A pre-Congress tour led by Richard Kellaway, titled "Temples and Treasures of South India", will start out in an air-conditioned coach in Chennai and run for 7 or 8 days, arriving in Kochi in time for the IALRW and RFYN events (which begin 1st September).
More to follow, please check back here regularly.
"Beyond Conflict to Reconciliation:
The Challenge of the 21st Century"
The UN has declared that next year, 2010, shall be The International Year for Rapprochement of Cultures, and calls for “interreligious and intercultural dialogue, understanding and cooperation for peace".
As both people of faith and human rights defenders, IARF members are called to confront abuses of religious freedom. But where this is impossible, we must ask ourselves what contribution we can make to promoting reconciliation.
The challenge in this new century is to move beyond dialogue, toward creating pathways to reconciliatory interventions through interfaith collaboration.
Women and youth have a crucial role to play through their insights and perceptions.
Our congress will invoke and explore the shared values that must underpin any lasting resolution of the many religion-based tensions and conflicts in today’s world.
It will consider how to involve the perspectives and contributions of all ages and nationalities, and both genders, in joining together to help birth a new culture of peace among religions.