News from the Committee for interreligious & interconvictional Dialogue at the Council of Europe

In a world where fears are reinforced by conspiracy theories (fake news), anti-democratic propaganda, prejudices, discrimination and growing hatred towards ethnic and religious minorities, constructive cooperation between people of different religions and beliefs, religious representatives and civil society is more necessary than ever.

Genuine, inclusive inter-religious and inter-convictional dialogue must be developed as a matter of urgency. A platform for ongoing dialogue is therefore needed as a sustainable process for strengthening democratic and peaceful coexistence and preventing discrimination, violence and extremism.

With this in mind, we joined forces with other faith-based NGOs in April 2021 to launch the Committee for Interreligious and Interconvictional Dialogue. Its members come from a wide range of faith-based and non-denominational NGOs and collaborate with partners and experts in the religious and cultural fields across Europe. The mandate of the committee was again extended until 2027 by the Conference of INGOs at the Council of Europe.

The main objective of the committee is to establish a permanent and formally recognised platform for inter-religious, inter-convictional, democratic, and equality-based dialogue within the Council of Europe.

In order to develop the content of such a dialogue platform, the committee regularly organizes webinars on relevant topics. These are prepared and moderated by Dr. Thea Mohr, trainer of intercultural communication. Topics addressed are such as: Identity formation, importance of education, self-awareness as key for dialogue, religious dimension of migrants, structural discrimination of women, peace-building initiatives etc.

A new website is also being planned to make best dialog practices more visible and accessible. The aim is to create an online map of European civil society initiatives for inter-religious and inter-convictional dialogue, identify existing projects, integrate them into a network, recognise complementarities and identify gaps to be filled, in order to create a resource for public authorities and civil society organisations looking for transferable practices.

Our committee has already started to implement and live interreligious and interconvictional dialogue in the regular practice of our work. We promote mutual understanding, sharing inspiring experiences and practices of dialogue. Recognising and combating all forms of discrimination is a force for "living together in equality and dignity".

Learn more about our efforts and watch the webinar “For a Permanent Platform on Interreligious and Inter-convictional Dialogue at the Council of Europe” here:https://www.coe.int/en/web/ingo/committee-for-interreligious-interconvictional-dialogue

Gabriela Frey & Dr. Thea Mohr
Representing the EBU at the Council of Europe