Six chapters of World Faith participated in the UNAOC’s World Interfaith Harmony Week this year! Here are some pictures of two of the amazing events:
WF Indonesia organized two events: a discussion of religious perspectives in peacebuilding, and a Peace Dance. The discussion brought Muslims, Christians, and Hindus from the Interfaith Women’s School together to talk about the peace-building process in post-conflict areas. Many participants were able to express their thoughts as victims and survivors of the Poso conflict, and together, participants brainstormed how they could use religion to counteract political conflicts in their communities. The women who gathered hope to talk with 100 houses of worship in 2013 in order to show the Poso community that religions can work together to build peace.
Later in the week, a Peace Dance invited over 100 women and children from 24 villages in Poso to come together and dance for an hour. The dance not only brought together an interfaith group to campaign against violence on women and children, but was the first movement in a public space in Poso where women and children could campaign against violence.
WF Pakistan also organized two events. The first was a panel discussion on the scope of interfaith dialogues in Pakistan, which had over 75 attendees. The second was the “Diversity Tour to Worship Places”, a model which seeks to bridge gaps between youth of different faith and backgrounds. 25 young people visited Muslim mosques, Hindu mandirs, Sikh temples, and Protestant and Catholic churches. At each location, participants were given a tour by the hosting faith’s youth, and then given the chance to hold a dialogue with hosting faith leaders about the site and the traditions, symbols, history, and commonalities of the particular faith.
