(ANSA) - ROME, NOV 16 - Intercultural and inter-religious dialogue will be at the center of the testimonies of leading personalities in the contribution that Italy brings to the 'Tolerance & Inclusivity pre-Expo Week': the fourth in a series of global digital events with which the organizers of Expo 2020Dubai and the participating countries offer a preview of the topics that will be addressed during the thematic weeks of the next Universal Exposition, which will start on 1 October 2021.
Paul Hinder, Vicar Apostolic of Southern Arabia (United Arab Emirates, Oman and Yemen) and Apostolic Administrator of the 'Northern Arabia (Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Bahrain);
Pietro Sebastiani, Italian Ambassador to the Holy See;
Stefania Giannini, Deputy Director General of UNESCO;
Alberto Melloni, historian of religions;
MarcoImpagliazzo, President of the Community of Sant'Egidio;
Khadijah Taufiq, a student at the Bocconi University of Milan and a young representative of the peer-mentoring program of the Italian Pavilion.
The pre-Expo event - visible on the Expo 2020Dubai YouTube channel - will be an anticipation of the numerous initiatives that the 190 participating countries will hold during the week dedicated to the themes of tolerance and inclusion (14-20 November 2021), which will culminate in the International Day of Tolerance of 16 November 2021, the flagship event of the Universal Exposition.
On this occasion, the Italian Pavilion will host the international forum "Connecting Souls" whose title declines the general theme of Expo Dubai in a spiritual key: "ConnectingMinds, Creating the Future".
A crucial moment of "Connecting Souls" - as the historian Melloni explained in his message at the pre-Expo event on Tuesday - will be the commemoration of the women and men victims of aggression or terrorist attacks inside the places of worship (mosques, churches, synagogues , temples).
With this spirit, Italy will undertake to animate and deepen the dialogue between cultures and religions carried out by the Holy See at Expo 2020 Dubai with the Document on Human Fraternity signed in Abu Dhabi by Pope Francis and the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Amad Al- Tayyeb, a true source of inspiration on the path towards an inclusive and fraternal international community.
(HANDLE).