The Silk Roads has become attractive because of the nostalgia of ancient time, of another way of interacting, exchanging and sharing. In today’s world marked by an alarming increase of intolerance, mistrust and extremism favoured by the global crisis and the acceleration of communication, here is a real aspiration for a more human interactions between people.

However, these calls formutual understanding and solidarity are not heard because hate speeches, vilification of the others and fear exploited by all kind of opportunists speak louder than. In response to these dangerous trends, many people, in search of solutions, feel the need to go back to history in order to identify greatmoments of dialogue, tolerance and rapprochement. The Silk Roads’ history seems to offer such moments and the corresponding romantic narratives on the past interactions between peoples and nations.

The promotion of the Silk Roads commonheritage, beyond the current national borders and geopolitical boundaries would contribute to popularize the shared history and values of tolerance, solidarity, equity, equality, dialogue and cooperation among people. It will help better understand the concept of plural identity which transcend the narrow definition of selfness and otherness.

For more specialized information, please download our Webzine SILKROADIA VOL.1 NO.2, and read ‘A Lesson from the Silk Roads: Transcending the narrow definition of selfness and otherness’ written by Ali Moussa Iye, Chief of the Section for History and Dialogue and International Coordinator for the Silk Road, UNESCO, Paris, France .