The "High Representative for the Alliance of Civilizations" is the title of the primary leadership position of UNAOC, who functions as a political facilitator and lead spokesperson, and consults directly with the United Nations Secretary-General.

The heightened instability of coexistence between these groups of people with divergent backgrounds has led to exploitation by alleged extremists throughout the world: the severest form of this being outrageous acts of violence.

In this way, and by the attempt to quell "extremism", a comprehensive coalition can be established to work toward peaceful coexistence between diverse groups around the world, and thereby support international stability.

The Alliance of Civilizations initiative was proposed by the Spanish Prime Minister, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, at the 59th General Assembly of the United Nations in 2005.

To fulfill the objective of the initiative, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan assembled a High-Level Group (HLG) consisting of 20 eminent persons drawn from policy making, academia, civil society, religious leadership, and the media.

[4] Among the members were former Iranian President Mohammad Khatami, who proposed the Dialogue Among Civilizations initiative, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, South African Nobel laureate, Prof. Pan Guang, who obtained the Saint Petersburg-300 Medal for Contribution to China-Russia Relations, and Arthur Schneier, who is the founder and president of the “Appeal of Conscience Foundation” and who gained the "Presidential Citizens Medal”.

[7] Traditional and new media play a crucial role in influencing public perception, narratives, and attitudes and therefore hold the potential to bridge cultural divides.

Through its education programmes, UNAOC enables citizens to acquire intercultural competencies and critical thinking skills to help foster cross-cultural dialogue and overcome cultural stereotypes and intolerance.

Since then, it has organized nine Global Forums, including in Istanbul, Turkey (2009); Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (2010); Doha, Qatar (2011); Vienna, Austria (2013); Bali, Indonesia (2014); Baku, Azerbaijan (2016);[9] United Nations Headquarters in New York (2018); and Fez, Morocco (2022).

In 2018, UNAOC convened its 8th Global Forum in the United Nations Headquarters in New York City, USA, under the theme "#Commit2Dialogue: Partnerships for Prevention and Sustaining Peace".

The gathering emphasized the role and impact of government and religious leaders, civil society, businesses as well as of the UNAOC programmatic focus areas of Education, Youth, Media and Migration in promoting inclusivity and preventing violent extremism.

Over 2,000 participants, including political and corporate leaders, civil society activists, youth groups, faith communities, research centers, foundations and journalists, came together to agree on joint actions to improve relations across cultures, combat prejudice and build lasting peace.

The results presented the commitments of all participants to the existing initiatives, as well as new ones, such as the inauguration of the first two Dialogue Cafés, which uses video conferencing technology to connect young people in different parts of the world; the first conference of the Global Youth Movement; the creation of the United Nations University International Institute for the Alliance of Civilizations; and launching of the Online Community on Migration and Integration in partnership with the International Organization for Migration.

over 50 ministers, as well as policymakers, foundations, media and grassroots leaders from around the world—convened at the Çırağan Palace Hotel in Istanbul, Turkey, to forge new partnerships, generated ideas aimed at building trust and cooperation among diverse communities and advance the Civilizations' goals.

The Forum also served as an opportunity to take stock of initiatives developed by the Alliance, to showcase practical projects in collaboration with civil society and corporate partners and to launch new programs.

[14] The forum was hosted by the monarchy of Spain, and it convened leaders, activists, scholars, and public figures from every region of the world in an effort to find new ways to bridge the growing divide between nations and cultures, and to establish new partnerships to promote global understanding.

Among the results were the announcement of a number of initiatives concerning media, educational and other programmes to advance AoC objectives in various countries, and the signing of Memoranda of Understanding with UNESCO, the League of Arab States, ISESCO, the Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (ALECSO), and United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG), and a Letter of Intent with the Council of Europe.

[15] In 2007 the Alliance was presented with the "Dialogue of Civilizations" award, which was given by the Rumi Forum and the Georgetown University Center for Peace and Security Research in Washington.

[17] In a UN General Assembly discussion on resolutions of the UN Alliance of Civilizations on the Culture of Peace, India asked the United Nations to recognise violence against religious minorities such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism.