UNESCO CHAIR For Inter-Religious Dialogue Studies in The Islamic World
Paris – 17 December 2025
Dr. Alaa Shatnan, Director of the UNESCO Chair, took part in the virtual symposium entitled:
“Futures Dialogues – Protecting and Promoting Cultural and Linguistic Diversity in the Digital Environment”
held on 17 December 2025, in collaboration between UNESCO’s Education and Culture Sectors.
The virtual symposium sought to address the challenges posed by artificial intelligence technologies to cultural identities. Participants emphasized several key points, including:
- Ensuring the discoverability of cultural content in local and Indigenous languages.
- Confronting the dominance of major languages and digital systems that may undermine cultural diversity.
- Exploring the role of artificial intelligence in supporting human creativity while preserving the authenticity of creative works.
The event brought together a distinguished group of academics and experts from Canada, Gabon, Sweden, and Cyprus, representing UNESCO Chairs and the global UNITWIN networks, in addition to representatives from UNESCO’s Education, Culture, and Diversity Sectors. The symposium also witnessed broad participation from UNESCO Chairs across various regions of the world.
Participants aimed to develop a roadmap to ensure the sustainability of cultural expression amid rapid technological transformations, in alignment with the United Nations’ Global Digital Compact.
