Meeting of Cultures and Clash of Cultures

Proceedings of an international conference, held in Jerusalem, which focused on the role of adult education in multicultural societies in view of the unexpected revival of nationalism, xenophobia and racism in the "post-perestroika" era. Anxiety was expressed about rising violence against foreigners and interethnic conflict in hitherto liberal West-European communities. The issues raised were: the challenge of education vis-a-vis contemporary political, social, economic and technical realities; how to promote democratic values; how to encourage unity against diversity; how to ensure basic human rights; defusing tensions between ethnic, cultural and religious communities, between majorities and minorities and between antagonistic nations.