The KAICIID International Fellows Programme will begin its first year with a cohort of educators from a variety of religious and secular institutions. The KAICIID Fellows are drawn from all over the world, coming from Austria, India, Iraq, Jordan, Malaysia, Myanmar Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka,  Thailand, Venezuela, , among many others. These educators are actively teaching at institutions that train future Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Islamic, and Jewish religious leaders.

Anas Alabbadi, Facilitator of the KAICIID Fellows Programme said: “The ability to engage with those of other religious and cultural backgrounds in a dialogical manner is a key skill for religious leaders of any faith. Whether in communities dealing with conflict, or in communities where globalization is bringing more and more people in contact with people from other religions, religious leaders are key voices for the power of dialogical interaction. KAICIID’s Fellows Programme supports religious educators in embedding dialogue in their institutions and communities.

We are very pleased to be able to begin this programme with such a diverse cohort, both in terms of geographical and religious backgrounds, knowledge and experience.”

The KAICIID International Fellows Programme is a one-year learning and training programme that will empower institutions that train future religious leaders by offering tailor-made training and mentoring to engaged teachers.  The training will these teachers promote and manage dialogue encounters by providing practical methods, case studies, realistic training and access to networks and knowledge. The teachers will during the course of the Fellowship begin to incorporate interreligious dialogue into their institutions curricula and prepare their students to become facilitators and leaders in interreligious dialogue. In addition to interreligious dialogue training, the fellows will also learn how to train their students in conflict transformation so as to be active peacemakers in their respective communities.

The KAICIID Fellows 2015-2016 will meet in Vienna, Austria from 13-20 February for the first of three sessions. Over the course of a year, the Fellows will work together to embed interreligious dialogue in their training institutions through training, sharing knowledge, and implementing concrete projects in their communities, with KAICIID support.

The topics of this first, week long session include teaching interreligious dialogue, social media for interreligious dialogue practitioners, diversity and acceptance.

More information about the Fellows is available here.