Tolerance is respect, acceptance and appreciation of the rich diversity of our world & cultures, our forms of expression and ways of being human.” In 1996, the National Commission for UNESCO of the Republic of Korea and the UNESCO Unit for Tolerance organized the International Meeting of Experts for the Establishment of an Asia and Pacific Regional Network Against Intolerance, Discrimination and Violence. The 20 regional participants discussed the problems and challenges of the region, they named institutional coordinators, and they outlined lines of action. They also established a Research Centre for Tolerance at Gwangju University. Let us rekindle this initiative to demonstrate, to model and to lead what it means to respect, accept and appreciate the diversity of our world’s culture, our forms of expression and ways of being human.

• ROY TAMASHIRO(Professor Emeritus, Webster University, USA)