With the goal of promoting cultural diversity and cross-cultural exchanges, the 2nd Nishan Forum on World Civilizations opened on May 21 in Qufu, a city in Shandong province and the hometown of Confucius.

"The dialogue here should convey the Chinese people's will to deepen the mutual understandings that exist among various civilizations and our resolution to build a peaceful and harmonious world together", Xu Jialu, former vice-chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, said at the opening ceremony.

The event, initiated by Xu and launched in 2010, is meant to promote Confucianism and encourage dialogues among different civilizations.

The forum also marked the 10th anniversary of the UN General Assembly's declaration of May 21 as being World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development.

"The obstacles before the world today are unprecedented in history and can only be solved by global participation, which entails there being mutual understanding among different civilizations and peoples," Xu said.

Speakers at the event's opening ceremony shared his sentiments.

"The reflection on Confucius and cultural diversity are essential today in a globalizing world, where we have to explore how humanity can attain a peaceful coexistence," said Hans d'Orville, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization assistant director general for strategic planning.

"For too long, the value of and the respect for cultural diversity, as well as the practice of intercultural dialogue, have been largely overlooked in national and international strategies," he said.

More than 400 scholars of cultural and religion studies, from 22 countries and regions, are participating in the three-day forum.

Contact the writers at wangqian2@chinadaily.com.cn and liyang@chinadaily.com.cn

Zhang Zhouxiang contributed to this story.