Attendees at the Conference for the Balance of the World, in Havana.

On screen the French intellectual Paul Estrade, who has been awarded the José Martí International Prize by Unesco.

Photo: Ismael Francisco/ Cubadebate.

The Cuban Vice President, Salvador Valdés Mesa;

the president of the Parliament, Esteban Lazo Hernández, and the prime minister, Manuel Marrero Cruz, attend the Fifth International Conference for the Balance of the World,

inaugurated this Tuesday in Havana with the participation of some 1,100 delegates from more than 80 countries.

Also present at the session, at the Havana Convention Center, were Roberto Morales Ojeda, Secretary of Organization of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba, and Rogelio Polanco Fuentes, head of the Ideological Department of the Central Committee.

Under the premise of José Martí, "With everyone and for the good of all",

the event will be held until Saturday, when it will mark the closing of the world day of tribute for the 170th anniversary of the birth of the National Hero of Cuba.

During the opening of the event, the children's company La Colmenita, directed by Carlos Alberto Cremata, evoked some of Martí's verses, phrases and thoughts that have accompanied the lives of several generations of Cubans.

In the opening remarks, Héctor Hernández Pardo, coordinator of the José Martí International Solidarity Project, recalled the evolution of this meeting, which in its beginnings brought together some twenty nations and in the current edition is close to 90, from where they come about 1,100 participants.

The deputy general director of the Martí Program Office also highlighted the efforts of the Cuban Government leadership to coordinate and specify the celebration of the event, with the support of local institutions that also joined the spaces for debate, presentations and exhibitions.

The forum for plural and multidisciplinary thought, convened by the José Martí International Solidarity Project, has the support of global organizations such as UNESCO, highlighted Hernández Pardo.

The program of the Fifth International Conference for the Balance of the World seeks to promote

dialogue around the problems facing the planet, with a plural and multidisciplinary approach in promoting joint solutions, and with the contribution of intellectuals, scientists, politicians and unionists, their organizers explained.

To this end, the event includes master lectures, the Con Todos y para el Bien de Todos youth forum, a colloquium of historians, a congress on the

new international order, an intergovernmental panel to address climate change and, for the first time, a meeting of Marti's chairs.

During the opening ceremony, French historian and professor Paul Estrade was presented with the Unesco International José Martí Prize

, instituted in 1994.

In a statement released on Monday, UNESCO recognized the consecration of the Doctor of Letters and Human Sciences to the study of the life and work of the pro-independence hero and Cuban National Hero, and his contribution to relations between Europe and Latin America.

The organization recalled that the award, created in 1994 at the initiative of the Government of Cuba, is intended for organizations and individuals that contribute significantly to the unity and integration of Latin America and the Caribbean, based on respect for their cultural traditions. and humanistic values.

Due to personal situations, Estrade was unable to travel to Havana, so a representative from the French embassy received the award on his behalf.

Before the professor emeritus of the University of Paris 8, Roberto Fernández Retamar (Cuba, 2019), Frei Betto (Brazil, 2013), Hugo Chávez (Venezuela, 2005) and Pablo González Casanova (Mexico) received the José Martí International Prize from UNESCO. , 2003), among other personalities.

In a letter released this Tuesday by the Holy See's press office, Pope Francis sent a message to the Conference for the Balance of the World in which he emphasized the importance of José Martí's thought.

In the message, Francisco highlights the relevance of the event in the framework of the 170th anniversary of the birth of Martí, "presenting his figure as an

incentive to awaken the consciences of all those in the world who are called to create a climate of dialogue and fraternity."

The importance of these ideas is that they can "promote significant changes in the current social and political circumstances", in which "it is urgent to build bridges that can help us find together viable solutions that do not exclude anyone", said the Supreme Pontiff.

"I consider it important that our gaze is not so much fixed on what each one of us, with the best of intentions, could propose, but rather on the absolute need to sit down and listen to others," the Bishop of Rome stressed to the delegates. to the world event based in the Cuban capital.

He recalled the words pronounced by Martí in August 1892 before the tomb of the venerable Félix Varela, where he exalted that the Cuban priest "said without fear what he saw" and admired, according to Francisco, "his love for his land and his gallantry in the denounce what he considers incompatible with the social good”.

"From those roots, Martí affirms how the figure of Father Varela is capable of arousing wills for a common effort", for which "it is a question, then, of looking at the past, of not denying our roots, which take us to learn from our elders, from the faith that moved them, from the coherence of life that this faith imposed on them”.

He took up what was recently expressed in his message to the World Day of Peace about the displays of faith, hope and generous dedication of "many heroes" during the covid-19 pandemic, when it was shown that "it is together, in fraternity and solidarity, that we can build peace, guarantee justice and overcome the most painful events.

"This is the key to recovering the balance that gives your meeting its name, because only together can we face the various

moral, social, political and economic crises that we suffer and that are all interconnected," the Pope said.

(With information from Prensa Latina and ACN)