José Martí does not have all the answers to the challenges of contemporary times, but in his thinking and in his implementation there are important keys: he is an ethical reference and an intellectual guide.

From January 24-28, on the occasion of the 170th anniversary of the birth of the Cuban National Hero, the V International Conference for the Balance of the World will take place in Havana, summoned by the World Council of the José Martí International Solidarity Project.

It's a forum for plural and multidisciplinary thought that seeks to sensitize world public opinion to create awareness against the evils that today afflict Humanity and jeopardize the very existence of our species.

Through mastery lectures, special interventions, commissions, panels, workshops, a youth space and other forms of reflection, several contemporary subjects will be addressed, taking as a reference the thought and social projection of Marti.

The agenda comprises several thematic points: Experiences derived from the COVID-19 pandemic, dialogue and cultural diversity, the role and challenges of social movements, the fight for peace and nuclear disarmament and the problem of water in all its characteristics.

Also the risks and hopes of new information technologies (ICT), the responsibilities of journalism in the present situation, the ecosystem and its defense, cultural policies and national identity, arts and letters and particularly poetry in training of a spirituality and a culture of resistance.

Other debates will focus on multilateralism as an crucial mechanism for global balance, integration as a need to meet the challenges of contemporary world, sustainable development, and social equity, education and human rights in the 21st century.

Spaces will be provided to address the fight against all forms of discrimination, gender equality in its true and real expression, religious diversity, ecumenism and spirituality, the issue of drug use and drug trafficking and the fight against terrorism in all its forms, including State terrorism.

It's committed to the building of a participatory and effective democracy, based on the contributions of Latin American thought, -from Simón Bolívar and José Martí- to the most relevant contemporary thinkers.

Translated by Amilkal Labañino / CubaSí Translation Staff