The KAICIID International Fellows Programme will meet for a second training in Malaysia

KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA: The year-long KAICIID International Fellows Programme 2015 brings together Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Islamic and Jewish teachers from around the world for in-person and online training on interreligious dialogue, coexistence, and pluralism. The Fellows will develop and implement small-scale local and international projects during the programme, and organize and attend dialogues, lectures, and field visits. The 20 KAICIID International Fellows met from 7-12 May, 2015 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, for the second training component as part of their one-year learning process. During this training, the Fellows received further training on interreligious dialogue models and facilitation, skills in developing a syllabus for an interreligious dialogue course, and meet local religious and interreligious peers and institutions.

The Fellows will work on designing their interreligious dialogue programmes (including initiatives for incorporating IRD in their educational institutions). The developed initiatives will be implemented by the Fellows during the course of the next six months in their home communities. By training and supporting the 20 Fellows, KAICIID advocates and promotes interreligious dialogue education and practice in educational institutions that train future religious leaders.

Following the first training this past February in Vienna, several KAICIID Fellows were involved in different KAICIID projects and programmes around the world. Mabrouka Rayachi from Austria and Nageeba Hassan Tegulwa from Uganda attended the KAICIID Consultation for Women in Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue in March. Venerable Mandalarlankara attended the International Press Institute Media Conference in Myanmar, where KAICIID organized a panel on “Religious Sensitivity in Breaking News Coverage” in a reflection the Ven. Mandalar shared, he said:

At the IPI congress, I met many local media and journalists and they told me their challenges and difficulties, and they shared their experiences.  I have never heard about this before, especially the right to freedom of opinion and expression. This right is not only about freedom of speech; it is also about the rights of readers, listeners and viewers and involves certain responsibilities. Irresponsible or unethical conduct puts freedom of press at risk. The media have a duty to maintain high professional standards. The responsibilities of the media in a democracy include duties of accuracy and balance, fairness and respect for others, and ensuring the right of people to receive information. We need to understand these responsibilities, protecting the rights of the individual and public’s right to know, as well as media freedom.

Ven. Mandalar concluded “that media outlets are free to report and comment on all matters of public interest, but they should take care not to encourage or promote racial, ethnic or sectarian hatred and discord, including by one-sided reporting on ethnic tensions (…) the meeting with KAICIID friends and other international Medias in three days was very good. I am very proud of being a KAICIID fellow and part of the KAICIID organization”.

The call for applications for the 2016 Fellows Programme will be open in May 2015.