TOWARDS A DEFINITION OF INTERCULTURAL DIALOGUE
AND HIS AIMS


The ultimate aim of organizations like UNESCO and the European Commission is to reduce international violence, war and terrorism. In addition, one of their major concerted efforts is to promote a dialogue between cultures with the sole aspiration of achieving intercultural understanding between different cultural and religious communities around the world.
Dialogue is considered as a rational conversation between two or more persons. The word is derived from the Greek dialogos, which in turn comes from dialegethai (to converse). Dialegethai comes from dia (through, across) and legein (to speak). Today the meaning of this concept is perceived, according to J. Tarnowski, as a method, process and social attitude. The method describes patterns of inter-human communication conducted for the sake of mutual understanding, rapprochement and finally – cooperation. In contrast with the art of negotiation and debate, a dialogue may request from its participants to see each other not as an abstract being, but as a particular individual and the process as one of accepting the other.

It is clear that intercultural dialogue does not exclusively deal with social and political issues. It also considers the importance of dialogue in the relationship between religion and science due to the diverse religious conflicts around the world caused by a lack of knowledge of the other’s culture. In other words, a lack of a worldview.

It is also relevant to consider the concept of culture in order to understand one of the two elements of the so-called byword, "intercultural". By definition, culture is always embodied in a specific community – in the way its members feel, think and act; that is, in the way they understand themselves and the world, realize their happiness, express their moral, aesthetic, religious and political values, and establish particular relations as individuals and groups in every sphere of practical living.
At the same gathering and in the context of the tense relations between globalization and solidarity, intercultural dialogue was also perceived as a path to conviviality and multiculturalism in which cultures influence each other without destroying themselves or entering into clashes or conflicts. One of the major challenges of the future is to devise dialogues between cultures able to balance unity and solidarity with tolerance and diversity. Between the universalistic (euphoric) rhetoric of the Western culture model and the post-modern discourse of cultural relativism, there is indeed a growing recognition that some forms of open dialogue between peoples and cultures can be appropriate worldwide. Intercultural dialogue becomes a necessity not only for overcoming conflicts but also for rethinking and responding to global challenges faced by humanity.

Aims of Intercultural Dialogue
Earlier assumptions considered dialogue between cultures similar to the dialogue between persons. Others believed that the real purpose of intercultural dialogue was to reduce international violence (war, terrorism), while there were others who thought that the ultimate goal of intercultural dialogue is fostering global economic development.
At this point we may also introduce the concept of the intercultural person, since he or she represents one who has achieved an advanced level in the process of becoming intercultural and whose cognitive, affective, and behavioral characteristics are not limited, but are open to growth beyond the psychological parameters of any one culture.
Other similar terms such as international person, universal person, multicultural person, and marginal person are used to project an essentially similar image, with varying degrees of descriptive and explanatory value. The term ‘intercultural person’ is preferred since it is more inclusive than the others in portraying the type of person whose psychological makeup transcends any type of group identity including national, racial, ethnic, gender, professional, or other sociological typifications of people.
The intercultural person also possesses an intellectual and emotional commitment to the fundamental unity of all human beings and, at the same time, accepts and appreciates the differences that lie between people of different cultures.
A highly intercultural person possesses the skills to competently perform the roles required by each cultural context, and is able to avoid conflicts that could result from inappropriate switching between cultures.
Due to the affective nature of the process, intercultural dialogue should be not only intellectual (cognitive knowledge) but also sympathetic understanding (affective knowledge/appreciation of the other). An essential element of this understanding is praxis: action. In addition, it is the creation of social attitudes conducive to the understanding, appreciation, and respect of other cultures.
The intercultural dialogue must reveal the transparency of the walls which make cultures self-enclosed or forbidden to others and should seek the bond which unifies them: humanity, seeking to encompass all the cultures of the world, that should be a universal project and cultivate a culture of dialogue.
Suggestions to ourselves
Every one of us as Iranian should bring this fact to our mind that intercultural dialogue is not a matter o organizations or politics. In fact every one of us could serve as agents with the mission of holding and keeping intercultural dialogue. For example at the personal level having a kind of empathy of other cultures and their members could turn useful. As mentioned above every one of us has the ability to become a highly intercultural person but we should not forget that it is not a matter of intellectualism.