February 1-7 of each year has been designated World Interfaith Harmony Week (WIHW) by the United Nations. It was launched in February 2011 to promote harmony among people of different faiths at a time when interreligious conflict is claiming lives and livelihoods all over the world. The URI community celebrates this week every year with events honoring interfaith harmony in 97 countries and counting.
WIHW celebrations can take many forms. Some organizations draw together hundreds of people for massive marches for peace, while other celebrations involve just a few people volunteering at a homeless shelter or gathering guests of different faiths to share a drink of tea.
See a full listing of all URI 2017 celebrations in our InterAction newsletter.
Here are some examples of ways the URI global community celebrated World Interfaith Harmony Week 2017:
- URI Sri Lanka Celebrates World Interfaith Harmony (URI Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka)
- Lower Shire Interfaith Initiative: Our Harmony Week Activities (Lower Shire Interfaith Initiative, Malawi)
- Women’s Interfaith Harmony Gathering for World lnterfaith Harmony Week (Trust WIN, Mada CC, and Women Reborn CC,Israel and Palestine)
- Supporting Orphans and the Elderly for World Interfaith Harmony Week (Nasolo Cooperation Circle, Malawi)
- Discussion meeting and award-giving ceremony (Inter Religion Harmony Society (IRHS) Cooperation Circle, Bangaladesh)
- Celebrating the Environment for World Interfaith Harmony Week (Interfaith Peace Building on Natural Resources Management, Cambodia)
- UNIVERSAL Interfaith Peace Mission’s Interfaith Harmony Week 2017 celebration programs (MCC Islamabad, Pakistan)
- Campinas Celebrates Peace and Harmony (Campinas CC, Brazil)
