21 Oct Global Youth Interfaith & Intercultural Forum Qatar 2023
“Youth Peacebuilding: Interfaith Dialogue from Theory to Practice”
Doha International Center for Interfaith Dialogue (DICID) and A Common Word Among the Youth (ACWAY) are pleased to announce the “Global Youth Interfaith & Intercultural Forum, Doha 2023” (#GYIIF23).
The forum will strengthen the role of young people in promoting interfaith and intercultural harmony and amplify a global message of peaceful coexistence in the spirit of the United Nations World Interfaith Harmony Week in February 2023. The forum will include various activities and interactions related to youth and their empowerment, as well as intercultural and interfaith communication, such as workshops, trainings, and extracurricular activities.
Aims and Objectives:
The Forum will bring together 85 young people from around the world, youth-led organizations, civil society organizations, policy makers and philanthropists to share practical approaches in promoting coexistence between people of different cultures and religions.
Objectives of the Forum:
1. To bring young people together to share ideas, experiences and initiatives to promote interfaith and intercultural understanding, and provide them a platform to present their grassroots interfaith projects to peers and key stakeholders who share a vision for the coexistence of diverse cultures and communities
2. To create a platform for young people to discuss the new and emerging issues affecting them in today’s world regarding religion and civility.
3. To empower young people and provide them with skills and knowledge that will shape their personalities and prepare them as good global citizens, and improve their leadership talents
4. To provide training in dialogue, peacebuilding, and civic activism through intergenerational exchange workshops
The forum will also explore Qatar’s efforts to strengthen the role of young people in promoting interfaith and intercultural harmony and spreading a global message of peaceful coexistence.
Themes:
The forum will address topics and issues relevant to the following themes:
Theme 1:
Interfaith understanding & intercultural communication: young people’s experiences and initiatives
Theme 2:
The role of religion and religious institutions along with civil society organizations in addressing contemporary issues and challenges faced by young people
Theme 3:
Empowering young people and enhancing skills and leadership talents to enable them to be active citizens of the world
The programme will include:
– Youth project presentations
– Thematic training workshops
– Advancing the Interfaith Development Goals (IDGs)
– Developing a global interfaith campaign
– Networking opportunities & cultural activities
Expected outcomes of the Forum
1- A growing active network of young people engaged in the interfaith sector
2- A series of planned activities which the young people will deliver back in their home countries
3- Adoption of the Interfaith Development Goals by young people and partner organisations & youth recommendations to the G20IF India 2023
4- Report to the UN World Interfaith Harmony Week 2023
Forum Dates:
11-14th February 2023 in conjunction with the UN World Interfaith Harmony Week and Qatar’s National Sports Day (arrival 10th and departure 15th).
Eligibility criteria:
This forum is for young people from around the world who fit the following criteria:
1. Aged 18-35.
2. Active in the fields of interfaith/intercultural peacebuilding and/or involvement in a relevant local or international project or organization (this does not apply to those living in Qatar).
Or
Active in university campus or local youth centres on intersectional issues affecting young people (desirable)
3. Good level of English (all the programme will be in English – no translation service).
4. Able to travel to Qatar and stay throughout the program from 10th-15th February 2023 (arrival 10th and departure 15th).
5. By applying and if selected, agree to deliver at least one interfaith activity after the Forum (between March 2023 – August 2023).
Important dates:
Application closes on: 4 November 2022
Selected participants will be informed by: 22 November 2022
For more information, please contact:
Khadija Dohry
Project Manager
A Common Word Among the Youth (ACWAY)
info@acway.org
https://acway.org/
www.facebook.com/ACWAYproject
Or:
DICID:
Dr. Sekou Toure
interfaith22@teds.host
http://teds.host/?lang=en
Background on organizers:
About Doha International Center for Interfaith Dialogue (DICID)
Doha International Center for Interfaith Dialogue (DICID) is a Qatar-based institution dedicated to interfaith dialogue, intercultural cooperation, and capacity building.
The State of Qatar, represented in DICID, believes that the process of nation-building is based on cooperation and respect among the various components of society to ensure social harmony and constructive interaction among different faiths, cultures, and races both, locally and globally. Qatar thus plays a leading role in rapprochement, multiculturalism and advocacy for peace and strives to realize these values throughout the world.
Qatar is a country that stands for religious, cultural and ethnic diversity. In due course Qatar fully supported the principle of dialogue between the followers of revealed religions. As a result of that, the first interfaith conference in Doha was held in 2003 under the kind guidance of His Highness the Father Emir, Sheikh Hamad Ben Khalifa Al-Thani. Since then, an idea to held annual conference between the followers of the three monotheistic religions, namely, Islam, Christianity and Judaism, was established with the aim of creating a constructive dialogue among the followers of these religions and to bring about better understanding of principles and teachings these religions convey for benefit and servitude of all humanity.
Having established all necessary foundation within the government policy towards interfaith dialogue, Doha International Center for Interfaith Dialogue was founded in May 2007 with its Qatari board of directors and an international advisory board, including scholars from the three monotheistic religions.
The Center (DICID) since then has identified various means to achieve its goals. The most important of these are annual conferences, roundtable discussions for local communities, and training courses for youth, teachers, women, social activists, and others, both in Qatar and abroad. The center also conducts scientific research in collaboration with researchers from leading universities and research centers across the globe. To achieve its goals, DICID also promotes publications that contribute to peace-building, and dialogue, creating an environment of acceptance and shaping a balanced and moderate mindset that recognizes pluralism and works to improve coexistence. These publications can be found in ADYAN’s peer-reviewed journal “Religions,” the regular newsletter, translations, and selected papers.
In June 2010, the Amiri Decree No. 20 approved the establishment of Doha International Center for Interfaith Dialogue to support and promote the culture of interfaith dialogue, and peaceful coexistence among religious adherents, as well as the activation of religious values to solve issues and problems affecting humanity.
The decision to establish the center was warmly welcomed by religious scholars, researchers and academics interested in dialogue and cooperation among different religions, civilizations and cultures. Faith leaders and activists praised the decision, believing that the establishment of the center will contribute to the efforts to build bridges of cooperation and understanding among followers of different religions, civilizations and cultures around the world. It would help create an environment of peace and justice, and reduce existing tensions, ignorance, and infiltration of extremists who foment hatred among people. Information about DICID can be found at the following link:
http://teds.host/about_us_dicid/?lang=en
About A Common Word Among the Youth (ACWAY)
A Common Word Among the Youth (ACWAY) is a global youth movement that brings together young people from a multitude of backgrounds to increase understanding of different cultures and faiths and promote peace and coexistence by delivering local interfaith and intercultural grassroot activities. The youth movement aims to develop an international network of active young people who are committed to enhancing interfaith and intercultural dialogue such that they become agents of change in their communities.
ACWAY launched its first annual interfaith & intercultural forum in December 2015 in Rabat, Morocco in response to the growing misrepresentation and misinterpretation of different religions and cultures. The forum brought together 100 young people (18 – 35 years) from around the world, who were actively engaged in their local communities and represented different religions and cultures. The goal of the forum was to promote harmony and understanding locally, to foster coexistence between intercultural and interfaith communities around the globe.
Since the launch, ACWAY fellows have delivered over 200 interfaith/intercultural activities and projects, in 85 countries, ranging from educational seminars to peace walks, national conferences and media campaigns. ACWAY participates every year in the UN World Interfaith Harmony Week, where ACWAY fellows join the celebration by delivering local activities under one global theme. For example, in the space of four weeks, fifteen local activities were conducted in ten countries with over 1300 participants and 22 partners (www.acway.org).
ACWAY organizes international youth forums to support young people in delivering local interfaith/intercultural activities and further enhance interfaith and intercultural understanding. The movement successfully held annual forums in Rabat, Morocco (2015); Brisbane, Australia (2016); Khartoum, Sudan (2017); Baku, Azerbaijan (2019); an Online Forum (February 2021) and Bologna, Italy (September 2021).
ACWAY is the Global Youth Partner to the G20 Interfaith Forum and chairs the IF20 Youth Working Group.
To register:
If you are a young person who is passionate and active about interfaith, intercultural harmony or peacebuilding, and would like to learn from experts in the field and share your experiences, we would like to hear from you. To apply, please visit this link
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