Towards the end of 1990s, former Iranian President Seyyed Mohammad Khatami introduced the theory of Dialogue among Civilizations as a worldwide plea for the moralization of politics, with the basic belief that “The political translation of dialogue among civilizations would consist in arguing that culture, morality and art must prevail on politics.”

The concept of his theory was presented in several international societies, and rapidly gained a lot of international support. It ultimately reached the United Nations in September 1998, where President Khatami addressed an international audience at the UN General Assembly in New York to delineate his main arguments. In response to his proposal, the United Nations consequently proclaimed the year 2001 as the United Nations’ Year of Dialogue among Civilizations.

In February 1999, the Iranian government established the International Centre for Dialogue Among Civilizations (ICDAC) to promote the concept of a global structure based on mutual understanding and tolerance. Under the supervision of President Khatami, the Centre actively participated in many projects studying the impact of dialogue among civilizations on diverse areas such as history, social science, political science, art, literature, etc.

In 2004, Mr. Khatami founded the International Institute for Dialogue among Cultures and Civilizations (IIDACC), aiming to continue the global efforts to evolve the concept and impacts of the theory of Dialogue among Civilizations within a more cohesive, centralized structure.