Dear URI Family,
Sincere greetings, peace and blessings to you. I want to use this opportunity to formally inform you about our upcoming International Conference on Youth and Interfaith Dialogue, scheduled to be held from November 28-29, 2014 in Abuja, Nigeria.
This conference, held since 2009, is a joint initiative of New Era Educational and Charitable Support Foundation CC; a Jos-Nigeria based registered national nonprofit with the Africa Regional Office of United Religions Initiative (URI), Global Educators for All Initiative (GEFAI) and the African Centre for Peacebuilding (AFCOPB). The theme of this year’s conference is: “The Role of Religions to Build Peace, Security and Counter Violent Extremism in Africa."
Activities for this year’s conference include a two-day URI West Africa Regional Assembly, during which URI CCs in West Africa, together with our URI Africa Regional Team, will assemble to learn together, share experiences and good practices, and develop a strategy for our work together in the months and years ahead.
This is an extraordinary international conference examining concepts of "The Other" from a universal, cross-cultural perspective to promote a wider public dialogue about images of "Us and Them."
Participants will experience the conference program and community as a living learning laboratory, to explore and create a common ground of reference essential to engaging and integrating formal learning, and, together, developing implementable “Action Plans” for next steps beyond the conference.
The conference brings together government officials and citizens, including representatives of CSOs and faith-based groups within Nigeria and around the world to promote and improve mutual respect between faiths and cultures and to support civil society and individuals who intend to reject violence and build our common future. Since its launch in October 2009, the annual International Conference on Youth and Interfaith Dialogue has introduced and supported actions expanding mutual perceptions among individuals of different religions, cultures, genders, and ethnicities. Conference details are available here.
We do look forward to welcoming and hosting any member of our URI Family at this conference. This surely would be another great opportunity to meet and renew our bonds of love, friendship and the common humanity that we all share. The challenges that confront our planet today are numerous, but they are not beyond our collective capacity to overcome. Let us continue to build the momentum and expand the network and our circles of influence. In this way, steadily and surely, our collective dream for a more peaceful and better, habitable world can become a reality.
For further details about the conference, please feel free to contact me, Dr. Mussie or Hon. Elisha at any time.
Thanks most sincerely,
Your Brother Emmanuel
