Muscat – The international conference ‘United Human Values and Sustainable Development for All’ will kick off on November 16 in Muscat, marking the International Day for Tolerance.

The conference, which comes within the framework of the projects ‘Towards United Human Values’ and ‘Message of Peace’ of the Ministry of Endowments and Religious Affairs, aims to promote mutual acceptance and peaceful coexistence among different communities and groups through activities in scientific, cultural, artistic and communications fields.

H E Dr Mohammed Said al Ma’amari, Minister of Endowments and Religious Affairs, in a press conference held on Monday, said that the conference includes four panels.

The panels include ‘From Theory to Practice: United Human Values, Connecting Cultures and Supporting Sustainable Development’, ‘Pushing the Wheel of Sustainable Development: Practical Examples of United Human Values and Cultural Diversity’, ‘The Role of Women in Fostering United Human Values and Accelerating Sustainable Development’ and ‘The Role of Youth: Consolidating United Human Values and Leading Sustainable Development’.

H E Ma’amari informed that other programmes marking the International Day for Tolerance include the ‘Photovoice’ programme with the participation of a group of Omani and international youth (Muslims and Christians). The programme aims to train young people in effective dialogue between religions and cultures using photography.

Additionally, an event called Youth Programme will see the participation of 20 young men and women from different countries and backgrounds. The programme will focus on intercultural dialogue.

H E Ma’amari further said that the conference includes a campaign called ‘Act of Tolerance’ that aims to promote united human values through various arts. It comprises two exhibitions – ‘Message of Peace’ that seeks to deliver a cultural experience of Oman and ‘Shadow Art’, displaying artistic works that employ light and shadow to create images expressing united human values.

On the occasion, H E Dr Abdullah Nasser al Harrasi, Minister of Information, affirmed that the international conference reflects the innate human values of the sultanate.