King’s forum promotes intercultural education

The Vienna-based King Abdullah International Center for Inter-religious and Intercultural Dialogue (KAICIID) organized a meeting of experts in New Delhi recently to discuss the promotion of inter-religious and intercultural education using best global practices.
The New Delhi event follows three regional conferences in Vienna, Addis Ababa and Buenos Aires. “These meetings connected key experts and facilitated the analysis of successful methods, models and materials from formal and non-formal educational contexts,” said Faisal Muammar, secretary-general of the center.
He said the recommendations of these meetings would be presented to the General Assembly of Religions for Peace, the KAICIID Global Forum, which takes place in Vienna on Nov. 18 and 19 when the Austrian capital hosts up to 800 key religious figures and educationists.
“The KAICIID Forum will bring together 400 leaders in intercultural and inter-religious education, government officials and eminent religious figures,” said Muammar, adding that they would discuss the global challenge of finding ways to educate young people to understand followers of other religions and cultures.
The Vienna forum will feature a discussion track for government representatives, panels of experts and field leaders. Topics include Civic Education and Inter-religious Education curriculum development and training; Dialogue: The State of the Art; youth initiatives and cutting-edge models of seminary education.
“The forum is designed as a working meeting to facilitate cooperation across disciplines and build lasting networks for integrated approaches to advance the field of intercultural and inter-religious education,” he said.
Speaking about the “The Image of the Other” program, Muammar said it would identify and communicate best practices in inter-religious and intercultural education across the world and highlight the role of dialogue in curriculum development and the learning process. It would also connect researchers, educators, donors and policymakers to develop a cross-border community of individuals in the field and expand the use of culturally sensitive and local models of intercultural education.
“We see a proliferation of new, multifaith education models in universities and seminaries, preparing faith leaders for the religiously diverse world in which they will serve … We are delighted to be both supporting and learning from advances in this exciting field while facilitating greater dialogue,” Muammar said.