Celebrating Unity in Diversity
Every year, from February 1 to 7, the world comes together to observe the United Nations World Interfaith Harmony Week, an initiative promoting dialogue, understanding, and cooperation among people of different faiths. Rooted in the universal principle of “Love of God and Love of the Neighbor”, this week serves as a powerful reminder that faith communities play a critical role in fostering peace, compassion, and shared humanity.
In the South Asia & Pacific region, where religious and cultural diversity is vast, faith-based organizations (FBOs) and interfaith collaboration have been instrumental in addressing the pressing challenges faced by children, families, and communities. To commemorate this week, World Vision South Asia & Pacific (WV SAP) & JLI hosted a special interfaith event on February 6, 2025, under the theme:
Interfaith Unity: Transforming Lives of Children and Families Together
This 90-minute regional webinar served as a platform to celebrate interfaith harmony, showcase the impact of faith-based initiatives, and formally introduced the Asia-Pacific Faith-based Coalition (APFC), a new collaborative effort to strengthen interfaith engagement in the region.
In today’s world, where economic struggles, climate crises, and social inequalities disproportionately affect vulnerable children and families, faith communities offer more than just spiritual guidance but they provide tangible solutions. From delivering humanitarian aid and promoting education to supporting behavioral change and social cohesion, faith leaders and FBOs stand at the heart of transformational change.
This event aimed to:
- Highlight the power of interfaith collaboration in improving children’s well-being.
- Showcase real-life impact stories from across the region.
- Encourage faith-driven social and behavioral change.
- Provide a platform for learning and exchange among faith actors.
- Introduce the Asia-Pacific Faith-based Coalition (APFC) and its role in future interfaith collaborations.
Event Highlights
Desmond Lim (Faith Advisor-WV SAP) highlighted the importance of faith in development and humanitarian contexts and also advocated for the provision of an enabling environment for children and their families.
Cherian Thomas (Regional Leaders WV SAP) emphasized on the role of faith actors and power of faith to address societal issues, social cohesion and role of faith actors for the promotion of positive change in the communities.
Voices of Unity: A powerful video from World Vision Sri Lanka featuring testimonies from Christian, Buddhist, Muslim, and Hindu leaders, alongside children impacted by interfaith collaboration.
Inspiring Panel Discussions: Prominent faith leaders and experts from Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam shared success stories, challenges, and best practices on how faith can inspire and shape social transformation. Panelists included:
- Lanieta Leo (Christian Care Centre, Solomon Islands): Lanieta shared insights from a women Centre at Solomon Island. She highlighted the efforts of Christian faith leaders in driving positive change for women facing GBV in the country and demonstrated how faith-based interventions contribute to resolving family conflicts.
- Dr. Chintamani Yogi (NIRN Nepal): Dr. Yogi presented his efforts to foster interfaith harmony among all religions to create an enabling environment for children in Nepal. He also demonstrated the positive change driven from the temple where he serves and emphasized the vital role of faith actors in promoting this environment.
- Hewahata Susantha (Hayagiri International Buddhist College Sri Lanka): Hewahata shared about safe spaces they have created in Sri Lanka for ethical education for children and emphasized on the role of faith actors in humanitarian work.
- Ejaz Ur Rehman (UNICEF Pakistan, SBCC Specialist on Immunization): Ejaz discussed the role of faith actors in Pakistan’s polio eradication program and explained how they are addressing immunization and public health issues through mosques and religious events across various Muslim schools of thought to promote positive change in communities.
Noor Ur Rehman (Regional Coordinator South Asia-JLI) formally introduced JLI and its initiatives, along with the Asia-Pacific Faith-based Coalition (APFC), while emphasizing the importance of regional interfaith cooperation. Established in 2018 by World Vision, Arigatou International, Act Alliance, Soka Gakkai, and Islamic Relief Worldwide, APFC amplifies the voices of FBOs in global and regional policy discussions on SDGs. It serves as a platform for advocacy, engagement, learning, knowledge sharing, networking, and collaboration among faith actors in the region. APFC unites FBOs from diverse faith traditions to collaborate, exchange knowledge, and take collective action toward achieving the Sustainable Development Goals while advancing equity, peace, and justice in the region.
Call to Action: As the event concluded, participants were encouraged to continue interfaith engagement through follow-up learning sessions, networking, and collaborative initiative. Membership drive of APFC will be launched with the support of the founding members to include more members from the region.