(Belgium, Brussels) Prof. Azza Karam [Secretary General Elect, Religions for Peace] spoke on a panel on religion and foreign policy – comparing experiences from the United Nations, the European Union and the United States. In her remarks, Prof. Azza Karam urged all to consider the need for great humility for all involved in work at the crossroads of religion and society, because they are working with peoples’ faith: something deeply personal and politically flammable.
Prof. Karam recalls beginning her work in 2000 with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the UN Inter-Agency Task Force on Engaging Faith-Based Actors for Sustainable Development/UN Task Force on Religion and Development. In 2000, Prof. Karam says that “religion was feared.” She says that multi-lateral organizations need to play the role of identify religious structures that are flourishing and that empower people in development contexts. It is not the role of multi-laterals to empower or create in these contexts, but rather to listen and learn. We invite you to listen to her complete comments here.
On September 6th, Ms Federica Mogherini announced a new EU-sponsored ‘Global Exchange on Religion in Society’, which should be operational in the first half of 2020: the goal is to connect and empower civil society actors who are working on faith and social inclusion. Are you one of them? Here is how to be part of it.
The ‘Global Exchange on Religion in Society’ will connect civil society practitioners inside and outside Europe, allowing them to learn from each other, explore partnerships, acquire new skills, and to scale-up positive experiences of coexistence among people of different faiths in pluralistic societies. Launching the initiative, Federica Mogherini explained: “It is a kind of Erasmus for civil society actors and activists who are working on faith and social inclusion.”
The Global Exchange will be financed by the European Union through the Partnership Instrument. It will be entrusted to an organisation through an open call for tenders. Interested organisations can participate in the open call by applying as indicated here.
The ‘Global Exchange on Religion in Society’ will be open to civil society practitioners of diverse backgrounds (including faith-based actors), who are already working on issues at the intersection of faith and social inclusion. Participants will be selected because of their expertise, not because of their faith or denomination.
Are you interested in applying? Stay in touch by sending an email to this address: religion-in-society@eeas.europa.eu(link sends e-mail)
How will the Global Exchange work?
The future exchange will bring together groups of 20 to 25 people working on the same issues: they will travel to a place with special relevance to the issue at stake, visit local NGOs and institutions, and in the meantime, share their own experience and learn from other participants. They will also take part in workshops to learn specific skills, such as project design or social media campaigning. After the end of each physical exchange, a virtual follow-up will be foreseen.
On 6 September 2019, a diverse crowd of 150 representatives of civil society, governments and religious institutions gathered in Brussels for the launch of the initiative. Participants discussed different experiences of religious engagement from across the world, to better understand how the new Global Exchange can complement and interact with existing initiatives.
In her opening speech, Federica Mogherini said: “Religion has to be part of the solution. But most importantly, I believe in so many places around the world religion is already part of the solution. In all continents, there are people of faith who have chosen the path of respect and coexistence. Not in spite of their faith, but because of their faith.” Read the full speech here.
Watch the full conference on YouTube:
A first, small scale version of the exchange was carried out by a British NGO, the Lokahi Foundation, with support from the European Union. Here are the stories of four participants in the pilot phase.