Respect and Understanding - interfaith collaboration
Engaging with Faith - Commonwealth Foundation project on Improving Understanding and Co-operation between Different Faith Communities
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The Commonwealth Foundation was established by Commonwealth Heads of Government to strengthen and work with civil society in 1965. Throughout the 1990s, ideas of what constituted civil society broadened, to encompass development, advocacy and co-ordinating NGOs, professional associations, trade unions, aspects of academia, some media organisations, and faith-based organisations.
The Foundation therefore acknowledges faith-based organisations, when they work to address key priorities which the Foundation pursues – of participatory democracy and good governance, respect for human rights and gender equality, poverty eradication and sustainable, people-centred development, and the promotion of cultural understanding – as part of the Commonwealth civil society it exists to serve, and commits to working with them.
The Foundation first started to work with faith-based organisations as part of its civil society constituency in 2000, when it helped convene a conference on Christians and Muslims in the Commonwealth. Since then it has given a number of responsive grants to activities in this sphere, mostly to interfaith activities, including to a conference on Religion and Culture in Asia and the Pacific, the Diversity Matters series of Commonwealth fora and to the Muslim-Christian Dialogue Forum in Nigeria.
In 2005, given the rise of interfaith issues up the political agenda, and the need to take on and refute misplaced theories about 'clashes of civilisations' which seemed to be gaining support, the Foundation was urged by its stakeholders to consider whether it could play a more prominent role. As part of the 2005 Commonwealth People's Forum, held in Valletta, Malta, it therefore held a Commonwealth Dialogue on Faith and Development to pose the question of whether this was an area of work which should be given greater priority. The response from a wide range of civil society and other organisations gathered in Malta was overwhelmingly positive. Participants urged the Foundation to increase its activities in this area, and concluded that:
• Commonwealth civil society recognises that faith-based organisations are an important part of civil society whose engagement can help achieve increased tolerance, social cohesion and understanding;
• Faith institutions and civil society movements have a key role in providing education and achieving local and global justice, gender equality, and action for non-violent resolutions to conflict;
• The sharing of common values of all faiths can help promote cultural understanding.
Shortly after this meeting, Commonwealth Heads of Government, also meeting in Malta, stated in the Valletta Communiqué that:
"Heads of Government affirmed the importance of promoting tolerance, respect, enlightened moderation and friendship among people of different races, faiths and cultures. In this regard they commended various initiatives at the national, regional and international level and encouraged the Commonwealth Secretariat to strengthen its interaction with other bodies that seek to build a common platform of unity against extremism and intolerance. Heads of Government also requested the Secretary-General to explore initiatives to promote mutual understanding and respect among all faiths and communities in the Commonwealth."
The Commonwealth Secretariat, in response to this Heads of Government mandate, set up a High Level Commission on Respect and Understanding, headed by Professor Amartya Sen, to produce a report to the 2007 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting.
Parallel to this, the Commonwealth Foundation has been supporting and conducting an innovative programme exploring the role of civil society in the promotion of greater appreciation of diversity, and the role of different cultures and faiths on the broad canvas of national development, gender relations and interfaith dialogue. It has also been actively exploring the possibility of developing a multi-faith advisory group as part of its evolving civil society advisory structures to give guidance on building bridges between the different faith communities in the Commonwealth.
The Foundation has in this project worked variously with civil society organisations which are faith-based, i.e. those which are grounded in one particular faith, although in particular here it seeks to build co-operation between organisations from different faiths, and with interfaith organisations, i.e. those which bring different faiths together within an organisation. It has engaged both with faith-based and interfaith civil society organisations, and with other aspects of faith communities, such as faith leaders and individual people of faith.
A report on the Foundation's work in this area from 2005 to 2007 is now available from the link below.
| Related Documents | |
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 | Women of Faith - the Agents of Change report 111 KB) |
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| Engaging with Faith report 877 KB) |
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| Commonwealth Dialogue on Faith and Development report 661 KB) |
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