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The United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) Group of Friends held its High-Level Meeting during the period of the 81st Session of the UN General Assembly, in New York, on 25 September 2026. The Group of Friends Meeting was chaired by H.E. Mr. Miguel Ángel Moratinos, Under-Secretary-General, High Representative for the UNAOC, and UN Special Envoy to Combat Islamophobia. The representatives of states and international organizations took note of the UNAOC activities conducted during the 2025-2026 period since the last meeting in September 2025 and delivered their remarks and suggestions, underlining the growing importance of the UNAOC objectives in the present world. Addressing the meeting, IRCICA Director General Prof. Mahmud Erol Kılıç pointed out that the common space of international cultural action that is served by the UNAOC as well as the OIC and IRCICA assumes additional significance under the present global circumstances, not only as a ground of cultural interactions and mutual understanding but also for reinforcing the concept of multilateral governance itself. Prof. Kılıç explained this point with examples form IRCICA’s activities that share similar objectives with hose of the UNAOC.
