National Interfaith Summit
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The Samvaad National Interfaith Summit is a day-long virtual conference on interfaith work, with a special emphasis on dialogue. With the core theme being interfaith explorations, the sub-themes that the Summit will explore include:
• Need for dialogue in the current context
• Relevance of interfaith content in mainstream education
• Bridge-builders in the history of the sub-continent
NEED FOR DIALOGUE IN THE CURRENT CONTEXT
While dialogue has been a major facet of Indic philosophy and hence been practiced in the subcontinent from ancient times, colonisation and the impact of modern religious and social practices have disconnected us from dialogue both in spirit and in practice. We have a lot of debates and opinions in every aspect of our lives: political, social, economic, and even personal. However, the ability to dialogue need to be reclaimed for us to engage in everyday peacebuilding.
RELEVANCE OF INTERFAITH CONTENT IN MAINSTREAM EDUCATION
Faith is often associated directly with religion. However, we invest our faith in several ideas, persons, and things: faith therefore encompasses religion, capitalism, lifestyle, gender, class, caste, sexual orientation, political systems, etc. Very often, individuals do not have clarity on what their faith is, because it is not a matter of inquiry. This leads to personal and societal actions and choices coming from a deeply unconscious drive, justified later as practical compulsions. The case for interfaith education at all levels is in order to fuel the capacity for self-inquiry and co-living.
BRIDGE-BUILDERS IN THE HISTORY OF THE SUB-CONTINENT
The Indian sub-continent has a rich history of bridge-builders that have inspired us to meld seemingly paradoxical spaces and stances. Kabir bridged the spiritual and the material, Gandhi bridged the political and the spiritual, Sai Baba bridged Hinduism and Islam, Andal bridged the worldly and beyond. And there are hundreds of others, even in our contemporary milieu doing this work. In times of polarisation, it is hugely energising to draw inspiration from these bridge-builders, and to invoke their teachings within ourselves and our current systems.
INVITATION
Under the aegis of the US State Department and the US Consulate General, Mumbai, Seeds of Peace India has the opportunity to offer the Samvaad National Interfaith Summit as an open, free-of-cost opportunity for participants to attend. You are invited to participate and attend if you are:
• A university or school level educator
• A student (we encourage high school and university level students to attend, given the nature of content)
• A faith leader
• A journalist
• A policy or lawmaker/legal professional
• A dialogue practitioner or a representative of a dialogue forum
• A peacebuilding organisation
• Any manner of civil society stakeholder in how faith shapes society
• A participant of The Samvaad Project (initiated by Seeds of Peace India in April 2021)
• A conscious citizen who is curious about faith and wants to participate actively in everyday peacebuilding
While the conference is India based and will cater to working hours in Indian Standard Time (IST), we are happy to receive participation from any part of the world since we believe this work is relevant across the globe.
Publication
Seeds of Peace India will be publishing a Samvaad Handbook for Interfaith Facilitators as a part of the Summit. The publication will include papers submitted for the Summit, session plans for interfaith dialogue co-created by participants of The Samvaad Project, and other resources authored, edited, and compiled by The Samvaad Project facilitators.
