June 5—The Schiller Institute convened an international conference in Berlin, Germany, May 30-31, titled, “The End of 500 Years of Colonialism: For a Dialogue of Civilizations—The Urgency of a New Global Security and Development Architecture,” which participants from many nations reported was “inspiring,” even after only the first of three sessions, given the danger and depravity otherwise all around us. Over the course of the full, two-day event, 27 panelists from 15 nations, with experience and skills in international relations, diplomacy, economics, science, and the arts, spoke in three sessions. A concert featured music, poetry, and dance, presented by individuals from many cultures and nations.

Some 150 attendees came from nations throughout Europe, including students from Africa and other continents; live video hook-ups expanded the speakers’ roster with participants from far afield. Simultaneous interpretation in German, English, Spanish, and French accommodated intense discussion.

All three panels are video archived, and the full program of speakers and their topics—including performers in the beautiful May 30 evening concert—are posted on the Schiller Institute sites.

The titles of the panels indicate the conceptual overview of the conference. Panel One May 30 was “The Urgent Need for a New Global Security and Development Architecture.” Panel Two, the afternoon of May 30: “Sovereignty and the Concept of the Governed.” Panel Three, on Sunday, May 31: “The End of 500 Years of Colonialism” was held in two parts, accommodating presentations from 12 speakers.

The evening of May 30 featured presentations on the theme of “dialogue of civilizations,” and a concert with 10 contributions from different cultures. For example, a presentation was given on “Hafiz and Goethe, a Spiritual Encounter Between Persia and Germany,” by Dr. Mostafa Maleki, an Iranian diplomat and German scholar.

EIR will publish transcripts of speeches, selected by topic, in the coming weeks. These include, for instance, powerful reports from, and about Africa on the second and third panels, including a presentation by Ambassador from Ethiopia to Germany H.E. Eskindir Yirga Asfaw, and a special video report from Uganda by a group of four young leaders there.

In this issue EIR provides edited transcripts of four of the six speakers on the opening panel, whose conference keynote was given by Helga Zepp-LaRouche, founder and leader of the Schiller Institute. As she made a point of saying in remarks concluding the panel: This is the kind of dialogue that uplifts everyone. Let us act together on the common idea that we must change others, change ourselves, and change culture.