The aim of this pre world assembly was for European RfP bodies to have a chance to reflect upon the World Assembly themes and business agenda and come up with observations and possible recommendations. The meeting was from the 9th to the 12th of May 2012 in Sarajevo.
The first session started were had words of welcome from Stein Villumstad, General Secretary ECRL, Yolande Iliano, President RfP-Europe, Ravinder Kaur Nijjar, Coordinator EWFN and Daniela Malec, Core Group EIYN who all gave an introduction of the entities they represent and why this meeting was called. We were also given a historic overview of the previous World assemblies and what was discussed and decided.
The second session focused on Global Challenges and Contributions to Advance the Mission of Religions for Peace addressed by Dr. William Vendley, Secretary General of Religions for Peace International followed by an Introduction of Religions for Peace IX World Assembly which will be themed as “Welcoming the Other: Action for Human Dignity, Citizenship and Shared Well-being”
The themes that were tackled in the first part of the meeting were Disarmament, Peace education (conflict prevention), Conflict resolution and Reconciliation (including strategic humanitarian assistance) all these were under the main subject matter“Building peace through conflict prevention and transformation”
Than under the theme “Building peace through citizenship for just and harmonious societies and states” the four main topics discussed were Religious freedom, protection of minorities, Migration, integration and social cohesion, Democracy, good governance and Overcoming violence.
The last four matters being taken on were the Millennium Development Goals, Legal empowerment of the poor, Health and Climate Change. These four topics all fell under the umbrella title of “Building peace through human development that respects the Earth”
During these days of preparation for the World Assembly, I also had the opportunity to attend the launch of “Restoring Dignity “ Campaign with invited guests, hosted by EWFN.
Furthermore separate and parallel consultations were organized with the ECRL/RfP Europe, European Women of Faith Network and the European Interfaith Youth Network of which I was part. The conference was concluded by the
Recommendations from European entities such as concerns, priorities and suggestions to be considered in the planning of RfP World Assembly 2013.