Country: United States
City: New York, New York
OBJECTIVE
In 2010, the UN General Assembly passed a Resolution
proposed by King Abdullah of Jordan (A/Res.65/5)
establishing the first week of February each year as
World Interfaith Harmony Week to be observed by
meaningful programs and initiatives to promote
harmony among the world’s faiths. The United African
Congress (UAC) and Give Them a Hand Foundation
(GTAH) responded to the call in 2012 by assembling
faith leaders from Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Hindu
and Buddhist faith traditions for an interfaith
dialogue at the UN seeking common ground to attain
harmony among the faiths and promote a culture of
peace. Commemoration events have been organized
annually, on related themes, and including other faith
traditions. We plan another such event this year.
OVERVIEW
In a world beleaguered by a multitude of daunting
challenges, the need for global solidarity and cooperation
in meeting these challenges together has never been
greater. As we slowly and cautiously emerge from a threeyear nightmare caused by the worst global pandemic in
a century, we have come to realize that we are all in this
together. The threat of this pandemic, which has already
claimed close to 7 million lives globally, is still with us,
as variants continue to emerge and recovery is ongoing.
The long-term mental and physical consequences of the
pandemic are notably vast, but yet to be fully understood
and properly assessed.
According to the World Bank, extreme poverty in
2022 affects 685 million people, 8.5% of the world
population. In the Horn of Africa, prolonged drought
contributes to acute malnutrition in 5.7 million children.
Ever-increasing destructive incidences of epic floods,
earthquakes, wildfires and hurricanes are some of the
acute stressors, all interrelated, impacting our ecologically
damaged planet.
A future pandemic is almost certain, and the natural
catastrophic events are likely to continue and exacerbate
poverty, adversely impacting the health and wellbeing of
peoples around the world and accentuating already-existing
inequities, unless climate change and other stressors are
addressed with the urgency these issues deserve. These are
some of the themes we will explore this year.
FEBRUARY 3, 2023
10:00AM – 12:30PM
CONFERENCE ROOM 1 UNITED NATIONS HEADQUARTERS NEW YORK, NY
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The WIHW mantra, “Love of Good, Love of Neighbor”, is
not only a slogan but a plea and an existential imperative
to ensure our survival as a species. Faith leaders play a
critical role in sharing this message and offering hope.
The teachings of various faiths and a collective belief
in the essential goodness in all of us, exhort us to be
our brother’s/sister’s keepers and to be good custodians
of our planet. As the late Archbishop Desmond Tutu
eloquently said, “We are each made for goodness, love, and
compassion. Our lives are transformed as much as the
world is when we live with these truths.”
BACKGROUND
The United African Congress (UAC) and Give Them a
Hand Foundation (GTAH) were among the first of civil
society organizations to respond to the General Assembly
Resolution’s call on governments and civil society to
observe the first week of February as World Interfaith
Harmony Week by holding an interfaith dialogue at the
UN in 2012. The theme that year was The Diaspora - A Force
for Positive Change, citing immigrant communities from
areas of conflict living side by side in the United States
in peace and harmony. Our UN sponsor that year was the
Permanent Mission to the United Nations of the Federal
Democratic Republic of Ethiopia.
In subsequent years, our long-time partners joined us as
co-sponsors. They are the Nusantara Foundation, Buddha
Light International Association (BLIA), International
Association of Applied Psychology (IAAP) and UNSCR.
Our group is multi-faith and multi-cultural, reflecting the
true spirit and objective of the World Interfaith Harmony
Week. Our UN Mission sponsors in various years have
been Ethiopia, Jamaica, Indonesia, Sierra Leone, Bahrain,
Morocco and the Holy See.
We have been participating every year with an interfaith
program under our overarching project name, Building
Bridges across Boundaries, with a different theme as
a subtext that addresses a relevant issue specific for
that year. In addition to the Christian, Muslim, Jewish,
Buddhist and Hindu faiths, we have included the
participation of African and Native American spiritual
leaders representing indigenous belief systems. Last year,
we were joined by a representative of the Holy See and the
Unitarian Universalist Association as participants.
Our 10th year anniversary participation last year was
devoted to honoring the Reverend Desmond Tutu, with
the theme entitled, The Pivotal Role of Faith Leaders to
Promote Solidarity, Human Rights, and a Culture of Peace to
Combat Stigma and Conflict during the Pandemic Recovery.
The themes of our past participations are chronicled
in a document and can be found at the United Nations
website at: https://www.un.org/en/observances/interfaithharmony-week.
LOGISTICS
This year we plan an in-person event at the United
Nations Headquarters in New York City. After 2 years of
building closings due to the pandemic, we are excited to
celebrate this important event again in person.