I am very pleased to announce that Ambassador Mussie Hailu, Regional Director of the United Religion Initiative (URI) for Africa has agreed to serve as Global Envoy of the United Religions Initiative. This responsibility is in addition to his work as URI Regional Director for Africa, and URI Representatives to the African Union, the Economic Commission for Africa, UNEP and the United Nations Office in Africa.
As Global Envoy of URI, Mussie will represent URI in different contexts globally and continue his work establishing partnerships for URI with different NGOs, interfaith organizations, peace and civil society organizations, policy makers, governmental and intergovernmental organizations, the private sector, foundations, UN agencies and any other relevant organizations at national, regional and international level.
This appointment is made in recognition of Mussie’s tireless efforts and dedication in promoting the purpose of URI in Africa and the rest of the world, and honors his wide experience and practical work on the ground for many years at the national, sub-regional, continental and international level in promoting cultures of peace, inter-religious & inter-cultural harmony, reconciliation, addressing the issue of radicalization, violent extremism, disarmament, universal ethics through the teaching of the Golden Rule - “Treat others the way you want to be treated”, constructive dialogue among nations, and fostering partnership & working cooperation between religious leaders and policy makers on the issue of peace.
The URI community is blessed by Mussie’s leadership and service to URI’s purpose of peace, justice and healing for the Earth and all living beings, and the world is blessed by his ongoing dedication to peace.
In peace,
Victor H. Kazanjian, Jr.
Executive Director, URI
Greetings of peace and blessing from Africa. I want to take this opportunity to thank all of you from the bottom of my heart for your best wishes and congratulation notes. It is indeed very inspiring to me to hear from each and every one of you. Once again, thank you so much for your kind support and encouragement. It is a team effort that helps us to move forward the purpose, principle and preamble (PPPs) of URI in the world. It is a great pleasure and honor for me to be part of the URI family and work with each one of you to promote culture of peace and interfaith harmony in the world. As someone who considers himself as a citizen of the world, you all are part of my extended family. I highly appreciate all our CCs all over the world who are doing the work that needs to be done on the ground. I also want to thank our Executive Director for the trust he bestowed upon me as Global Envoy of URI.
In peace and gratitude,
Mussie Hailu
