A/62/280 liberty are also frequently infringed, as evidenced by numerous cases of killings or arbitrary detention for reasons of religion or belief. 31. The Special Rapporteur recommended that States should devise proactive strategies in order to prevent such violations. Education could serve as an essential tool in creating a genuine human rights culture in society. Schools can be a suitable place for learning about peace, understanding and tolerance among individuals, groups and nations in order to develop respect for pluralism. In addition, interreligious and intra-religious dialogue is vital for the prevention of conflicts. Such a dialogue should not only include religious leaders but could also involve initiatives at the grass-roots level. Teachers, children and students could benefit from voluntary opportunities for meetings and exchanges with their counterparts of different religions or beliefs, either in their home country or abroad. D. Participation in conferences and meetings 32. Another pillar of the mandate is participation in conferences and meetings since these provide an opportunity to interact directly with governmental, intergovernmental and non-governmental representatives as well as academics active in the field of freedom of religion or belief. On 24 August 2006, the Special Rapporteur participated in and spoke at the inauguration of the Centre for Studies of Holocaust and Religious Minorities in Oslo. 33. As the Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and Discrimination Based on Religion and Belief (1981 Declaration) was adopted on 25 November 1981, the Special Rapporteur repeatedly encouraged Governments and non-governmental organizations to take advantage of the twenty-fifth anniversary to organize events to highlight the importance of promoting freedom of religion or belief and challenge rising trends of religious intolerance. In this regard, the Special Rapporteur delivered keynote addresses in Washington, D.C., United States of America, on 30 October 2006 and in Prague on 25 November 2006. More than 50 Governments were represented at the international commemoration in Prague, which was organized as a conference with workshops. About 300 representatives of Governments, non-governmental organizations, religions and beliefs as well as international and national experts and academics attended this conference. A video archive of the webcast is available online (www.1981Declaration.org) and the speeches as well as workshop presentations have been published in an international journal. 8 34. In March 2007, the Special Rapporteur was a panellist at several parallel events at the fourth session of the Human Rights Council. These included panel discussions on “Religious intolerance and the protection of human rights in the twenty-first century” and on “Anti-vilification laws and their chilling effect on religious expression”. Furthermore, the Special Rapporteur continued the tradition of holding a briefing on the mandate for non-governmental organizations active in the field of freedom of religion or belief. 35. On 24 May 2007, the Special Rapporteur participated in the High-level Symposium on the Alliance of Civilizations Report in Auckland, New Zealand. The symposium brought together a group of leaders, community representatives and __________________ 8 07-48490 See Religion and Human Rights, vol. 2, No. 2-3 (2007). 11