Dear friends, we have met here in Madrid on the 11th, 12th and 13th of May 2018 in a time of extreme concern, both for the social situation in which violence increases and life becomes more difficult every day, and for the internal situation of human beings. The lack of meaning and lack of faith that it’s possible to change things leads to despair, intolerance, nihilism, inner violence and suicide in many cases.
But in front of this situation, in this Forum, we’ve been able to see that another reality is being built in parallel and is hidden in the “official” discourse. We’ve seen examples of this Universal Human Nation, that isn’t only in the future but rather is becoming a reality today and is something that we’ve been able to experience in these days.
In the 21 working areas, in which more than 600 people have participated from 40 countries, we have exchanged about a wide-range of subjects almost impossible to synthesise – although we will try to do so in the coming weeks, publishing it in the website and in a book which we’ll prepare as soon as possible.
In the course of this Forum we have constantly looked for what unites us from our diversity, understanding that we can’t resolve problems alone, but rather through the intentional efforts and in a convergent direction of everyone around the world who feel themselves to be humanist.
But, what is it that has been uniting us in these intense days? And how will the experience of this Forum irradiate into the future?
We have seen that the essence of “what unites us” is to consider human beings as the highest value above money, the State, religion, social models and systems. It is to promote the freedom of thought. It is to promote equal rights and equal opportunities for everyone. It is recognising and encouraging diversity of customs and cultures. It is opposing all discrimination and consecrating the just resistance to all forms of violence: physical, economic, racial, religious, sexual, psychological and moral.
The world we are living in today is at a crossroads that needs new responses and a new consciousness. Today it’s necessary to look for good knowledge. When this advances, the pain and suffering that we experience as human beings recedes. Good knowledge leads to justice, it leads to reconciliation. Good knowledge also leads us to recognise what is sacred in the depths of human consciousness.
We are united by non-discrimination of others because of their religion or their lack of religion; we are also united by the freedom to proclaim, or not, our spirituality and belief in immortality and what is sacred. And by a new call for the millenary Golden Rule that has accompanied human beings in the best moments of history and that proclaims “treat others the way you would like to be treated.” Finally, we are united by the desire for a new culture of reconciliation and nonviolence.
Friends, the work of this Forum doesn’t finish today in this closing act, this has been just a moment of synthesis. The different initiatives and proposals that we’ve recently heard will continue in the direction indicated by this Forum and leads us to project another moment of synthesis in the not-too-distant future.
So, with great joy we can announce today that this Forum will meet once more in two years’ time.
Therefore we propose Rome, on the 12th, 13th and 14th of June 2020.