The Parliamentary Conference on Interfaith Dialogue, Organised by Religions for Peace and Partners
From 13-15 June, 2023, the Parliamentary Conference on Interfaith Dialogue, was hosted by Religions for Peace, the Inter-Parliamentary Union, and the Kingdom of Morocco, with support from the United Nations Alliance of Civilisations and the Mohammadia League of Religious Scholars, under the theme of working together for our common future. During the Inauguration Ceremony, Sister Agatha Chikelue, Chair of the Religions for Peace International Women’s Coordinating Committee, spoke about how “one of the major works of parliaments is to make laws and policies for the state, but if there are no proper synergies between the parliament and religions, there may not be a lot achieved.” She went on to say this is why this conference and “dialogue on common action is so important.”
Sister Agatha spoke alongside the President of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, Mr. Duarte Pacheco; Secretary General of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, Martin Chungong; Speaker of the Moroccan Parliament; Founder & CEO of the Afghan Youth Ambassador for Peace Organization and 2023 Young Leader for the SDGs of Office of the UN Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth – Afghanistan, Ms. Heela Yoon; and Global Peacebuilding Officer of Tearfund, Ildephonse Niyokindi.
The first panel of the first day focused on working together for the promotion of the rule of law and good practices and challenges, featuring Dr. Thomas Schirrmacher, Co-President of Religions for Peace-Germany and Secretary General of the World Evangelical Alliance. During the second panel on promoting regional and global peace through intra-faith dialogue, we heard from Ms. Ligia Matamoros, Member of the Religions for Peace International Youth Committee and Latin American Youth Pastor at Latin American Catholic Episcopal Council, who stressed the importance of youth involvement and said, “If we don’t want to get lost in a sea of empty words about the changes that need to be made, we must include the youth at the table where decisions are made. They are not just the future, they are the present. If we want new answers, to find new paths, we must give young people the space to participate.”
During day two of the conference, the Mr. Elias Szczytnicki, Secretary General and Regional Director of Religions for Peace Latin America and the Caribbean, moderated the panel focused on how can parliamentarians cooperate with religious communities and faith-based organisations to mobilise society for greater moderation, solidarity and inclusion.
During the panel discussion on different mandates, common goals: religious actors and parliamentarians as allies for promoting gender equality and youth participation, Ms. Lyka Mtambo, Member of the Religions for Peace International Youth Committee and Youth Representative of the Public Affairs Committee of Malawi, spoke alongside Ms. Khaddouj Slassi, Member of the Parliament of Morocco; Ms. Sabina Ćudić, International Parliamentary Platform for Freedom of Religion and Belief – IPPFoRB and Member of Parliament; Mr. Martin Chungong, Secretary General of the Inter-Parliamentary Union and Chairman of the Global Board of International Gender Champions; and Fr. Youkhana Emanuel, Representative of the World Council of Churches and Director of CAPNI. This panel was moderated by Ambassador Marie-Thérèse Pictet-Althann, Honorary President of Religions for Peace and Order of Malta Permanent Observer to the United Nations.
Ms. Deepika Singh, Associate Secretary General & Director of Programmes for Religions for Peace, moderated the panel on Legislators and religious leaders as bridge builders: Promoting rights and fundamental freedoms for more just and cohesive societies.
