The need to put time into good order appeared at the dawn of human history. Without this, neither public, nor economic, nor religious life of any people would make sense. For believers throughout the world, the calendar is a visible manifestation of the triumph of order over chaos. The majestic constancy in the movements of the heavenly bodies and the mysterious and irreversible march of time are an indication of the rational structure of the world. http://wpfdc.org

1. Years of Dialogue of Civilizations
2008–2015

2. 2008
Dialogue of Civilizations
The need to put time into good order appeared at the
dawn of human history. Without this, neither public,
nor economic, nor religious life of any people would
make sense. For believers throughout the world, the
calendar is a visible manifestation of the triumph
of order over chaos. The majestic constancy in the
movements of the heavenly bodies and the mysterious
and irreversible march of time are an indication of the
rational structure of the world.
In the history of the values of existence, much was
determined through the norms and ideals of religions.
In the course of the development of civilization, there
emerged a dialogue of religious and secular con-
sciousness that proceeds within the framework of each
religion and each civilization.
One of the most serious problems in the present-
day world is the problem of being faithful to one’s
religious traditions and one’s origins, and, at the same
time, being open to other forms of culture and public
life. This is especially important for the three “Abraha-
mic” religions — Judaism, Christianity and Islam that
are in the center of contemporary international con-
flicts and which are in need of a theological dialogue.
We are offering you an “ecumenical” calendar so that
each and every person would have the possibility to
be faithful to one’s self, and at the same time, would
be able to feel he and she is part of a single world,
a particle in the dialogue of cultures and civilizations.

3. 2009
Cultures and Civilizations
The word culture comes from the Latin word colo and
has a number of different meanings. In the first place,
culture has the meaning of cultivating plants, the ways
of caring for the soil, seeding, looking after plants. The
second meaning of the word is the human capacity to
classify, codify and communicate their experiences
materially and symbolically. The two together equals
civilization.
When did culture begin? Man began to study plants
and use them for his own needs during the Neolithic
period but the cultivation of plants only goes back
to seven or eight thousand years bc, when ancient
civilizations began to cultivate plants in different parts
of the world. For this to take place, an area and the
people needed certain attributes. The area had to have
a suitable terrain and climate and the people needed
to already have started on the road to civilization and
to have the beginnings of an agriculture culture.
When looking at different types of plants and the
cultures they came from, it is not enough to look at
the subject from an agricultural point of view. Each of
these plants had a major social and intellectual impact
on the way of life in each of these cultures. Many of
the plants appeared in the different religions of these
cultures. Plants were sacrificed for their gods and
became an integral part of their rituals, not forgetting
that the life of most of these people was suborned to
the agricultural cycle.
However the most important contribution of
agricultural cultures is how it helped to bring about
a dialogue of civilizations. This dialogue began with
the first caravan of rice that headed out on its journey
across mountains and deserts or when the first boat
loaded with potatoes sailed into a Spanish port.
In this calendar, you can read about twelve of the
most important cultivated plants, plants which differ-
ent civilizations created and then were used to start
dialogues with others, and which today are known and
valued all over the world.

4. 2010
Alphabets
The process by which ancient civilizations came into
being and developed is directly linked with the emer-
gence and development of the written language. The
written language — a system of characters for record-
ing oral speech — is rightfully regarded as one of the
greatest inventions of mankind. The written language
makes it possible to not only transmit spoken informa-
tion over long distances but also to fix it in a time-
frame. With the emergence of script, and as a result,
to preserve and exchange information, the course of
history is accelerating.
In the contemporary world people speak a great
multitude of languages. It is virtually impossible to es-
timate their exact number due to the much too relative
differences between various languages and dialects in
one given language. The encyclopedia estimates their
number to be from 2500 to 5000.
There are more than 100 official languages of the UN
member-states. These languages make use of 12 main
types of script which our calendar reviews: Written Chi-
nese, The Greek alphabet, The Hebrew alphabet, The
Latin alphabet, The Indian writing systems, The Geor-
gian alphabet, The Ethiopian alphabet, The Armenian
alphabet, The Arabic alphabet, The Japanese writing
system, The Cyrillic alphabet, The Korean alphabet.
Today mankind lives in an epoch of instantaneous
exchange of information and instantaneous response.
For this purpose, languages of international commu-
nication are needed. However, one can fully fathom
original poetry only in one’s native language or by
fundamentally mastering another culture which begins
with the first letter of this or that alphabet. Under-
standing the traditions, customs and histories of other
peoples and knowledge of other languages and litera-
tures is a necessary condition in order to conduct a
full-fledged dialogue. In the scope of the planet — this
is a dialogue of civilizations.

5. 2011
Music is the True Universal Human Speech
Evolution and perfecting of musical instruments is
naturally connected with the evolution of mankind and
its culture. The history of musical instruments began
tens of thousands of years ago, when primitive man
began using objects found in nature to produce sound.
The development of the ancient civilizations led to
the emergence of musical culture and to the appear-
ance of more complex instruments which only musical
masters could play.
In Ancient Egypt, famous musicians were consid-
ered relatives of the Pharaoh. In Assyria they were
honored more than government officials. They were
ranked directly below gods and kings, and their names
were remembered for the ages. Music in Ancient China
was thought to establish social harmony in society
and even impact issues of state administration. The
Ancient Greeks believed that music had a magical
effect on the human psyche and physiological state
and discussed the structure of the Universe in terms of
the laws of music. Plato also considered music as the
basis for the state function and believed that the state
with the best music is the most harmonious. He said:
“Music inspires all the world, gives wings to the soul,
enables imagination; music brings vitality and joy to
all that exists... It can be called the embodiment of all
that is beautiful and sublime.”
Until a certain time, the development of music and
musical instruments occurred in isolation on differ-
ent continents. And yet many musical instruments
evolved to be quite similar. Various pipes and drums
can be found in any culture. The laws of and human
need for music have a universal nature, regardless of
the state system or geographic location. Music is an
abstract art which directly affects emotions bypassing
cognition. The language of music needs no transla-
tion, and while the national and cultural specificity of
musical traditions may vary, music remains absolutely
universal. It is possible to converse in this language
anywhere and be heard. Since the origin of man music
remains a Rosetta Stone; a common tongue in which
all civilizations speak.

6. 2012
With Other Eyes
Art emerged as a dialogue of civilizations. The Ro-
mans built their conception of beauty from what they
found in Greece, Assyria and North Africa; several
hundred years later, Italian Renaissance artists were
likewise inspired by newly opened trade routes with
the Middle and Far East. Few other disciplines have
the same drive towards change, towards discovery
of the new, as art does. In a world where success is
awarded to those who push boundaries, inspiration is
at a premium, and it is often through an international
exchange of ideas that inspiration is found.
In this calendar, “With Other Eyes,” we showcase
twelve artists who have been inspired by international
exploration and communication. Some — Mary Cassatt,
Pablo Picasso, Vincent Van Gogh — were admirers
and avid collectors of foreign objects such as African
masks for Picasso and Japanese wood-block prints for
Cassatt and Van Gogh. Others — Milton Avery, Hiro-
shi Yoshida — traveled extensively, from the bustling
streets of New York City to the snowy cliffs of the
Himalayas. Several — Nicholas Roerich, Henri Matisse,
Wassily Kandinsky — stayed for extended sojourns in
these strange lands, observing the people, cultures,
customs and artistic practices they found there. After
leaving France in 1895, Paul Gauguin would never see
his homeland again, choosing instead to live out his
life in the islands of Polynesia. And still others — Ben
Enwonwu, Seif Wanly, Rufino Tamayo — left the world
they knew to study new styles of art abroad: Enwonwu
in Britain, Wanly in Italy, and Tamayo in America.
The pursuit of artistic inspiration has opened up an
international dialogue, where new voices can be heard
and, in time, a new cultural harmony achieved.

7. 2013
Dialogue of Civilizations ABC
The World Public Forum “Dialogue of Civilizations” an-
niversary calendar is modeled after a child’s ABC book,
offering information about the fundamental concepts
on which every civilization and national culture rests.
Each page of the calendar presents a kaleidoscope of
modern life, with photographs from around the globe
that together form a cohesive picture of the world. The
principle behind the juxtaposition of the photographs
is to demonstrate at a glance not only national identity,
but also the universality of human interests and values
throughout world history.
Our publication focuses on the most important
things in all of our lives — family, children, the home,
work, customs, and traditions. The calendar’s images
depict the distinctive environments in which the main
types of human activity unfold, in key areas of civiliza-
tional development: farming and animal domestica-
tion, trades and crafts, and traditional culture.
In this anniversary calendar, it is extremely impor-
tant for us to highlight once again the main objectives
of the work undertaken by the World Public Forum
“Dialogue of Civilizations”: uniting the efforts of the
global community to protect the spiritual and cul-
tural values of humankind, and creating a space for
constructive dialogue among the major civilizations
of the modern world. The Forum’s work is aimed at
defining, developing and promoting dialogue, and
introducing a spirit of cooperation and understanding
into everyday life. In essence, this calendar represents
an ABC of mutual understanding — an ABC that reveals
the tremendous diversity of the world’s nationalities,
and at the same time illustrates the essence of shared
human existence.

8. 2014
The Age of the World Picture
Cartography, or mapmaking, has been an integral part
of the human history for a very long time, probably up
to 8000 years. From cave paintings to ancient maps of
Babylon, Greece and Asia, through the Age of Explora-
tion and on into the 21st century people have created
and used maps as essential tools to help them define,
explain and navigate their way through the world.
In many spheres of human activity maps were in
great demand, so there existed a wide range of maps:
road and commercial, cadastral and strategic maps,
maps for seamen and pilgrims. Travel notes contained
maps describing the routes while in encyclopedias
they were added to illustrate some entries. The
gradual development in mapmaking was caused by
the expansion of human activity and resulted in the
evolution in the field of mapmaking, legends becom-
ing more detailed and designs more elaborate. The
mapmakers tried to produce real works of art, illus-
trating maps with pictures of animals, plants, people
and means of transport, landscapes and scenes from
everyday life. Great masters of the Renaissance such
as Albrecht Dürer, Hans Holbein and Leonardo da Vinci
also participated in mapmaking. By the request of the
nobles luxurious maps were produced to decorate
palaces and galleries.
The Age of Discovery has become a key point in the
history of mapmaking, while the introduction of book
printing promoted further extension of maps around
the world. New humanistic ideology encouraged sci-
entific and intellectual curiosity and intensive cultural
exchange between the civilizations.
Every old map is a page of history reflecting the
ideas of its creators about the world and their place
in it. Twelve pages of the calendar may be regarded as
an ongoing dialogue of civilizations, represented by
means of cartography.

9. 2015
Crafts in the Dialogue of Civilizations
In prehistoric times humans watched the world around
them, were amazed by its beauty and then reproduced
it in the objects they were surrounded by. It was the
beginning of folk decorative art which can be viewed
as the result of creative work of numerous generations
of artisans. This phenomenon is united in its artistic
structure but diverse in its national peculiarities which
reveal themselves in every area — from the choice of
material to the treatment of artistic forms.
Being born among farmers, shepherds and hunters,
folk art has always been closely connected with nature
and its laws. This topic has been one of the most
widely spread motifs depicted on the objects of folk
decorative art which is part of any national culture.
A craftsman’s great sense of material and its unique
properties allows him to create perfect works of
decorative art. Wood and clay, stone and bone, leather
and fur — all these materials are wisely used to make
various objects of everyday life. The ability to profit
by natural characteristics of the material determines
methods and techniques which could be best applied
to making particular kind of objects. That was how dif-
ferent kinds of crafts such as carpet and lace weaving,
embroidery, pottery, wood-, bone- and stone- carving
came into existence.
Even today objects of decorative art made by skillful
handicraftsmen from different materials are necessary
part of our everyday life. On the one hand, all these
objects such as carpets and pottery, woven bed-
spreads and embroidered cushions, wooden toys and
women’s jewellery perform certain utilitarian functions.
On the other hand, their elaborate design, ornamen-
tal patterns and colour choice turn utilitarian objects
into works of art, where spiritual and material aspects
become interconnected. Thus handicrafts, being the
reflection of national character, encourage dialogue
and mutual enrichment of national cultures.

10. World Public Forum “Dialogue of Civilizations”
European Headquarters
4/11 Stubenring
1010, Vienna, Austria
Tel.: + 43 1 513 01 38
Fax: + 43 1 513 01 38–4
E-mail: office@wpfdc.at
www.wpfdc.at
Russian Headquarters
42/5 Pokrovka
105062, Moscow, Russia
Tel.: + 7 495 641 52 10
Fax: + 7 495 641 52 10
E-mail: info@wpfdc.org
www.wpfdc.org
Studio “4+4”
Moscow, Russia
Tel.: +7 495 229 14 43
E-mail: studio@4and4.ru
www.oldtale.com