Presidents of Iran and Algeria visit UNESCO to promote dialogue Five years after the launch of the United Nations Year of Dialogue among Civilizations (2001), an International Conference on the Dialogue among Civilizations, Cultures and Peoples took place on 5 April. The Director-General of UNESCO, Ko?chiro Matsuura praised President Khatami, who first launched “the political and intellectual movement which re-introduced dialogue as a central notion for the management of world affairs.”