At the end of a busy year of dialogue, here are a few memorable moments of 2016. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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In 2016, KAICIID was honoured to host Austrian Federal President, Dr. Heinz Fischer, whose keynote address at KAICIID headquarters described the importance of dialogue in ensuring peaceful coexistence and commended KAICIID for its work. Photo: Curt Themessel

 

KAICIID hosted the first meeting of the Board of Directors’ Advisory Forum, a consultative body from different world religions, religious organizations, and cultural institutions to address major issues of concern. Photo: Daniel Shaked

 

KAICIID convened a meeting of over 40 religious leaders, representatives from Muslim women and youth communities and civil society who unanimously agreed to work together on a range of common issues and wrote the action plan that forms the basis of our country programme. Photo: KAICIID

 

Young Asylum seekers examine the exhibit at the Natural History Museum in Vienna. In cooperation with the Austrian NGO, MenschenRechteReligion, KAICIID has organized a series of cultural orientation visits for asylum seekers with the objective of facilitating the integration of the newly arrived. The group is given a tour of Vienna in Arabic and Farsi language with a special focus on Austrian culture and everday life, they are then received at KAICIID for a short presentation and Q&A. Photo: KAICIID 

 

KAICIID has successfully launched the KAICIID Fellows Programme in the Southeast Asia region. This regional programme trains interreligious dialogue practitioners from countries in Southeast Asia. The training modules are based on the KAICIID International Fellows Programme, which has been in operation since 2014. Photo: KAICIID

 

Continuing for its second year, the social media trainings engaged over 300 young, influential social media practitioners in Amman, Cairo and Erbil to intensively train them in using social media as a platform for interreligious dialogue. Photo: KAICIID

 

Our cultural events programme included Bridges, a month-long cultural series that included a variety of activities and exhibits offering visitors insight into the work and struggle of artists from the Middle East. The events aim to build bridges between the interested public and artists and intellectuals from the Middle East and Austria. Photo: David Pan

 

KAICIID in cooperation with Finn Church Aid and the Network for Religious and Traditional Peacemakers in Central Africa took several major steps in re-establishing dialogue and understanding between the Muslim and Christian communities in the Central African Republic as part of the country programme. Photo: KAICIID

 

As part of the Nigeria country programme, we organized the “Coordinate to Achieve” conference, a two intra-religious meeting that offered religious leaders from Christian and Muslim communities throughout Nigeria an opportunity for dialogue. Photo: KAICIID

 

KAICIID and the African Union Commission through the Citizens and Diaspora Directorate organized the 2nd Interfaith Dialogue Forum that recognised the importance of interreligious and intra-faith dialogue as a tool for peacebuilding and development in Africa. The Forum led to a Declaration and a Plan of Action on education, partnerships, media and development. Photo: AUCIDO

 

As part of the International Dialogue Centre’s “Religionen im Dialog” series of open-house expert lectures, we hosted a series of lectures on dialogue and the history of interreligiousness. The lectures were given by Viennese academics, leaders and experts. Photo: KAICIID

 

More than 80 Scouts from the Interamerican region were trained in intercultural and interreligious dialogue by experts from KAICIID and facilitators from the World Organization of the Scout Movement at the Interamerican Scouts Youth Forum in Galveston, Texas. Scouts from more than 20 countries participated in the two-day training, which was the third in a series of regional trainings taking place globally as part of the Dialogue for Peace Programme, a joint effort between WOSM and KAICIID. Photo: WOSM

 

The Secretary General of KAICIID, Faisal Bin Muaammar presents Pope Francis with the Fellows Yearbook during the Interreligious Audience prior to the Jubilee of Mercy Symposium. Photo: L'Osservatore Romano

 

More than 60 religious leaders and exemplars of mercy gathered for an international symposium organized by the Pontifical Council for Interreligious dialogue and KAICIID in Rome that was motivated by the conviction that through appreciating the shared value of mercy among all religions, interreligious understanding will be advanced. By engaging in dialogue, participants found a common value in mercy among all religions, which must be a part of our everyday lives. Photo: Enrico Di Giamberardino

 

More than 70 grassroots peacebuilders from around the world convened at KAICIID from 24 November to 4 December for dialogue trainings, programmve evaluation and the graduation of the 2016 class of the KAICIID Fellows Programme. During their visit, the Fellows visited Houses of Worship in Vienna, including a the Christ Church, the Vienna Islamic Centre and the Jewish Museum where the Fellows had the opportunity to interact with local religious leaders and the public. Photo: KAICIID