The UN chief drew attention to the violent demonstrations across the Muslim world over the satiric cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad published in
"I very much hope that you can come up with specific, concrete suggestions for ways of carrying dialogue forward so that it can really catch the popular imagination, so that we are not just a nice group of people agreeing with each other, but people with a message that can echo around the world."
Ideology of tolerance
He said world figures, especially artists, entertainers and sports champions, must promote the ideology of tolerance and understanding between cultures among youth before they are swayed by extremists. "It is very important to reach young people before their ideas and attitudes have fully crystallised," Annan said.
The Alliance of Civilisations initiative, started in November by
The group, which had its first meeting in Palma de Mallorca in