From the 13th to the 16th of July, 19 youth delegates from around the world, with experience in grassroots social action, gathered in the picturesque town of Kaub, Germany to attend the Interreligious Youth Pre-forum (IYF). Over the course of six days, participants representing 18 different countries and six of the world’s major religions, including Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and the Baha’i Faith, consulted about faith expressed in social action and how collaboration between faith groups can further the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations.
The Pre-forum, itself a result of interfaith collaboration, was hosted by an interfaith planning team and representatives from Religions for Peace, the Ecumenical Youth Council in Europe, Bread for the World, the Protestant Church of Germany (EKD) and the Federation of Protestant Youth in Germany.
The Preforum’s focus on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) was intended to build on commitments made by the international community to support the achievement of eight UN Millennium Development Goals by the target date of 2015. These goals seek to fight poverty, hunger and disease; achieve universal education; promote equality and environmental sustainability; and enhance global partnerships for development. Within the framework of the SDGs, participants were invited to reflect on the progress of SDGs in their home countries and made local plans to further the Sustainable Development Goals upon return to their home countries. Local plans, as diverse as the group of participants, included projects on labour rights (Indonesia), child literacy (Argentina), rural health (India), and other initiatives to promote peace through the creation of interfaith dialogue spaces.
At a time when religious differences often cause division and conflict, the IYF provided a welcome space to learn about interactions between the world’s religions characterized by harmony, cooperation and dedication to common good. Youth delegates arrived with a commitment to interfaith and social action that contributed to the positive spirit of the Pre-forum. Delegates interacted with each other with such sincere kindliness and friendship that parting remarks from participants included feeling like “a family,” “as one soul” and “feeling that we were all reflecting the light of one God.” Reflecting on the impact of the Pre-forum, the delegate from Canada said, “[the pre-forum] felt like looking at a glimpse of the future, where people from different faiths will look to each other and work as the fingers of one hand to find solutions to the world’s problems. It was so encouraging to see.”
From such bonds of friendship, participants came away, having confirmed their conviction that faith need not be a cause for division but rather a powerful motivator for social change, characterized by openness and cooperation between all the world’s religions. Moved by the positive atmosphere of the pre-forum, participants also came to see the group as budding interfaith global partnership, the spirit of which could be shared with greater numbers of youth around the world.
With this vision, in addition to implementing local projects, youth delegates will extend the conversation on faith and social action to other youth in their home communities. In May 2015, the interfaith global partnership created through the Pre-forum will be further strengthened when delegates will return as facilitators for the Interreligious Youth Forum in Stuttgart, Germany, accompanied by three more delegates from their home countries.