The 2008 meeting of representatives of International Interfaith Organisations (IION) was held in India from October 4^th-7^th at the Renewal Centre, Azad Road, Kochi, Kerala, in

 

 

conjunction with the Assembly of the WORLD FELLOWSHIP OF INTER-RELIGIOUS

 

 

COUNCILS (WFIRC), which is a member of IION.

 

IION participants shared in the public and plenary sessions of WIFRC and also in prayer times. IION participants met by themselves for some of the meals and during sessions designated as workshops. Sharing in the WIFRC meeting gave IION participants the opportunity to learn about the great variety of interfaith work in many parts of India. It was also a chance to make those active in India more aware of the role of international bodies.

 

The IION meeting began with a time of introductions in which participants also talked about the work of their organisations. 

 

 

Interfaith Work at the United Nations (UN)

IION participants were grateful for and encouraged by reports of interfaith activity at the UN, which had been sent by Sister Joan Kirby (attached) and Dr Gerardo Gonzales.

 

They expressed their support for the Proposal for a Decade of Inter-religious Dialogue and Cooperation for Peace, which is already supported by several IION member organisations. It was hoped that other IION member organisations would add their support and that all IION member organisations would encourage support from their members in countries around the world.

 

It may also be helpful to indicate to governments that there is widespread support for this initiative.

 

It is important to ensure that UN member nations and NGOs are aware of the significance of the 2009 Parliament of World Religions. It was also hoped that there would be sufficient progress for this initiative for it to be highlighted at the Parliament or even for the year to be launched there.

 

The Parliament of World Religions.

 

Plans for the Parliament of World Religions, which is to be held at Melbourne, Australia, from December 3^rd-9^th, 2009, were explained to the IION group, which was encouraged

 

 and impressed by the progress already made.

 

IION member organisations were urged to encourage awareness of and attendance at this important event. They could arrange a pre-Parliament event and try to ensure that local interfaith groups feel involved, even if no one from them can actually attend. Considerable attention is being paid by CPWR to ensuring wide reporting of the event and multi-media access. It was hoped that IION member organisations might sponsor and pay for some young people and others who would not be able to pay for themselves. The Parliament aims to be as widely representative as possible.

 

It was hoped that CPWR would ensure that on-going interfaith activity and organizations in different parts of the world is highlighted at the Parliament and that there would be ways of showing that the various interfaith organisations are working in partnership.

 

There was discussion of how this might best be achieved.

It is hoped that all IION member organisations will arrange programmes and could involve people from other IION organisations in their programmes. . 

 

It was suggested that a page in the programme could highlight IION and its member organisations – making clear that joining these on-going interfaith organisations are a way of continuing the achievements of the Parliament. It was hoped a way could be found to put people in touch with local interfaith activities on their return home.

 

It was suggested that in the exhibition area, the stands of the various IION organisations could be placed together.

 

 

Future IION meetings.

 

No future meeting was planned, although there will be opportunities to reconnect at Melbourne. It may be possible to arrange a get-together during one of the early evening Open Space Times. 

 

The International Association for Religious Freedom (IARF) will be holding its next Congress in 2010 and would welcome participants from other interfaith organisations.

It was suggested that, with the help the Interfaith Youth Core, participation of young people at future meetings should be encouraged.

 

The group discussed the rapidly changing landscape of interfaith relations. Some IION member organisations are already working closely together – for example in New York – and may not need an additional meeting. There are also several new interfaith bodies, such as the Blair Foundation and initiatives of several countries in the Middle East. It may be that new structures are required. It was hoped that IION member organisations would give some thought to this. It was also recognised that the International Interfaith Centre (IIC) at Oxford has very limited resources and no longer has an office or a paid director. The work is now being carried on by IIC Trustees and Patrons.

 

Ways by which new technology can close the communications gap between face-to-face meetings was discussed.

 

 

 

 

IION Leaflet

 

A new up to date leaflet giving details of IION member organisations was distributed. Thanks were expressed to Sandy Bharat and Celia Storey for their work on this. Member organisations are encouraged to produce copies to give to Board members.

 

www.interfaithorganisations.net

 

Following last years IION meeting, IIC has set up an additional website. This is intended to keep IION member organizations up to date with each other’s activities and to make them known to a wider public. The website now carries quite a lot of news of current interfaith activities, but it will become far more useful if more IION member organizations use the facility to add news directly to the website. 

 

Thanks

IION participants were most grateful for the warm welcome and hospitality, which they received from WFIRC and wish to record thanks to all the members of WFIRC and especially to Fr Albert Nambiapambil.

Thanks were expressed to Charanjit Ajit Singh for chairing the meeting. Thanks were also expressed to URI and to the Kochi Brahma Kumaris Centre for each hosting a lunch for the IION group.

 

 

 

 

Attendance

William Lesher, Chair of the Council for the Parliament of World Religions

 Bettina Gray, Chair of the North American Interfaith Network

Charanjit Ajit Singh, Chair of the International Interfaith Centre

Ajit Singh, World Congress of Faiths Committee member

Mr Thomas Matthew, President of the International Association for Religious Freedom

Mr Subriamanium, President IARF India Chapter,

Dr Asok Alex Philip  Kerala  IARF

Professor Jyothiraj, Kerala IARF

Fr Albert Nambiaparambil, WFIRC,

Professor Meher Master-Moos, WFIRC,

Justice P K Shamsuddin, WFIRC

 

Dr Abraham Karickam, URI Co-ordinator and Global Staff Member,

Sister  Gopi Elton, BK, World Congress of Faiths

Atreyee Day, IIC staff member and secretary for the meeting,

Marcus Braybrooke, International Interfaith Centre and World Congress of Faiths.

Vivek Coutinho of the Focolare Movement attended as a guest.

(Not all of the above were present for all sessions)

Apologies were received from the Temple of Understanding, The Elijah Institute, the Three Faiths Forum, Minorities of Europe, Interfaith Youth Core, International Movement for a Just World, the Peace Council and Religions for Peace

 

Marcus Braybrooke                                                            15.10.08

REPORT FOR IION ON INTERFAITH ACTIVITY AT THE UN

JOAN KIRBY – TEMPLE OF UNDERSTANDING

 

My report is written during the week of the opening of the General Assembly and I am pleased to report that Interfaith Dialogue has gained support again among significant members of the UN.  Last November I described what I called a sea change at the UN regarding Interreligious Dialogue. This year interest in religious collaboration to achieve UN goals and cooperation for peace is the hope and expectation.

Following the meeting of IION in November, 2007 where John Taylor introduced the Proposal for a Decade of Interreligious Dialogue and Cooperation for Peace, a group of Member States Ambassadors, representatives of more than 40 religious Institutions and of the major Interfaith Organizations met in January, 2008 at Bossey in Geneva to determine whether they could support the proposal. The expectations in the original text were altered and a revised edition gained support from the entire group.  A provisional Steering Committee with Stein Villumstad as interim Chair was established to test the interest in this proposal among a significant number of Member States at the UN General Assembly.

The Religious NGOs at the United Nations Headquarters in New York have pursued the possibility of having this Proposal introduced during the 2008-09 meetings of the General Assembly.   Stein Villumstad, Interim Chair of the Steering Committee, Chris Ferguson, UN Liaison for WCC, Monica Willard, URI Representative to the UN and Joan Kirby, Temple of Understanding representative to the UN are the New York members of the Provisional Steering committee established in Geneva.  The task of the New Yorkers is to visit Member States to gain support and to find an appropriate Member State willing to introduce the Resolution.

During the spring and summer the support of many states was solicited.  We have been able to open the dialogue and have found strong support for the core purpose of the Proposal – to assure collaboration of religious institutions throughout the world to help achieve the goals of the UN, notably Human Rights and the Millennium Development Goals. We began with the European Union since we had word of a Concept Paper that opposes the Decade. As we visited EU States we found that the main resistance is to a proliferation of Decades rather than opposition to Interreligious Dialogue.   Subsequent visits gained friends who promised to support but did not offer to sponsor the Resolution until we met with Senegal.  After months of waiting it was during the opening days of the General Assembly that Stein Villumstad secured a meeting with President Wade who promised that Senegal will table the resolution.  This is a major step that will be pursued during the months to come.

The opening of the General Assembly sets the agenda for the coming year.  Secretary General Ban Ki Moon and President of the GA, Miguel d”Escoto of Nicaragua both emphasized the importance of achieving the Millennium Development Goals as a primary objective. Perhaps this is the reason that Member States are interested in the proposal coming from the RNGOS at the UN.                          .                                                                                                          29.9.08

 

 

International Interfaith Organizations Network – IION

Annual Conference 2008

 

Report from the Project “Towards the creation of a spiritual forum for world peace at the United Nations”

 

By Dr. Gerardo Gonzalez, Project Director

30 August 2008

 

The Project “Towards the creation of a spiritual forum for world peace at the United Nations”, launched in 1998, redefined in 2006 its main strategic objectives as: to have the United Nations declaring 2011-2020  “Decade of Interreligious Dialogue and Cooperation for Peace” and creating in that framework an “interfaith forum/network” to facilitate the implementation of the DECADE. 

 

The Partnership Committee –the project’s steering body— successfully organized in January 2008 a Consultation on a draft proposal for such a decade, which was hosted by the WCC and CONGO at the Bossey Ecumenical Institute, near Geneva.  The main outcomes of that consultation have been the launching of the “Initiative for a UN Decade of Interreligious Dialogue and Cooperation for Peace” based on a consensual proposal (see ANNEX below), the initiation of a Coalition-in-formation of faith-based organizations in support of this initiative, which includes main global ecumenical and interfaith organizations, and the establishment of a Provisional Steering Committee for guiding this process.

 

At present the idea of establishing an “interfaith forum/network” remains as one possible institutional model for a “non-governmental arrangement” which would be set up by the Coalition if and when the proposed DECADE is adopted by the UN General Assembly. 

 

Since all members of the Partnership Committee are actively involved in the DECADE initiative and the strategic objectives of the project have been partially achieved, the Partnership Committee has decided to declare the Project in state of ”vigilant hibernation”, while continuing to work together with other partner organizations for the DECADE initiative.

 

1. On the Bossey Consultation

 

The “Consultation on a Proposal for a DECADE of Interreligious Dialogue and Cooperation for Peace” took place on 8-11 January 2008 at the WCC’s Ecumenical Institute, Chateau de Bossey, Céligny, near Geneva, Switzerland. The Consultation was convened by Dr. Gerardo Gonzalez and hosted by the World Council of Churches and by the Conference of NGOs in Consultative Relationship with the United Nations (CONGO). Reverend Dr. Samuel Kobia, Secretary General, WCC, and Ms. Renate Bloem, former President, CONGO, were the key speakers at the opening session.

 

Participants: It gathers 46 people, including representatives of international interfaith organizations; representatives from diverse religious traditions, able to bring the views and sensitivities of their own faith communities; representatives of some Member States committed to the cause of interreligious dialogue and cooperation for peace; and advisers from pertinent UN agencies and programs.  Several organizations associated to IION were represented by top executive officers, such as Dirk Ficca (CPWR), Charles Gibbs (URI),  Stein Villumstad (WCRP), John Taylor (IARF) and Sister Joan Kirby (Temple of Understanding).

Outcomes:  The main achievement of the Bossey Consultation was the launching of the “Initiative for a UN Decade of Interreligious Dialogue and Cooperation for Peace”, which implied moving from an idealistic vision promoted by a group of volunteers (Partnership Committee) to a proposal supported by an emergent Coalition-in-formation of faith-based organizations represented most of them in a Provisional Steering Committee. So, at present there are:

 

(i)                 A consensual draft proposal,  which describes the main features of the proposed DECADE and  outlines the steps which should be followed in order to have eventually the UN General Assembly declaring 2011-2020 “UN Decade of Interreligious Dialogue and Cooperation for Peace”. A short version of that document is in Annex II.

(ii)               A Provisional Steering Committee, integrated by 16 members, which is chaired by Stein Villumstad, Deputy Secretary-General of WCRP, based in New York, with Trevor Davies, Chair of the CONGO’s Committee on Spirituality, Values and Global Concerns (CSVGC-Geneva), based in Geneva, as Deputy-Chairperson.

(iii)             A Coalition-in-formation, with a growing number of supporting organizations (30 in August 2008), which includes several IION member organizations (CPWR, IARF, MoE, ToU, URI and WCF)

 

1. Current challenges posed by the DECADE Initiative

 

The Provisional Steering Committee together with Gerardo Gonzalez, the Coordinator, have being working in three main fields:

·        Getting support from a growing number of faith-based organizations and communities which want to join the Coalition and participate in the implementation of the DECADE.

·        Getting support from religious/spiritual leaders and other pertinent outstanding. personalities who are willing to become members of an Honorary Committee in support of the DECADE initiative.

·        Getting political support from UN member states in order to have the proposal for the DECADE discussed by the UN General Assembly and hopefully endorsed through a resolution.  This activity is being carried out by members of the PSC both in New York and Geneva.  

 

*******************************************************************************

ANNEX

 

[1]Proposal for a

 

UNITED NATIONS DECADE

OF INTERRELIGIOUS DIALOGUE AND COOPERATION

FOR PEACE

 

Advancing the Culture of Peace through dialogue and cooperation among individuals and communities of diverse religions and beliefs

 

Short version

 

The UN Decade of Interreligious Dialogue and Cooperation for Peace 2011-2020 (or DECADE) is aimed at promoting partnership between UN Member States, UN Agencies, Religious and Spiritual Communities and Civil Society Organizations to advance the culture of peace.

 

The DECADE provides a framework to:

 

1.         Encourage Member States publicly and constructively to engage individuals and communities of diverse religions and beliefs for the common good;

 

2.         Strengthen and deepen the cooperation of individuals and communities of diverse religions and beliefs, locally, nationally, regionally and internationally for building a sustainable world of justice and peace;

 

3.         Encourage individuals and communities of diverse religions and beliefs to cooperate on UN initiatives  such as: Enhancement of Human Rights (including the rights of women, children and youth, refugees and migrants as well as gender equity), Millennium Development Goals, decent work for all, dialogue among civilizations, promoting a culture of peace and nonviolence, peacebuilding and shared security.

 

4.              Promote mutual respect and trust between individuals and communities of diverse religions and beliefs through dialogue and shared action.

 

A.            Propitious Times for a Decade of Interreligious Dialogue and Cooperation for Peace

 

There is a growing recognition of the role played by individuals and communities of diverse religions and beliefs in all societies. Sadly, many situations of injustice and conflict have religious or ideological origins and dimensions. At the same time, there is also a sense of hope that comes from the development of a number of religious and interreligious initiatives committed to peace building.

 

The proposed DECADE will build on the International Decade for a Culture of Peace and Non-violence for the Children of the World, 2001-2010.

 

Within the UN the role of interreligious dialogue and cooperation for peace has been clearly expressed in recent resolutions of its General Assembly which promote “interreligious dialogue” as well as “religious and cultural understanding, harmony and cooperation.”  It is worth noting that these resolutions bring “interfaith dialogue and cooperation” into the wider field of “mutually inclusive and reinforcing initiatives on inter-religious, inter-cultural and inter-civilization dialogue and cooperation for peace,” with explicit reference to the “Alliance of Civilizations”. In December 2007, the General Assembly decided “to declare 2010 as the International Year for Rapprochement of Cultures” and recommended that “during the course of the year appropriate events be organized on interreligious and intercultural dialogue, understanding and cooperation for peace.”

 

The chance to build on these UN decisions, in conjunction with mobilizing the immense spiritual, human and organizational resources of the religious communities, spiritual traditions, interfaith organizations and value-based movements, makes this the opportune time to call for a United Nations Decade of Interreligious Dialogue and Cooperation for Peace.    

 

B.        Main features of the proposed DECADE

 

1.   Actors

 

      United Nations The primary political and programmatic responsibility for sponsorship and implementation of the DECADE will lie with UN Member States and pertinent UN agencies. 

 

      Coalition Given the unique focus of the DECADE, religious communities, interfaith and values-based organizations will be given key responsibilities in a participatory approach to implementation, interlinked through an appropriate non-governmental arrangement established by a coalition of these supporting entities. 

 

 

2.      Expected Functions

 

      The UN Decade of Interreligious Dialogue and Cooperation for Peace would have the following key tasks: 

 

 

·         Increase dialogue between people and communities of diverse religions and beliefs, and by seeking commonalities and respecting differences, promote mutual understanding and trust;

 

·         Enhance communication and partnership between religious and political leaders at every level around issues dealing with peace;

 

·         Identify the root causes of violence in multireligious societies, in order to promote non-violent conflict resolution, justice, tolerance, gender equality and elimination of all forms of  religiously and ideologically related injustice, violence and discrimination, leading towards harmonious  coexistence between people and communities of diverse religions and beliefs;

 

·         Identify, deepen and share the application of sacred texts, teachings –for example, the Golden Rule- and practices that promote mutual respect, cooperation, peace, justice, healing and reconciliation.

 

·         Design and develop joint programs, projects and activities with people and communities of diverse religions and value-based organizations, working as partners in the pursuit of pertinent United Nations goals;

·         Proactively include women, youth and children in every aspect of the planning and implementation of programs, projects and activities;

 

·         Build partnerships between people and communities of diverse religions and value-based organizations, and other civil society organizations, government agencies and social actors from the private sector, in the pursuit of those United Nations goals at global, national and local levels;

 

·         Establish and strengthen relationships of cooperation with the bodies and specialized agencies within the UN system which are responsible for social, cultural, political, economic and environmental concerns.

 

·         Promote right relations within the human family and with the Earth community.

 

 

3.           UN Lead Agency

 

The UN General Assembly will designate an appropriate entity of its system to serve as             Lead Agency for the Decade, as well as other agencies and entities that could             cooperate in its implementation.

 

A “Plan of Action” proposed by the UN Secretary General at the launching of the DECADE will  be prepared by the Lead Agency, in consultation with the appropriate state, UN and civil society actors during the two previous years. The Millennium Development Goals, Human Rights, Culture of Peace, Dialogue among Civilizations, climate change, peacebuilding and shared security appear to be the main pertinent themes in the current agenda of the United Nations to be considered in a plan of action for the DECADE.

 

It should be borne in mind that there are a large number of relevant programs and activities already being undertaken by religious and interfaith organizations around the world in the field of interreligious dialogue and cooperation for peace.  Consequently, a Plan of Action should benefit from that experience, while adopting a flexible approach which would allow a high degree of initiative and participation by the partner organizations during the implementation of the DECADE.

 

4.   Time Frame

 

      The DECADE would cover the period 2011-2020, launched on the 21^st of September  2010, the International Day of Peace, which would then be an annual occasion to promote the Decade’s objectives, assess the progress made, and strengthen interreligious partnership and commitment. The launch date of the Decade would also correspond with the UN International Year of Rapprochement of Cultures.

 

Given this proposed launch date, there will be sufficient time to prepare and promote a final proposal and to get political support from member states to present the corresponding project of resolution on the Decade to the General Assembly in its 63^rd session (September 2008), in order to be adopted by the General Assembly in its 64^th session (autumn 2009).  During this preparatory phase the Coalition of supporting organizations will be constituted and an appropriate non-governmental arrangement will be designed and put in place to insure the effective mobilizing of individuals and communities of diverse religions and value-based organizations for their participation in the Decade.

 

 

 

 

 

Annex I

Participants at the Bossey Consultation

 

The following entities attended the Bossey Consultation – held at the Bossey Ecumenical Institute, Geneva, Switzerland, on 8-11 January 2008 – to consider a proposal in support of a UN Decade for Interreligious Dialogue and Cooperation. This draft proposal is endorsed only by those representing interfaith and faith-based organizations:

 

Host Organizations

The World Council of Churches (WCC) and the Conference of NGOs in Consultative Relationship with the United Nations (CONGO)

 

Member States

Chile, Italy, Kazakhstan, Philippines, Romania and Russian Federation.

 

United Nations agencies and departments

DESA – Department for Economic and Social Affairs, United Nations Secretariat; ILO – International Labor Office; OHCHR – Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights;
UNDP – United Nations Development Fund, and UNHCR – United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

Interfaith organizations

Committee of Religious NGOs at the United Nations; CONGO’s Committee on Spirituality, Values and Global Concerns (Geneva) – CSVGC; The Council for the Parliament of World’s Religions – CPWR; Interfaith International; Interfaith Encounter Association – IEA; International Association for Religious Freedom – IARF; Minorities of Europe;  The Temple of Understanding;  United Religions Initiative – URI; World Conference on Religions for Peace – WCRP.

 

Faith based communities and organizations

 

Armenian Orthodox Church;  Baha’i International Community; FOCOLARI Movement (Roman Catholic); Rissho Kosei-kai (Buddhist); Lama Gangchen World Peace Foundation; Lutheran World Federation;  Orthodox Centre of the Ecumenical Patriarchate;  Royal Institute for Interfaith Studies (Jordan);  Saint Egidio Community (Roman Catholic); Sikh Dharma International; Spiritual Appeal Group of Geneva; Spiritual University Brama Kumaris; Union of Superiors General of Men (USG) and Woman (UISG) Religious of the Roman Catholic Church; World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC); World Council of Arya Samaj; The World Islamic League; World Vision International; Women’s World Summit Foundation (WWSF)

 

Annex II

Provisional Steering Committee for the DECADE

 

The representatives from interfaith and faith-based organizations and communities present at the Bossey Consultation designated some of them as “Provisional Steering Committee” which will oversee the process aimed at having the proposed DECADE eventually adopted by the UN General Assembly. This committee is being chaired by Stein Villumstad (WCRP), based in New York, having Trevor Davies, Chair of the CONGO’s Committee on Spirituality, Values and Global Concerns (CSVGC-Geneva), based in Geneva, as Deputy-Chairperson.

 

As soon as the Coalition will be formally established, their partner organizations will be requested to either ratify the Provisional Steering Committee (which would cease to be “provisional”) or designate a new one.

 

 

For more information on this initiative or for expressing your support, please contact the Coordinator, Dr. Gerardo Gonzalez, e-mail:  decade@vtr.net

 

 

 

 

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