Friendship Is a Great Gift

“Friendship Is a Great Gift”, a subject exhibition timed to the International Day of Friendship, runs in the documents of international organizations room (207g), from July 25 to September 3.

This Day was established by the UN General assembly 65th session, on April 27, 2011, and is observed annually, on July 30 (resolution 65/275).

The Assembly’s resolution invites state bodies, international and regional organizations to celebrate this Day in accordance with the cultural traditions of a country and organize events and initiatives aimed at promoting dialogue among civilizations, solidarity, mutual understanding and reconciliation.

The resolution emphasizes the importance of a new date in strengthening friendly relations among different nations. Friendship among the nations, countries, cultures and individuals can inspire peace efforts and provide an opportunity to build bridges between societies that honor cultural diversity.

The proclamation of the Day was aimed at promoting the Declaration and Program of Action on a Culture of Peace and the International Decade for a Culture of Peace and Non-Violence for the Children of the World (2001–2010).

The International Day of Friendship is among few holidays that unite all people in the world, as friendship does not know the racial, religious or social discord. The Day of Friendship is aimed at reducing xenophobia in society, improving mutual understanding between representatives of different nationalities, religions and cultures.

Today, humanity faces many challenges and threats such as poverty, violence, violation of human rights, which undermine international peace, security and social foundations, obstructing the development and dividing peoples and societies. We must eradicate the causes of these phenomena in order to successfully resist them. This is achievable through the manifestation of tolerance and solidarity, which can be expressed in many forms, primarily in friendship.

Friendship is selfless personal relationships between people, based on love, trust, sincerity, mutual sympathy, common interests and hobbies. Its obligatory signs are reciprocity, trust and patience. The great thinker of the past Cicero expressed the idea of friendship perfectly: "Friendship improves happiness and abates misery, by the doubling of our joy and the dividing of our grief." Friendship draws together, because only together we can achieve agreement, create normal conditions for the existence of all people and make the world better.

The offered exhibition includes about 50 publications in the Russian, English and German languages: books, periodicals, the UN Mimeos, brochures and booklets.

The exposition consists of the thematic sections as follow:

• People’s friendship: together to a common aim
• Friendship as one of basic moral laws of the present
• Dialogue among civilizations and tolerance in solving of political and social conflicts
• A culture of peace and education of tolerance
• Cross-cultural dialogue

The exhibition is designed for a wide range of readers interested in a culture of peace, cultural diversity, the problems of modern interfaith relations, tolerance issues, as well as specialists in the field of world politics, diplomacy, international relations, international law and conflictology.

Useful links:

• The International Day of Friendship
• The UN Alliance of Civilizations
• The dialogue of civilizations and a culture of peace
• The UN and the freedom of religion or belief
• The freedom of belief and expression
• The World Day of Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development
• The International Day of Peace
• The International Day for Tolerance
• The International Year for the Rapprochement of Cultures (2010)
• The International Year for a Culture of Peace (2000) [A/RES/52/15]
• 2001–2010. The International Decade for a Culture of Peace and Non-violence for the Children of the World

Documents

• The Declaration of Perth adopted by the 5th Regional Interfaith Dialogue (October 30, 2009)
• The Astana Declaration adopted by the participants of the ministerial conference “Common World: Progress through Diversity” (Kazakhstan, October 17, 2008)
• The Declaration of Madrid, issued by the World Conference on Dialogue under the patronage of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz (July 16–18, 2008)
• The Phnom Penh Dialogue 2008 on Interfaith Cooperation for Peace and Harmony
• The Baku Declaration on Expanding the Role o Women in Cross-Cultural Dialogue
• The Declaration for Promoting Dialogue and Mutual Understanding among Religions and Civilizations (Ohrid 2007)
• The Global Agenda for Dialogue among Civilizations (2001)
• The Declaration and Program of Action on a Culture of Peace (1999)
• The Tehran Declaration on Dialogue among Civilizations, adopted by the Islamic Symposium on Dialogue among Civilizations (1999)
• The Athens Declaration: “The heritage of ancient civilizations: Implications for the modern world” (1998)
• The Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief (1981)

The opening hours of the exhibition correspond to the opening hours of the documents of international organizations room.
Entrance to the exhibition is available by the library ticket or ticket of the library's social and cultural center.

For more info: (+375 17) 293 27 34.