On 7 February 2026, the “Sounds of Harmony” Interfaith Concert hosted by the Church of Scientology & Community Centre of Dublin welcomed over 100 guests, in celebration of the World Interfaith Harmony Week.The Sounds of Harmony interfaith concert in Dublin celebrated WIHW.Participants and audience represented an array of faith communities, including various Christian denominations, Islam, Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism and Scientology.  Through a wide-ranging programme of live performances, the initiative aimed to encourage reflection on the role of faith, tradition and culture in modern society, and to challenge perceptions of religion as inherently divisive.  The initiative was entirely volunteer- and community-based and was made possible with the help and the goodwill of all who took part, as well as local companies who came on board and supported the event.  Artistic Director Stefano Bonvini, a Milan-born violinist, composer and arranger, who flew in from Milano to take part in the concert, covered the aim of the event in his address of the audience: “Faith and religion are often perceived as forces of division,” Bonvini said. “But when they remain true to their core purpose — spiritual growth and enlightenment — they can become powerful sources of unity. Through music and the arts, tonight we hope to offer a renewed perspective on human spirituality and our shared longing for meaning, harmony and connection.”  The programme featured an eclectic, cross-genre line-up including contemporary Christian music, traditional Kurdish beats, Ukrainian modern songs, traditional Indonesian dance, classical music, interfaith prayers and more.  Artists travelled from all corners of Ireland, including from Cork, Leitrim, Galway, Carlow and Wexford, to join performers from the Dublin area and take part in the event.  The event was MC'd by renown activist from the Indian community in Ireland, Bindu Nair. Bindu has been the MC for many events in the Indian community and came on board with this event due to her belief in the importance of its message. Diverse artists participated in the programme including: Danny Carthy - versatile multi-instrumentalist, a well-known champion of Irish music culture and live performance, who performed 2 songs on the piano;  A mother and daughter duo - Aggi Cito and Namira Murphy - traditional dancers from the Indonesian Irish Association;  Ernest Kuderskyi, aka Erik - young Ukrainian saxophone player;  Michael Nolbantov - singer and soloist with the Ukraine Police Orchestra;  The Kingdom Project - a Contemporary Christian Music (CCM) band - young people who used to perform together for their Christian church back in India, but moved to various cities in Ireland individually for their studies and who came back together for the first time since Ireland (travelling from Cork, Galway and Dublin) to perform at this event;  Mohammad Syfkhan - Kurdish-Syrian singer and bouzouki player who gained national attention in Ireland in 2024 with his acclaimed single I Am Kurdish;  Victoria Zhadko - award winning classical guitarist, university professor and Artistic Director of the Ukrainian Music Agency;  Olha Doroshchuk - Ukrainian opera singer and actress who has starred in several TV series and films in Ukraine and who works with the Wexford Opera Festival and the Irish National Opera since living in Ireland;  Kevin’s Katcheri - a dynamic ensemble blending Indian classical music with modern influences. The performances were interspersed with short speeches and prayers, including:  Jay Patel, a successful businessman and a member of BAPS Ireland, who gave a Hindu prayer; Rev. Siobhan Ryan, Minister with the Church of Scientology, who read the Scientology Prayer for Total Freedom; Dr. Jasbir Singh Puri, Founding Member of the Dublin City Interfaith Forum and representative of the Sikh community, who gave a Sikh prayer and spoke about the fundamental principles in Sikhism; Neera Baj, long term supporter of the Vedic Hindu Cultural Centre of Ireland, who gave a Jain prayer; Mokhtar Moradi, Coordinator of the Kurdish Community of Ireland, who gave a short speech on the importance of interfaith and Diana Stahl, Director of Public Affairs at the Church of Scientology & Community Centre who highlighted the importance of the World Interfaith Harmony Week and interfaith initiatives.  The event ended with all artists and speakers getting together on stage to sing We Are the World.The finale of the Sounds of Harmony Interfaith Concert touched participants and audience alike.Guests stayed longer and mingled taking photos, sharing feedback and getting to know each other. Everyone enjoyed the event a lot, and the atmosphere was very friendly and relaxed.  The feedback was very positive and many participants and guests shared vivid interest in doing more on the subject of interfaith in future, as well as making this event an annual occasion.  Many new ideas for collaborations were born, as well as the concept of launching a new grassroots, community based interfaith initiative in Ireland, which to continue beyond the celebration of the World Interfaith Harmony Week.  Here is some of the feedback shared by participants and guests as to how this celebration of harmony among faiths touched them personally: “I loved this event! Such events need to happen more in Ireland. Above all we are all human and in fact we are of one religion and of one God. Many different paths lead us the same way. I am very passionate about this subject and always was. Since I was a kid I taught others and spoke of mutual respect, understanding, companionship, and friendship instead of seeing differences. This subject is too small in Ireland and we need to grow it big. We need to have this auditorium filled for such a powerful message - of harmony, mutual understanding and trusting each other under the banner of interfaith.” “Thank you for inviting me to this event. This is the first time I came here and I am still taking everything in. I am fascinated by the similarities of our views and your philosophy. It is lovely to see so much harmony between such diverse groups. The most remarkable thing for me was when we all came together on the stage in unity at the end. For me, interfaith is the way ahead. We need to be working towards the goal of being united in diversity. And I myself sometimes have to overcome my own prejudice. Big thank you! Compliments!” “Today’s event was very inclusive and no two acts were the same. It’s important to spread the message of inclusivity and diversity between people. Religion should be helping to bring people together rather than grow apart from each other. Interfaith connections help to minimise the distance between us, and things like using music and food are great ways to unite cultures. This should be an ongoing event. It needs more creative ways to bring people in as it is a subject that is very new for the communities. Altogether it was a great event, and very well organised! When I was asked to take on this event, I already had scheduled something else for the same day in the evening. When I told my people that I am taking on an event during the day they were at first skeptical but when they found out it is your event, they all relaxed as they knew that it will be well organised and will run on time, no doubt.” “It was really nice to see different religions and cultures come together. The event gave a good balance between prayers and performances as the flows were well planned. I would like to see more interfaith happening – we have three different religions in our own band alone!” “The event has a really good concept – bringing faiths together, which is healthy for the society. I believe that the language of music is the one language that pervades all faiths. For me personally, this particular event gave me a really good balance between our own music and other musicians. We are a very young band and we learned a lot (also from other musicians) tonight.” “Religion is hope. And hope is the new religion. It drives us every day. Interfaith is an exchange of good things, and I learned a lot about other cultures and other religions today. I came along because my friend runs Kevin’s Katcheri band, but I really appreciate that you did this event under the UN initiative of the World Interfaith Harmony Week. I would never have thought I would come here today! But I am very glad I did!” “It was relaxing to get to come here and get to talk to others and have a chance to recharge. I wouldn’t want others to miss it if they have a chance to come. There were a group of Indian performers who said they’d only been together for a short time and still were able to pull off their performance and make it an enjoyable experience. Everyone should be afforded the chance to have their own religion. I’m Catholic but I practice on my own without interfering with anyone else and would expect the same from others. Interfaith would help bring freedom as people would realise we’re all here to enjoy what we have and talking means we can then have less reason to question each other. I used to be a boxer. I saw a lot of kids were getting in with the wrong crowds so me and a mate started a club and got them off the streets and into a hall where they could train. I find that really fulfilling and want to see kids engaged and off the streets. I came here today because my partner brought me along, and I’m grateful for it.” “I am Kurdish and I really appreciate that you invited a Kurdish artist. For me the role of religion in society is to bring peace. I respect all religions. For example, I am Muslim, but I am sending my child to a Christian school. He now knows more about Christianity than about Islam.” “It’s nice to see different cultures coming together. It’s important that they all get to know each other as otherwise they grow up in fear of each other. Religion is supposed to bring people together, not divide them. The media uses it as a way to divide people and the public are shown too much of that. Interfaith would help reverse that as people are scared of what they don’t know.” “It was good to meet new people today at this artistic gathering. I personally don’t think religion should have a place in society other than personal practice at home. But it’s important for the different religions to talk to each other as that way they will get to know each other and bring peace. I’m a software engineer and like to help people to understand themselves better and am open to supporting initiatives that promote this.” “The event was excellent as it promotes togetherness and people of all different types were here. Religion should be transparent and diverse. I travel a lot now so unfortunately is impossible for me to volunteer at the moment. It would be good to see a timetable of upcoming events though.” “The bands were inspiring, as was that final picture where I got to come on stage with everyone and we were all there together from different cultures. It’s important to explore other cultures and this event might have helped inspire other people. Religion helps to make life better for people and easier to live. I’m technically Hindu but not really deeply practicing – but I can see that religion helps to give people something to believe in, and it helps to give people a purpose to their life which is important. Overall the event was really enjoyable and I had a lot of fun." “There were so many different nationalities here today and I liked it very much. What matters in religion is the person themselves and the relationships between people.” “Today was wonderful, I liked everything. People should reach out to the light through religion and we need to do good to all people.” oOo

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