The Centre for Dialogue and Cooperation among Civilisations (CDCC) is an international civil society organization headquartered in Jakarta, Indonesia, that was founded in June 2007 by scholars and activists of wide-ranging backgrounds.

Mission

CDCC aims to promote better understanding and peaceful relations among religions, cultures, nations, and civilisations at large. It seeks to actively mediate the divide that is being perpetuated by mutual fears and misunderstandings. It sets up initiatives for building and broadening interfaith, cross-cultural, international, and intercivilisational dialogues and cooperation, giving the highest priority to addressing the urgent problems of misunderstanding and violence through the provision of comprehensive, objective, and accurate studies of the problems involved.

Vision

Rather than viewing diversity as a threat and civilizations as always in clash, CDCC embrace the view that diversity is an opportunity, richness and an integral component for growth, in order to create a peaceful world. Diversity needs to be accepted, but at the same time one should not vindicate such a view as that the Moslem world and the West would be always in a perpetual conflict.

However, efforts to bridge the gap among societies, nations and world civilizations are likely to fail without participation, dialogue and cooperation of international community. There is an urgent need for a global movement to bridge that gap and promote dialogue, greater understanding and mutual respect between cultures and civilisations.

Programs

CDCC strives to meet its aim through the following area of activities:

Public Education

CDCC seeks to provide more spaces for intercivilisational dialogues by continuously organizing both elite and public forums that discuss issues related to interfaith, cross-cultural, and international relations. Among these forums are quarterly Lecture on Civilisation, occasional Public Lecture and Public Discussion, monthly Roundtable Discussion, occasional International Seminar and annual International Conference. Participants representing a wide variety of groups are involved, including diplomats, policy makers, politicians, academics, activists, corporate executives, journalists, religious leaders, youth leaders, and media representatives.

Networking and Cooperation

In organizing its programs as well as achieving its objectives, CDCC makes considerable efforts to develop networks that will be beneficial for the creation of peaceful atmosphere and the making of effective dialogues and raising public awareness of the need to build bridges between societies, to promote dialogue, greater understanding, and mutual respect and to marshal the collective political will to address the world’s divides.

Policy Advocacy

To mediate the existing conflict as well as prevent any possible conflict, CDCC advocates any policy of the governments or other authorities that is crucial to efforts of reducing cross-cultural tensions and misunderstanding. It tries to influence the decisions of the governments or other authorities which have an impact (either positive or negative) on the state of cultural or civilisational dialogue.

Publication

CDCC makes every effort to raise public concerns in Indonesia and abroad with the need for bridging the gap and eliminating misperceptions between cultures and civilisations, as well as to facilitate the academic debate over interfaith, cross-cultural, and international relations. For this reason, CDCC continually disseminates information and ideas through website, a monthly newsletter (CDCC Update), books, a scholarly international journal quarterly published, and articles in media.

Research

CDCC supports any attempt to conduct adequate studies on matters that either inhibit or enhance dialogue and cooperation among people of different faiths, races or ethnics, and nationalities.