The third Nishan Forum on World Civilizations closed on Friday in Jinan, Shandong province.

The four-day forum, which featured 10 dialogues, two speeches, seven academic sessions, one meeting and two concerts, attracted 12,000 people. The biennial forum is named after Nishan Mountain, where Confucius is believed to have been born.

On behalf of the forum committee, Zhang Rong, president of Shandong University and the vice-president of the committee, expressed strong condemnation over the terrorist attack that killed 31 people in Urumqi, the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, on Thursday.

"We feel shock and great anger at the terrorist attack, as we are here discussing common ethics amid different beliefs at a forum that seeks peace and harmony for the world," Zhang said at the closing ceremony at Shandong University on Friday.

Fred Dallmayr, chairman of the World Public Forum, also expressed deep shock and dismay at the tragedy that took place at a street market in Urumqi.

"Unfortunately, such tragedies happen all over the world almost every day, so this definitely lends meaning to the undertakings in which we are engaged here at the Nishan Forum," Dallmayr said during the closing ceremonies.

Also at the forum, a Joint Pledge on Promoting Common Human Ethics through Dialogue was signed by the participants.

The pledge was initiated by some 20 scholars, including Xu Jialu, chairman of the forum and vice-chairman of the ninth and 10th National People's Congress, and Hans d'Orville, assistant director-general for strategic planning of UNESCO.

The pledge states: "Our goal is to work for a common human ethic and morality. Ethics and morality are concerned with the respect for other human beings' rights, with the responsibility for the common welfare of local communities, and with the consciousness of responsibilities and duties for the common welfare of human beings."

zhaoruixue@chinadaily.com.cn