ednesday, February 08, 2012 Oujda, Morocco - World Interfaith Harmony Week seeks to spread the message of harmony and tolerance among the followers of all the world’s religions, faiths and beliefs. It seeks to do this by promoting their common basis of "Love of God and Love of the Neighbor, or Love of the Good and Love of the Neighbor." Its message includes everyone, excludes no one, and is purely voluntary. Youth for Peace invited many religious and spiritual leaders to a meeting at the Moulay Slimane Fondation to celebrate the second World Interfaith Harmony Week. We celebrated by gathering together and strengthening our ties, sharing news of our interfaith activities and our future plans. It was an occasion for meeting new friends and creating new partnerships. Youth for Peace, the Jordanian Ambassador in Morocco Dr. Abderrahim Hassan, La ligue universelle unie des nobles descendents du prophet, the Zawiya of boudchich in Madagh, the church of Oujda, and La Rabita Mohammadia des Oulémas were partners in this special event Zakaria El hamel UPF Ambassador for Peace United Relegions Initiative Ambassador (Middle East/North Africa Region) Director of the World Peace Festival Oujda.Morocco www.euromedpeacefest.com

Wednesday, February 08, 2012 Oujda, Morocco - World Interfaith Harmony Week seeks to spread the message of harmony and tolerance among the followers of all the world’s religions, faiths and beliefs. It seeks to do this by promoting their common basis of "Love of God and Love of the Neighbor, or Love of the Good and Love of the Neighbor." Its message includes everyone, excludes no one, and is purely voluntary. Youth for Peace invited many religious and spiritual leaders to a meeting at the Moulay Slimane Fondation to celebrate the second World Interfaith Harmony Week. We celebrated by gathering together and strengthening our ties, sharing news of our interfaith activities and our future plans. It was an occasion for meeting new friends and creating new partnerships. Youth for Peace, the Jordanian Ambassador in Morocco Dr. Abderrahim Hassan, La ligue universelle unie des nobles descendents du prophet, the Zawiya of boudchich in Madagh, the church of Oujda, and La Rabita Mohammadia des Oulémas were partners in this special event Zakaria El hamel UPF Ambassador for Peace United Relegions Initiative Ambassador (Middle East/North Africa Region) Director of the World Peace Festival Oujda.Morocco www.euromedpeacefest.com

During the United Nations World Interfaith Harmony Week - 2012, the National Foundation for Communal Harmony (NFCH) and Anjuman Aman Dost Insan Dost jointly organised ‘Brotherhood Day’ (Bhaichara Divas) at Makki Masjid, New Delhi on the 5th February 2012. Speakers from different religions and faiths, namely, Islam, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism, Buddhism and Brahma Kumaris spoke on the values & virtues of the concept of brotherhood for well-being of all. More than 300 persons from different States of India participated in the programme. Dr. Lalit Kumar, Secretary, NFCH informed that the World Interfaith Harmony Week – 2011 was also organized by the Foundation on 3rd February 2011in New Delhi. He shared the Vision & Mission of the National Foundation for Communal Harmony (www.nfch.nic.in). He said that the slogan of brotherhood as the focal theme of the function derives its strength from the concepts of Vasudhaiva Kutumbkam (the whole world is one single family) of Hinduism, Love thy neighbor from Christianity, Take care of your neighbor’s needs from Islam and, therefore, we must spread the message of unity and brotherhood for well-being of all. The moving spirit behind the programme was Mr. Arif Baig, founder of Anjuman Aman Dost Insan Dost, who appealed for peace, harmony & brotherhood and sent a message on the World Interfaith Harmony Day that in India we believe in universal brotherhood. Mohd. Bilal Shabga, Dr. Iqbal Gauri and Shri Ravi Tripathi organized the function in a professional manner. Speakers were presented a memento on brotherhood and interfaith harmony.

Interactive panel based seminar - one day event in islamabad in the end of june 2012.

As early as 9:30AM, the Secretariat and some staffs of Silsilah Dialogue Movement were already at the venue to assist and supervised in the physical arrangement. By 1:45PM, participants and guests started to come. The program started at about 2:30 PM with the praying of the Harmony Prayer, followed by the singing of the National Anthem and then singing of the Zamboanga Hermosa. The welcome remark was given by Dr. Aboulkhair S. Tarason, Vice-Chairman of NUCP in behalf of Sheikh Jamal Sakaluran Munib the Chairman. After that, Fr. Sebastiano D’Ambra, PIME gave the “Rationale” for the World Interfaith Harmony Week (WIHW) celebration. To some of the guests and participants, the idea of interfaith harmony is maybe new and Fr. Seb’s rationale serves as a very informative, enlightening and challenging message. But to those who are familiar, it serves as a reminder and also as a challenge to persevere in this endeavour. His passion for interfaith harmony was so evident and powerfully conveyed. There were four line up of speakers for this activity. The first speaker was the Most Rev. Romulo G. Valles, DD, the Archbishop of Zamboanga, it was an inspiring message that spoke of hope, encouraging everyone to support interfaith harmony to bring peace. He also talked about the importance of love of God and the love of neighbours as basic ingredients in interfaith harmony. The next speaker was supposed to be Hon. Jesse M. Robredo, Secretary of Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), but due to some pressing matters, he sent the Regional Director of Region IX Mr. Paisal O. Abutazil in his behalf. He talked about the importance of interfaith harmony in bringing peace in Mindanao. He expressed that the DILG is supportive to any endeavour that is for peace and even mentioned their efforts in mobilizing the barangays for the February 2, 2012 activity. Then the Mayor of the city, Hon. Mayor Celso L. Lobregat also gave a message presenting the programs he has done and are still doing in the City of Zamboanga in the context of interfaith harmony. He promised that as long as he is still the Mayor, he will surely continue to support this undertaking. He mentioned the Executive Order proclamation he has released, EO No. CL 434-2012, as his way of expressing his full support in the promotion of interfaith harmony in this city. The last but not the least, to give a message of support, is Hon. Mujiv Hataman, the newly appointed ARMM Regional Governor. But unfortunately he can’t come due to some important matters; instead he sent a letter and asked Prof. Alih Aiyub to read it in his behalf. The letter was obviously an expression of what is in the heart of its author, the message was a cry for peace and a challenge to be involved in interfaith harmony in our beloved Mindanao. After the message portions, Cristina Beltran and Dorely Eliza Dela Cruz of the Young Professionals for Dialogue and Peace (YPDP) sung “Colours of the Wind” as an Intermission Number. This was followed by the unveiling ceremony of the official logo for the World Interfaith Harmony Week-Zamboanga by the artist himself, Mr. Rameer Tawasil, as officially witnessed by Dr. Aboulkhair S. Tarason and Archbishop Romulo G. Valles and the Partners. This work of art was then placed on a table upstage so it can be seen by all of the guests and participants even if they are seated far from the stage. Then the “Launching of the Primer” by Fr. Sebastiano D’Ambra, PIME, the man who laboriously made the “World Interfaith Harmony Week 2012” Primer. The usherettes went around and distributed copies of the Primer to all the guests and participants. Fr. Seb, explained the reason for making the Primer and he also took time to give explanation of some points from the Primer. It was an opportunity for those who are not so familiar with the concept of interfaith harmony to have a better grasp of it. The next part was the recitation of Surah Ar-Rahman (The Beneficent) from the Holy Al Qur’an by a young girl, Khadija Aveer Amil-Aiyub. It was wonderfully and solemnly recited in a chant manner. After this, the Ateneo Liturgical Society rendered a Chavacano version of the “Our Father”, Tata Diamon and “I Love You Lord”. It was such a wonderful rendition indeed. Prof. Alih Aiyub then read the “Covenant Statement” and gave a brief explanation about it; he then proceeded in facilitating the signing of the covenant that is printed on a huge tarpaulin hung on the wall by the stage. He called Dr. Aboulkhair S. Tarason and Archbishop Romulo G. Valles, the former representing the Muslims and the latter the Christians to ceremoniously start the signing of the covenant. It was then followed by the Honorable Mayor Celso L. Lobregat, the City Mayor and all the Partners. The Ateneo Liturgical Society sung “Let There be Peace on Earth” as the finale and then snacks were served. Prof. Alih then announced that everyone may now sign on the Covenant Statement Tarpaulin if they believe on the spirit of interfaith harmony. This night’s program would not be of smooth flow without the professional help of the Masters of Ceremony, Prof. Ali T. Yacub, Al-Haj and Ms. Al-Jihan Edding who did very well. There were almost 300 guests and participants who came for this historical event, representing different government agencies, NGO’s, business sector, Muslim and Christian religious organizations, teachers, and individuals. This was a successful gathering indeed and this is just the beginning!

HARMONY YOUTH DAY As early as 8:30AM, the staff and youth volunteers of the Silpeace Youth Program of Silsilah Dialogue Movement, the prime mover of this event, started to arrived; they were, Vanessa Andico (Silpeace Christian Coordinator), Aldamir Abdulkahal (Silpeace Muslim Coordinator), Zsabrina Isa M. Julaili and other Silpeace Youth members, to prepare and decorate the venue. By 12:00noon, students from different schools and colleges started to come mostly in groups and gradually the crowd grow in number. The attendance record shows 1,200 participants. The event opened with the singing of the Harmony Song followed with the National Anthem. The opening presentation was a speech choir performed by the Silpeace Youth entitled “Youth Speaks”, a powerful presentation with a mixture of a song and dance depicting present reality problems or conflicts that have been passed on by the problems of long ago. It was a hair raising performance that serves as an outcry of the young people of this generation. In behalf of Fr. Antonio F. Moreno,SJ, Fr. Alejo,SJ gave the welcome remarks. It was followed by an overview of the Harmony Youth Day 2012 by Aldamir Abdulkahal. Then a cultural presentation by the Zamboanga City High School-Main Dance Troupe which rendered a Yakan Plate Dance that was very impressive. It was followed by another cultural dance, a typical Tagalog Filipiniana dance. The founder of Silsilah Dialogue Movement, Fr. Sebastiano D’Ambra presented the rationale of the World Interfaith Harmony Week celebration. He clearly and elaborately explained the historical background of this United Nations declared international celebration. There was also an awarding of the Fr. Salvatore Carzedda,PIME Promising Youth Peace Award 2012 by Ms. Jackelyn Tadeo. This award is named after Fr.Salvatore Carzedda,PIME in remembrance of him and the great contribution he has given in interreligious dialogue. It has been the tradition of the Harmony Youth Day celebration to set aside a time to honour some young people by giving out this award to them. There are five categories to this award: environmental advocacy (group and individual category), service, music, arts and leadership. In between the giving of awards, there were various cultural presentations. The Hon. Ma. Isabelle “Beng” Climaco-Salazar, Congresswoman for the 1st District of Zamboanga City, came as the guest speaker and shared a short but inspiring message to all the youth. To the surprised of everyone, she sung and dances a popular song “Fireworks” and asked everyone to stand up and dance. She was full of energy and the young participants cheered and danced. Towards the end of the program, Marlon Grande, a Christian Youth leader and Alexander Jikiri, a Muslim Youth leader, gave their individual testimonies on Muslim-Christian relationship. Both of them have been with Silpeace for quite some time already serving the youth. They both serve as models for they have live out the characteristics needed in living the spirit of interfaith harmony. The youth have witness their being true dialoguer to their fellow youth. The program’s Master of Ceremony were Richard Rojas, Kimberly Anne Villaflores and Radznalyn Nusay. Vanessa Andico closed the program. Indeed it was an inspiring gathering, seeing the youth of today getting a grasp of the importance of interfaith harmony and that the future is not as hopeless as what some people perceive it. HARMONY ART EXHIBIT This exhibit was initiated by Rameer Tawasil, with the help of the World Interfaith Harmony Week Partners’; Rameer is the artist who designed the World Interfaith Harmony Week logo. It was participated by 12 local artist namely, Rameer Tawasil, Abulmari Imao, Councilor Gerky Valesco Jr., Rommel Racho, Paquito Lorenzo, Pilong Torino, Chrissel Babol, Mark Burdan, Moh. Reza Abbas, Sandra Jamiro, Emma Prima and Bambut Montano. The program started at 5:15PM with a brief ceremony right at the entrance porch of the Gallery of the Peninsula and Archipelago. We started the ceremony by singing the Harmony Prayer and the National Anthem. Fr. Albert Alejo, gave the opening remarks in behalf of Fr. Antonio Moreno,SJ. After that, Fr. Sebastiano D’Ambra, PIME, gave a short talk about the World Interfaith Harmony Celebration. He was then followed with an inspirational talk by Hon. Ma. Isabelle Climaco-Salazar. This was then followed by Rameer Tawasil, who introduced all the artists that participated in this exhibit. We then proceeded inside the gallery for the ceremonial cutting of the ribbon which was graced by Hon. Ma. Isabelle Climaco-Salazar assisted by Fr. Sebastiano D’Ambra and Rameer Tawasil. The art exhibit was officially open for viewing. There were a total of 21 paintings displayed. Cocktails followed. The program closed at 7:00 in the evening.

The book ‘Interfaith Dialogue: Scope & Challenges’ includes 30 articles by some well known scholars and practitioners of the interfaith harmony dialogue, has been published recently by the National Foundation for Communal Harmony (NFCH). This special publication of NFCH would be useful to the students, scholars and practitioners of the interfaith movement for building a culture of peace. On the occasion of the UN International Day of Tolerance, organized on the 16th November 2012, copies of the book were presented to various dignitaries in New Delhi. The book would be useful for all those celebrating the World Interfaith Harmony Week in February 2013. Information about how to purchase the book is available in the attachment as well as at www.nfch.nic.in.

Madin Islamic Academy(www.mahdinonline.com) had conducted special functions in connection with United Nations Interfaith Harmony Week since its inception year itself. In this year we plan to conduct a seminar in collaboration with International Islamic University Malaysia(www.iium.edu.my). This seminar aims to promote the great message of Interfaith Harmony and Tolerance. Discussions and papers will bring light to the area of tolerance among the religion, communities and groups. Harmony Award dinner will be the prime attraction of this year event. The name and details of winners will be declared in the first week of February.