Resources

2015-2017: A Program Model Case Study Partners: Episcopal Relief & Development and the humanitarian arm of the Episcopal Church of Liberia Two-year evaluation of program in Liberia   Program Website on Episcopal Relief & Development

Voice for Change Stories of Learning From 2013 to 2017, UK Aid supported the implementation of a programme called Voice for Change (V4C), which sought to address social norms and improve gender equality in four states in Nigeria: Enugu, Kaduna,…

An evaluation was conducted of a three-year intervention focused on violence against women and girls (VAWG) and implemented in the conflict-affected north-east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), a country with high rates of VAWG. The intervention addressed VAWG,…

This toolkit is published by ACT Alliance EU, Caritas Europa, EU-CORD and Islamic Relief Worldwide  to give EU decision-makers a concise practical tool to encourage engagement of local religious leaders and faith communities in pandemic response and the post-recovery phase.…

The December 18, 2020 event was hosted by the Joint Learning Initiative on Faith and Local Communities (JLI) and co-sponsored by the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs at Georgetown University and the World Faiths Development Dialogue (WFDD)…

This scoping study explores the programmes and initiatives of local faith actors (which can include formal and informal religious leaders, worship communities, faith networks, and local and national faith-based organisations) in their response to modern slavery and human trafficking in…

Mozambique’s Interfaith Program against Malaria (PIRCOM) developed the volunteer, Christian and Muslim sermon guide. They provide basic facts about malaria prevention and health seeking behavior, providing scriptural texts in support of the actions that a family should be taking. These…

The Faith Alliance for Health commits from 2016-2020 to strengthen national and local faith networks of faith leaders and organizations to build their influence to bear and use their assets to eliminate preventable deaths of women, children, and adolescents. This…

The Philippines is a deeply religious society, and institutions and beliefs permeate social, economic, and political institutions. Religious actors are thus deeply engaged in development, from debates and ideas about directions to politics and on the ground implementation. A large…

This scoping study explores the programmes and initiatives of local faith actors (which can include formal and informal religious leaders, worship communities, faith networks, and local and national faith-based organisations) in their response to modern slavery and human trafficking in…

Religious leaders and institutions have been a vital part of the global response to HIV and AIDS since the early days of the epidemic. However, the faith-based response to HIV must be scaled up significantly if we are to end…

One of the most powerful influencers of individual behaviours, social norms and collective action at community and societal level is religion.
To maximize opportunities for more positive and impactful influence towards improving child and family wellbeing, UNICEF (Communication for Development Section and Civil Society Partnerships Unit in NYHQ), the Joint Learning Initiative on Faith and Local Communities and Religions for Peace in 2018 embarked on a new global Initiative on Faith and Positive Change for Children.

The UN Environment Foresight Briefs are published by UN Environment to, among others, highlight a hotspot of environmental change, feature an emerging science topic, or discuss a contemporary environmental issue. This is an opportunity to find out what is happening…

When the world thinks of the roll-out of COVID-19 vaccines, the faces that come to mind are those of doctors, nurses, health ministers, and politicians. But also essential in the battle to end the pandemic are an invisible population of…

Since the dawn of history, faith has provided a foundation from which social norms develop - an estimated 83.6 percent of the world’s population considers itself affiliated with a faith. This underscores the critical role that religious leaders can play…

The Interfaith Alliance for Safer Communities conducted a survey with faith leaders across the world to gauge their levels of awareness and understand the challenges that they face, in order to develop the right tools and knowledge resources to better…

Kenya AIDS Strategic Framework (KASF) 2014/15 – 2018/19 embraces a multi-sectoral approach to HIV programming and emphasizes the importance of participation and accountability in every sector in the HIV response. This calls upon communities to respond to HIV within their…

"Faith-based Interventions in Peace, Conflict and Violence: A Scoping Study" was launched at the World Humanitarian Summit on May 23, 2016 at the JLIF&LC & Soka Gakkai International Side Event "Evidence on Religious Groups' Contributions to Humanitarian Response". For more…

This report is background for the Berkely Center’s “mapping” of faith-inspired organizations worldwide and global development policy focusing on South and Central Asia.

JAKARTA, INDONESIA, March 5 2014. The Indonesian Council of Ulama (MUI) has issued a fatwa, or edict, requiring the country’s 200 million Muslims to take an active role in protecting threatened species including tigers, rhinos, elephants and orangutans. The fatwa,…

This note on the 2019 G20 Interfaith Forum highlights what happened, with some analysis of key points. This ambitious effort aimed to bring together a “network of networks”, linking religious actors working on global issues within the broad framework of…

A review of the results of a consultation regarding how faith leaders and groups can and are contributing to the development of Latin America.

The aim of this guide is to share key information relating to older people during the Covid-19 pandemic and to prompt meaningful thinking about and engagement with older people in churches and communities . Churches are in a good position…

Religions for Peace worked with the Joint Learning Initiative on Faith and Local Communities to devise a guide to action for religious leaders and faith communities. This guide includes introductory information on global responses to refugees and migrants, reflections on…

Guião de Promoção e Protecção dos Direitos da Criança para os Líderes Religiosos Para a promoção da Saúde, Educação e Protecção da Criança Guide to religious leaders for the promotion of health, education and child protection in Portuguese The involvement…

The current working paper is part of project dldl/ድልድል working paper series that aims to disseminate key project findings to a wider audience, in an effort to improve understanding among Ethiopian Orthodox Church clergy and theologians, state agents, and non-governmental…

As part of the JLI GBV Hub Study funded by UK-Aid on Harmful Traditional Practices (HTP)s, the literature review focused on the most prevalent HTPs and faith actors conducted at the start of the study As such it served as…

A background document used by the UNHCR on faith and development as it relates to refugees.

One in three women worldwide has experienced physical or sexual violence from their partner; this includes at least 90 million Catholic women. The mutual love and honor promised in marriage is not understood; hearts are broken; bodies and spirits are…

This resource was published in May 2020 as part of Tearfund’s ​Guidance for churches on how to support older people during the Covid-19 pandemic​. Click here to read the full manual with references Click here to view the poster Contexts…

Video of roundtable sessions with leaders from Muslim, Christian and Druze faith groups on Violence Against Women (VAW) in collaboration with both Oxfam as well as the Forum for Development, Culture, and Dialogue [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rS5_bamajys[/embed] Boolket on ending VAW (in arabic):

Introducing the Network for Dialogue: EMPOWERING INTERRELIGIOUS AND INTERCULTURAL DIALOGUE FOR THE SOCIAL INCLUSION OF MIGRANTS AND REFUGEES The Network for Dialogue was initiated in 2018 by the International Dialogue Centre (KAICIID) in order to bring faith and civil society…

A review of research from Malawi, DRC, and South Africa regarding practices and opinions of sexual health and couple decision making.

“We can no longer be silent as we are called to uphold human dignity for all creation” Faith Communities Respond to Gender-Based Violence Our Southern Africa region is struggling with the epidemic of gender-based violence. It is perpetrated in our…

“We will walk every step with our Children” Southern African Faith Leaders Commit to Respond to Teenage Pregnancy We, the faith community in Southern Africa (African Traditional Religion, Baha’i faith, Christian and Muslim) view children as whole human beings who…

Violent extremism is a global issue. Whether it has political, ideological, racist or religious roots, the problem of youth radicalisation affects African and European societies in the same way. The common response of using coercive hard power to counter violent…

International Care Ministries (ICM) - Philippines How this story represents an international-local faith partnership in Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning (MEAL): International Christian faith-based poverty alleviation organisation & partnerships with local pastors in Philippines. International Care Ministries (ICM) is a…

This book explores the interplay and dialogue between faith communities and the humanitarian-development community. Faith and religion are key influencers of thought and practice in many communities around the world and development practitioners would not be able to change behaviors…

This report describes the results of a yearlong qualitative study on religious leaders’ understandings and responses to issues of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV). Conducted by the Science, Religion, and Culture Program (SRC) at Harvard Divinity School with the support…

Working effectively with faith leaders to challenge harmful traditional practices Study Speakers Dr Elisabet le Roux is the Research Director at the Unit for Religion and Development Research Dr Brenda Bartelink is an anthropologist and scholar in the Academic Study of Religion…

The aim of this report is to highlight evidence regarding the roles and impact that Local Faith Communities (LFCs) play in relation to urban refugees, with the aim of informing interconnected conversations around localisation and urbanisation. The international community is…

Local Faith Communities in Urban Displacement: Evidence on Urbanization and Localization Brief Author: Olivia Wilkinson Design: Stacy Nam Key points: Local faith actors should be recognized as legitimate “local,” “civil society” actors A greater familiarity with the structures of local…

This Report, a product of the JLI F&Lc Learning Hub on HIV AIDS and Maternal Health reviews the available data on the nexus between faith, maternal health and HIV AIDS development work, against the framework of specific questions. The report summarizes the evidence, discusses opportunities and challenges, makes recommendations for practice and for further research.

Policy brief based on the experiences of young members of the Anglican Student Federation in South Africa. Focuses on what role, if any faith has played in the construction of gender norms. It looks at the importance of context, rural…

Since 1946, local faith communities have been at the heart of CWS responses to forced displacement. When we conceived of this research in 2019, it was because of our conviction that local faith communities remain as essential in welcoming the…

On World AIDS Day, the World Council of Churches launched Leading by Example: Religious Leaders and HIV Testing, a interfaith campaign that encourages religious leaders to inspire getting tested for HIV and especially to lead by example and have themselves tested for…

How do adaptations to COVID-19 inform strategies for enhancing local faith leadership in health and development? The changes COVID-19 imposed on faith actors' ways of working, while challenging, also released creativity and innovation. It opened new avenues for partnership with…

Local faith-based organisations (FBOs) and faith leaders played important roles in the Ebola response in DRC. Unfortunately, however, the international and national response was slow to recognise their contribution. Funding and decision-making on the response centred on UN and host…