In support of a call by Prime Minister José Luis Rodr?guez Zapatero of Spain, the UN Secretary-General launched an initiative for an “Alliance of Civilizations”, co-sponsored by the Prime Ministers of Spain and Turkey. The initiative aims to forge a collective political will to establish a paradigm of mutual respect between civilizations and cultures to overcome prejudice, misconceptions, misperceptions, and polarization. To guide this effort, members of the High-level group, commissioned by the UN Secretary-General, convened in Spain for their first session. The group, co-chaired by former UNESCO director general Federico Mayor and Turkish minister of state and theology Mehmet Aydin, are due to come up with a range of recommendations by the second half of 2006.