Many wonderful greetings to you. It is a pleasure to know that there are many individuals such as yourself who are readily promoting and supporting the cause of interfaith dialogue and peace building.
Please allow me to share a little bit about myself and my work in the area of interfaith peace building. My name is Peter Dziedzic, a Roman Catholic college student based in the Chicago area. I will be attending the University of Edinburgh in the United Kingdomnext year to read for a degree in Religious Studies and English Literature. I have been involved with the interfaith dialogue movement for several years, building a steady and enduring interest in Abrahamic peace building and ecumenism in the process. I was recently named one of the United Religion Initiative’s (URI) 2010 Youth Ambassadors, and as an Ambassador, I was charged to develop an interfaith project in my community. I wanted to build upon my passion for Abrahamic ecumenism while also making the project pertinent to a technologically inclined youth and the impact global.
Out of this vision came the idea of the Abrahamic Youth Alliance (AYA), an Internet-based forum and chatroom service dedicated to uniting young Jews, Christians and Muslims from around the globe in discussion and dialogue. The ultimate goal of this project is to promote peace and understanding among young Jews, Christians and Muslims. It is my hope that, in this process, these young individuals of faith will discuss the common spiritual heritage of the Abrahamic faiths, learn to make genuine human-to-human connections with young individuals of other faiths, and discuss means of attaining peace in the world and among the three Abrahamic faiths.
AYA has been offered the support of the URI and the partnership of the Abrahamic Alliance International (AAi). We are currently developing the website features and design, chatroom service, and forums, with the gracious help and hosting of AAi. The next step in the process, however, is to find the young individuals of faith who will make this initiative a reality. In order for AYA to succeed, we need young individuals of faith who are both grounded in their respective faith but also committed to dialogue and open-mindedness. AYA needs youth who are not afraid to ask questions, spark dialogue, but also youth who are dedicated to respecting and loving their neighbors. We need young individuals who are willing to take AYA from concept to reality. This is where I am hoping you will be able to offer your support.
If you are interested in learning more about AYA, please feel free to connect to me on here or contact me at [email protected]. I would love to hear from those who are interested or have questions and concerns, and I am excited about your prospective involvement.
We hope that AYA will continue the mission of interfaith peace building in the world, and we would love for you to be a part of it.
Sincerely,
Peter Dziedzic
Chicago, Illinois
