The UNESCO Chair of Intercultural and Interreligious Dialogue for Southeast Europe was established at the University of Graz in 2007, making it the oldest of its kind in Austria.
The first chair holder was Professor Bert Groen. After a successful evaluation, the chair was renewed by UNESCO for the period 2020-2024. The UNESCO Chair is now held by Univ.-Prof. DDr. Pablo Argárate at the Institute for Ecumenical Theology, Eastern Orthodoxy and Patrology (Faculty of Catholic Theology) at the University of Graz.
The Chair supports UNESCO's goal of contributing to peace and security in the world by promoting cooperation among nations through education, science, culture, and communication in order to foster universal respect for justice, the rule of law, and the human rights and fundamental freedoms that apply to all peoples of the world without distinction of race, gender, language, or religion.
The Chair is concerned with the study of commonalities and divergences among different religious traditions, especially in Southeastern Europe; it thus contributes to the peaceful coexistence of cultures and religions, especially in the region. It promotes research and teaching on intercultural, ecumenical and interreligious contacts and dialogues in Southeastern Europe within the Faculty of Theology in close cooperation with experts from other faculties of the University of Graz. The goal here is to strengthen knowledge and awareness of intercultural and interreligious issues in Southeastern Europe. The chair holder is also actively seeking cooperation with the other members of the international UNITWIN network, especially in the region, in the sense of joint efforts for interreligious dialogue and intercultural understanding.
The Chair also contributes to the existing Southeast European focus of the Faculty of Theology and the University as a whole, which sees itself as a historical hub in cooperation with this region, embedded in its specific geographical and cultural environment in Graz, a UNESCO heritage city with a strong tradition of interreligious dialogue and peace.