The six Flags of Tolerance
Among the great contemporary artists from different regions of the world, six have created a flag symbolising the spirit of Tolerance for UNESCO, the lead organization for the United Nations Year for Tolerance (1995). The artists are : Friedensreich Hundertwasser (Austria), Souleymane Keita (Senegal), Rachid Koraichi (Algeria), Roberto Matta (Chile), Robert Rauschenberg (United States), and Dan You (Viet Nam). It was a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador, Pierre Cardin, who sponsored the project. Produced by this French creator, himself a member of the French Institute, the flags will be offered by UNESCO to each of its 185 Member States to be raised during 1996. The Flags of Tolerance were presented to the 28th Session of the UNESCO General Conference, which brought together some 2,500 delegates from the Organization's Member States, as well as representatives of the worlds of education, science, culture and communication from 25 October to 16 November 1995 at its Paris Headquarters. The flags were hoisted at UNESCO on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the signing of its Constitution on 16 November, and exhibited at the Enrico Navarra Gallery in Paris from 18 December to 19 January 1996. Communicate, learn, take the paths of tolerance
Alarmed by the rise of intolerance, violence, terrorism, xenophobia, aggressive nationalism, racism, anti-Semitism, exclusion, marginalisation and discrimination against minorities, the General Conference adopted a Declaration of Principles on Tolerance and proclaimed 16 November the International Day for Tolerance.
In the Declaration the States define tolerance and affirm their will to combat intolerance and to promote tolerance, which is the keystone of human rights, pluralism, democracy and the rule of law. "The practice of tolerance means that one is free to adhere to one's own convictions and accepts that others adhere to theirs," the Declaration says. Among a series of proposed measures is one main recommendation: education for tolerance must be considered an absolute priority.
"Young people must learn to resolve conflicts by non-violent means, to be aware that 'other people' means each one of us. To practice tolerance is to renounce violence. The United Nations Year for Tolerance, proclaimed by the United Nations at the initiative of UNESCO, has been the occasion to honour a value/virtue which, having spanned the ages and all cultures, is being much neglected as we approach the end of the century." (Federico Mayor, UNESCO Director-General)
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