One of the main highlight of this year’s World Interfaith
Harmony Week 2020 celebration of the Silsilah Dialogue Movement is the
Symposium on Dialogue towards Harmony. The special occasion invited at least
250 participants coming from different government offices, sectors from
society, different representatives in the community and other partners of
Silsilah.

This activity invites leaders to present three realities in
the context of the Philippines and Zamboanga. It is also a plan what they can
do together presenting their ideas, plans and aspiration to the Mayor of
Zamboanga city and other authorities to listen and support any doable plan.

The participants are encouraged to raise their concern with
the three realities and challenges given by the speakers for the activity.

Many participants were interested to ask about the law
mentioned for IP’s and others are curious about what we can do more to spread
the initiative of the World Interfaith Harmony Week.

The participant raised the question about what we can do more
to spread the spirit of the initiative knowing that others barangays already
celebrated the neighbors in Harmony with the collaboration of Emmaus and
Silsilah Dialogue Movement.

This Open forum not only addresses the concern of the
participant who asks the question, but it also gave a great impact to those who
listens the question and answer part. The Open forum gave all the people in the
room the opportunity to think, listen and understand the dynamic of ideas and
how the speakers answer them in full of wisdom and knowledge.

The best part of this activity is the signing of the Peace
Accord where all participants are encouraged to affix their signature in the
space provided after the Peace Accord statement. This is the Dialogue and Peace
Accord where it emphasizes that February
6, 2020, guided by the deeper understanding of peace; we make this Dialogue and
Peace Accord adopting the same message of the document “Human Fraternity”.

The activity ended with the Community singing of “Heal the
World” where all people from different cultures and religions sang one song,
with one hope and with one heart to heal the world and make it a better place.

Truly, Silsilah has always been with great determination to
spread the initiative of the World Interfaith Harmony Week. An initiative where
we believe that may be challenging especially here in Mindanao but if we will
work with sincere hearts, step by step, we can live a better world.

I always believe that it takes two ends to build a bridge.
Looks like how Silsilah became the head point of the bridge and invites people
from the other end to be partners, hence together they will meet halfway to
make something significant and to make that bridge stronger and firmer. A
bridge as strong as Dialogue where it unites people regardless of their faith,
culture and religions and a dialogue that comes from God and brings people back
to God.