The First Alliance of Civilizations Forum has contributed to promoting the Alliance of Civilizations as the reference point for intercultural dialogue within the framework of the United Nations.

The Forum, firstly, consolidated its role as a space for open dialogue among political and religious leaders, officials from international organizations and representatives from the business world, the media, youth associations and civil society as a whole. In this sense, the presence in Madrid of over 900 experts and 89 official delegations constitutes the best proof of the interest that the Alliance of Civilizations has aroused throughout the world.

As for the goal of making the Forum an event aimed at achieving concrete results, the High Representative, during his speech at the closing ceremony, had the opportunity to present a good number of initiatives and agreements reached. These results include, among others, initiatives such as the launch of Silatech and of the AoC Media Fund, presented by H.R.H. Sheikha Mozah bint Nasser al-Missned and H.R.H. Queen Noor of Jordan, respectively.

Furthermore, the Forum enhanced the profile of the Alliance of Civilizations, underlining the States’ necessary commitment to turn political objectives into concrete actions. In this respect, and within the framework of the First Forum, a High Level Political Dialogue meeting was held, with the participation of the members of the Group of Friends of the Alliance of Civilizations (70 countries and 13 international organizations). As a concrete result of this meeting, noteworthy is the signing by the High Representative of 5 Memorandums of Understanding – with UNESCO, the League of Arab States, ISESCO, ALECSO, and United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG) – as well as a Letter of Intent with the Council of Europe.