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Religions for Peace International Hosts First Multi-Religious Peace Roundtable, in Tokyo, Japan

Religions for Peace International Hosts First Multi-Religious Peace Roundtable, in Tokyo, Japan

Beyond War and Toward Reconciliation: Convening Multi-Religious Peace Roundtables

19 September 2022 | New York, New York: Religions for Peace International, the Asian Conference on Religions and Peace, and Religions for Peace–Japan will be hosting the first of a series of Peace Roundtables in Tokyo, Japan, from 21-23 September.

Religions for Peace, as the world’s oldest and largest multi-religious movement, has decades of experience in facilitating mediation efforts, general interreligious dialogue, as well multi-religious critical service provision, through its Interreligious Councils and its member faith leaders., Religions for Peace faith leaders work not only with one another across the 90+ countries, but also with secular civil society organisations, and with governmental and intergovernmental entities.

In line with its legacy, Religions for Peace hosted the first global conference on “Faith and Diplomacy: Generations in Dialogue” (with the support of the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs) in a hybrid format, in October 2021. That conference provides the format of these Peace Roundtables: multi-religious leaders, multi stakeholder and intergenerational – all in dialogue. “Multi-Religious dynamics are often ignored in most peacemaking discussions, yet we believe these to be critical opportunities for peace makers and reconciliation efforts” says Prof. Azza Karam, Religions for Peace Secretary General (and the first woman elected as Secretary General in the organisation’s 50+ year history). Hon. Ichiro Aisawa, Secretary General of Religions for Peace Parliamentary Support Group, stresses that “the diplomacy of the Japanese government recognises that the collaboration with religious leaders will play a pivotal role in peacebuilding”. Hon Katusya Okada, Co-Chair of Religions for Peace’s Parliamentary Support Group, also notes that “multireligious and multi sectoral dialogue and cooperation, between religious leaders and secular policy makers plays a crucial role, particularly in post conflict reconciliation efforts”.

The objectives of the Peace Roundtables are:

to highlight the roles of multi-religious leaders working in war-torn and humanitarian contexts, seeking to understand how diverse religious platforms already work in ongoing reconciliation efforts;
to assess what the needs of different religious leaders are in a post-war context; and
to share how multi-religious humanitarian efforts contribute to reconciliation and rebuilding of societies.

The dialogues will compare and contrast how religious leaders are both affected by, and perhaps impacting, conflict. Experiences from Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Myanmar, Russia, South Sudan, Syria and Ukraine, will be shared. These will be complemented by experiences of humanitarian work supported by the Multi-Religious Humanitarian Fund, from Afghanistan, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of Congo/DRC, Thailand, and also from Ukraine.

The welcoming address will be made by the Most. Rev. Nichiko Niwano, President of Religions for Peace-Japan. Opening remarks will be from Religions for Peace International’s Co-Moderators: H.E. Prof Shaykh Abdullah Bin Bayyah (President of Abu Dhabi Forum for Peace), H.E. Elder Metropolitan Emmanuel Adamakis (Primate of the Geron Metropolis of Chalcedon), Dr. Kezevino Aram (Director of the Shanti Ashram). Opening remarks will also be made by Hon. Katsuya Okada, Former Minister of Foreign Affairs and Co-President of WCRP (World Conference of Religions for Peace) Support Parliamentary Group, and Bhai Sahib Mohinder Singh, Chairman of Guru Nanak Nishkam Sewak Jatha, and Co-President of Religions for Peace. Professor Azza Karam will moderate.

The Opening Ceremony will take place on 21 September at 10:00. The Closing Ceremony will take place on 23 September at 14:30. The Press Conference will take place on 23 September at 16:30.

Contacts:

Religions for Peace, International: Ms. Sohaa Khan: skhan@rfp.org