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Around the world, millions of people lack access to adequate housing, food, jobs, energy, clean water and proper hygiene.

Even before the spread of COVID-19, OCHA’s “Global Humanitarian Overview 2020,” estimated that 168 million people worldwide will need assistance this year— the “highest figure in decades.”

According to the United Nations, the situation will continue to worsen unless climate change and the root causes of conflict are better addressed.

Religious communities are stepping up to the challenge, working to alleviate suffering through conflict prevention/resolution, and mobilising aid and financial resources.

Join KAICIID and guests as we discuss how religious communities are using dialogue to support the international development community in humanitarian aid efforts by addressing social inequalitities and offering services such as refugee relief, job and housing provision and clean water/sanitation.

SPEAKERS

Dr. Taras Dzyubanskyy

Taras Dzyubanskyy holds a B.A. in Philosophy and studied at various papal institutes in the Vatican. In 2010, he received a prestigious Russell Berrie Fellowship in Interreligious Studies, which enabled him to pursue his doctoral degree and to obtain his PhD in Theology and Interreligious Dialogue in 2012. Since October 2012, Taras has worked as an adviser for religious and ecumenical issues to the Mayor of Lviv. When 3000 Muslim Tatars, displaced by conflict in Crimea, arrived in the majority Catholic community of Lviv, Taras's organization Libertas Center for Interreligious Dialogue gathered local religious communities to provide housing, jobs and safe places to worship. Inaugurated in 2013, Libertas is the first neutral interfaith centre in Ukraine. Since its creation, the centre has held over 50 ecumenical and interreligious events to promote dialogue and understanding among different religious groups. Taras has been awarded with several distinctions related to his innovative approach on interfaith dialogue and social issues, including an Intercultural Achievement Award in 2018 from the Austrian Federal Ministry for Europe, Integration and Foreign Affairs. He now teaches at the Ukrainian Catholic University in Lviv, Ukraine and coordinates an international group of alumni of the John Paul II Center for Interreligious Dialogue.

Ganga Nandini

Ganga Nandini is a youth leader who has recognised the immense power of faith and serves as the Director of Implementation, Integration & Communication for the Global Interfaith WASH Alliance (GIWA). As the world’s first-ever international interfaith initiative which brings together the world's faiths as allies around clean water and sanitation, GIWA ensures that every child around the world has access to safe, life-giving Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH). Ganga Nandini was born and raised in Los Angeles, California and graduated from University of California Berkeley with a Bachelor’s degree in Molecular Cell Biology and Psychology. Spiritually inspired by the sacred National River Ganga during her visit to her ancestral land of India in 2010, she felt a call to serve HH Pujya Swami Chidanand Saraswatiji, Founder/Chair of GIWA and President of Parmarth Niketan, Rishikesh (Himalayas). Parmarth Niketan is a sacred abode where people from every faith and walk of life are welcomed and invited. Ganga Nandini was first transformed by the power of dialogue during her high school years as a Youth Mentor for the National Council of Community and Justice (NCCJ), now known as Cacej, in Los Angeles, California. Today, in addition to serving with GIWA, she is also the Vice President of the Harijan Sevak Sangh of Uttarakhand and holds various leadership roles in Ganga Action Parivar and the Divine Shakti Foundation. Ganga Nandini dedicates her life to coordinate and implement various large scale and multi-faceted initiatives, programmes and projects, especially in mobilising interfaith leaders and faith based organizations in India to work together towards the Sustainable Development Goals and environmental preservation.

Tamás Horn

Tamás Horn lives in Budapest, Hungary and has been involved with the Jewish community since 2010. In 2015, he founded Adománytaxi Alapítvány (Charity Taxi Foundation) which aims to foster sustainability and address social inequalities by meeting the needs of the country's most underdeveloped towns. Through Charity Taxi, Tamás has collected unwanted goods from nearly 800 homes in Budapest and, with the help of 400 volunteers, distributed these resources to more than 40 villages around Hungary. His organization’s unique volunteer model creates dialogue and social action opportunities, connecting urban and rural people from different backgrounds. He also volunteers as an informal educator at the Haver Foundation, which seeks to eliminate stereotypes about Jews through interactive sessions for students in public schools. Tamás holds an M.A. in sociology and is passionate about promoting sustainability, activism, and social justice.

MODERATOR(S)

Prof. Mohammed Abu-Nimer

Prof. Abu-Nimer is a Senior Advisor to KAICIID and a professor at the School of International Service at American University. ​At the International Peace and Conflict Resolution program he served as Director of the Peacebuilding and Development Institute (1999-2013). He has conducted interreligious conflict resolution training and interfaith dialogue workshops in conflict areas around the world, including Palestine, Israel, Egypt, Chad, Niger, Iraq (Kurdistan), Philippines (Mindanao), and Sri Lanka. He also founded Salam Institute for Peace and Justice, an organization that focuses on capacity building, civic education, and intrafaith and interfaith dialogue. In addition to his numerous articles and books, Dr. Abu-Nimer is the co-founder and co-editor of the Journal of Peacebuilding and Development.

Where ONLINE
Time Europe/Lisbon
Date
Speakers
Dr. Taras Dzyubanskyy
Ganga Nandini
Tamás Horn
Language English
Interpretation English
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