Paris, April 16th, (China News Service) (Reporter: Long Jianwu) - Paris-Nishan Forum was held in the headquarters of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) on April 16 under the theme of "Confucianism and New Humanism in a Globalized World", marking that the Nishan Forum on World Civilizations which is designed to promote exchanges between Chinese culture and diverse world cultures go global.

Mrs. Irina Bokova, Director-General of the UNESCO, Mr. Xu Jialu, Chairman of the Organizing Committee of Nishan Forum, Mr. Jean-Pierre Raffarin, Former French Prime Minister and Mdm. Xu Lin, Chief Executive of Confucius Institute Headquarters, delivered keynote speeches at the Opening Ceremony of the Forum. The event was featured by the participation of over 200 people, including envoys of respective countries in the UNESCO, and representatives from the political, educational and cultural communities of France.

In order to respond to the initiation of the UNESCO Director-General concerning discussion on new humanism in the 21st century and traditional essence of Confucianism, Hanban, Confucius Institute Headquarters and the UNESCO have joined hands in hosting the Forum with a view to play an active role in launching dialogues among different civilizations, safeguarding the diversity of world cultures and promoting world culture exchanges.

This Paris-Nishan Forum is divided into three sessions, including "Harmony with Diversity and Urgent Demands of the Globalized World", "the Harmonious World and Cultural Dialogue" and "the Harmonious World and New Humanism" which invite over 20 officials of international organizations, sociologists and historians from 9 countries to launch high-level talks, including China, France, the United Kingdom, the United States, Spain, Tunisia, Hungary, Sri Lanka and Mali.

The Nishan Forum on World Civilizations was initiated by Mr. Xu Jialu in 2008. The First Session of Nishan Forum was staged in Nishan, the birthplace of Confucius in September 2010 under the theme of "Harmony with Diversity" and "the Harmonious World" which adopted the first declaration themed by harmony for humankind - Nishan Declaration of Harmony and witnessed the participation of over 170 high-ranking politicians and scholars from 13 countries and territories and was highly recognized internationally. The Second Session of Nishan Forum will be slated for start in May 2012 in Nishan and it's expected that the scale and influence will both surpass the first session.