Students participating in a World Interfaith Harmony Week quiz contest in India in 2011.
URI (United Religions Initiative) has issued an updated and expanded tool card to encourage people to take action for this year’s World Interfaith Harmony Week, February 1-7.
World Interfaith Harmony Week was established by the UN General Assembly in 2010 in recognition of the importance of “mutual understanding and interreligious dialogue” to peace. URI, an organization founded on the principle of enduring interfaith cooperation for peace and justice, participated actively in the inaugural observance in 2011 and is calling on CCs to participate again this year.
The tool card, originally issued in January 2011, provides ideas for action by individuals and groups alike, including interfaith gatherings, community service projects and social networking as ways to bridge the religious divide and build relationships of trust.
“Interfaith harmony is not just about dialogue among religious leaders,” noted URI Acting Executive Director Debra Bernstein. “It is also about ordinary people finding common ground and working side-by-side to heal their communities politically, socially, economically and environmentally. This is more important than ever at a time when struggling economies are exacerbating tensions among different groups both in the U.S. and elsewhere.”
Monica Willard, URI’s representative at the UN, serves as President of the Committee of Religious NGOs at the United Nations, which is organizing a special UN observance in partnership with the Office of the President of the UN General Assembly. Ms. Willard will be among the distinguished speakers at this groundbreaking event, scheduled for February 7th in the UN General Assembly Hall. Click here for more information.
Other URI events will be posted on the URI WIHW page, and additional listings can be found on the official World Interfaith Harmony Week site.
Planning an event? Email information to [email protected].
