The event Sharing a Table, Sharing Values: Interfaith Breakfast in Ljubljana takes place as part of World Interfaith Harmony Week, observed annually during the first week of February and dedicated to strengthening interfaith dialogue, mutual understanding, and peaceful coexistence in plural societies worldwide.

The interfaith breakfast will be held at the Muslim Cultural Center Ljubljana (MCC Ljubljana), whose history represents a distinctive and instructive example of the long-term process of establishing religious and cultural diversity in the Slovenian context. The development of the McC Ljubljana, from the first official initiative in 1969 to the opening of the complex in 2020, demonstrates that multiculturalism is not a self-evident condition, but rather the result of persistent efforts, social negotiation, and gradual shifts in the understanding of religious freedom and the public presence of minority communities.

It is precisely this decades-long process that gives MCC Ljubljana its particular symbolic significance. Not as an idealised example of harmonious coexistence, but as a concrete illustration of how plurality in society is established slowly, often accompanied by resistance and doubt, yet with lasting effects. In this sense, MKC Ljubljana is not merely a religious building, but a spatial and social record of the history of coexistence in contemporary Slovenia.

The architectural design of the complex further reinforces this message. The openness of the space, its permeability, and the integration of diverse programme activities are not incidental; they consciously support the idea of dialogue and public engagement. Today, MCC Ljubljana functions as a cultural, educational, and social space where different perspectives, experiences, and communities intersect.

For this reason, MCC Ljubljana is symbolically an exceptionally appropriate venue for an event dedicated to interfaith dialogue—precisely because it embodies the experience of a process, an experience that lies at the very core of World Interfaith Harmony Week.

The meeting will take the form of an informal conversation over breakfast, bringing together representatives of the largest religious communities in Slovenia. It is intended as a reflection on the culture of dialogue—on the capacity to listen, to show respect, and to coexist—capacities that are not self-evident in contemporary societies, but require conscious effort and personal responsibility.

The programme also foresees a joint media statement, through which the participants aim to convey to the wider public a clear message about the importance of interfaith dialogue and cooperation in the Slovenian context. The event will conclude with a guided tour of the mosque and the entire MCC Ljubljana complex.

The event takes place shortly before Slovenia’s national cultural holiday, observed on 8 February in memory of the poet France Prešeren, one of the central figures of Slovenian culture. The holiday symbolises the values of language, culture, and creativity as a shared space for all people, regardless of religious or cultural affiliation. In this context, the interfaith breakfast gains additional symbolic weight, emphasising the understanding of culture as a space of encounter, respect, and shared values.

Through this event, MCC Ljubljana joins numerous organisations and initiatives worldwide that, during World Interfaith Harmony Week, affirm through concrete actions that dialogue is possible, necessary, and alive.