dialogue entre les
différentes civilisations").
19 October 1972:
Lecture at the University of Innsbruck (Austria) on the theme
"Kulturelles
Selbstverständnis und Koexistenz: Voraussetzungen für einen
fundamentalen Dialog" (Cultural
Self-comprehension and Co-existence: Preconditions for a Fundamental
Dialogue). 
30 October 1972:
Founding Assembly of the International Progress Organization at the
University of Innsbruck. At the initiative of Hans Köchler, the Assembly
adopted a Declaration of Principles which defined "progress" in the
sense of widening a person's and community's intellectual horizon and,
thus, deepening the mutual understanding between cultures as basis of a
durable order of peace.
5 March – 1 May 1974:
Trip around the world with the aim to propagate and discuss
inter-cultural dialogue as foundation of a global order of peace ("Global
Dialogue Expedition") with lectures, interviews and conversations in 28
cities in 26 countries on all continents.
9 March 1974:
First international lecture by Hans Köchler on his conception of
cultural hermeneutics
("Cultural-philosophical Aspects of International Co-operation")
at the Royal Scientific Society in Amman, Jordan.
14 March 1974:
Meeting with Egypt's Minister of Culture, Youssef el-Sebai, in
Cairo.
19 March 1974:
Meeting with the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs of the United
Arab Emirates, Saif Ghobash, in Abu Dhabi.
26 March 1974:
Meeting with India's Minister of Education, Prof. Nurul Hassan,
in New Delhi.
1 April 1974:
Meeting with the Foreign Minister of Thailand,
Charoonphan
Israngkul Na Ayudhya,
in Bangkok.
6 April 1974:
Meeting with the General Director for Culture at the Ministry of
Education of Indonesia, Member of the Executive Board of UNESCO,
Prof. Ida Bagus
Mantra, in
Jakarta.
25 April 1974: Meeting with the President of the Republic of Senegal, Léopold Sédar Senghor, in Dakar. The President presented to Köchler his book "Négritude et humanisme" with the following dedication: "Au Professeur Hans Köchler qui poursuit la réalisation d’un grand dessein humaniste – en hommage cordial."
27-29 July 1974:
Organization of an international symposium on "The Cultural
Self-comprehension of Nations" under the joint patronage of the
President of the Republic of Austria, Dr. Rudolf Kirchschläger,
and the President of the Republic of Senegal, Léopold Sédar Senghor, in
Innsbruck, Austria.
17-19 November 1981:
Organization of an international symposium on "The Concept of Monotheism
in Islam and Christianity" under the patronage of His Royal Highness
Crown Prince Hassan of Jordan in Rome, Italy. The
Secretary-General of the Organization of the Islamic Conference, Habib
Shatty, the Secretary-General of the League of Arab States,
Chadli Klibi, the Archbishop of Vienna, Cardinal Dr. Franz König,
and the Foreign Minister of Italy, Emilio Colombo, were members
of the Honorary Committee of the conference.
Selected
interviews from the early years,
with Köchler explaining his paradigm of intercultural dialogue:
–
Egyptian daily
El-Goumhouria, Cairo (14 March 1974, published on 11 April 1974)
–
Senegalese daily Le Soleil, Dakar: "L’Europe a
beaucoup à apprendre" (27 April 1974)
***
LATER INFLUENCE AND INTERNATIONAL RECOGNITION
Since the middle of the 1990s, Köchler has been lecturing on the
philosophical foundations of the dialogue among civilizations, on
numerous occasions and in all parts of the world; at the same time, he
published his theory in international journals. In an op-ed article
dated 11 January 2008, the political commentator of the Portuguese daily
Jornal de Notícias
drew his readers' attention to the fact that
Köchler had been propagating the dialogue among
civilizations in the period of the 1990s, followed by the initiative of
Iranian President Mohammad
Khatami in 2001.
On 18 October 2003 the Hans Koechler Political and Philosophical Society was established in Manila (Philippines) whose statutes define the promotion of inter-cultural dialogue as one of its main goals.
In a solemn ceremony on the University's Foundation Day on 1 September 2004,
Mindanao State University (Philippines) conferred upon Hans Köchler the
degree Doctor of Humanities honoris causa, in
recognition, inter alia, of his contribution to the dialogue of
civilizations.
On the same day
(15 Rajab 1425), the Sultan of Marawi (Muslim
Mindanao), Chairman of the Grand Council of the Legislative Assembly of
the 28 Sultanates of Mindanao, conferred upon Hans Köchler the Islamic
honorary title "Dato."
In a solemn ceremony on 16 October 2008, Pamukkale
University (Turkey) conferred upon Hans Köchler the Honorary Professorship, in
recognition of his contribution to the theory of international
relations.
In recognition, inter alia, of his philosophy of intercultural dialogue,
the Armenian State Pedagogical University on 17 April 2012 conferred
upon Hans Köchler the honorary doctor degr