Date/Time
Date(s) - 22/08/2022
2:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Categories
The Middle East Hub on Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability, and Learning (MEAL) and Faith is hosting its first talk under the MEAL & Faith Talk Series.
Titled “Spiritual Life and Public Practice”, this discussion aims to better understand the link between spirituality and public life and practice. How does our faith and spiritual life translate into actions on the ground and what challenges do the multiple facets of our identities bring?
Background:
People get inspired by different things to make a change in their context and contribute to the well-being of their communities. Most actors on the ground, whether faith-based or secular, have a range of motivations. Many people are inspired by their faith teachings to engage in humanitarian, development, peacebuilding, and other work that can make a positive difference in their communities.
However, sometimes people’s faith motivations are questioned and met with suspicion, especially by secular actors. These suspicions can be based on fear of proselytization, suspected lack of impartiality in providing services, and alleged extremist tendencies. Fears of the involvement of faith actors in public life are also often linked to preconceived perceptions of the role of religion in society as well as an assumption that secular approaches are neutral approaches.
This will be the first discussion and shared learning meeting for the hub. It will provide a space for hub members to get to know each other and start touching on the main themes that the hub and its activities will address, building the baseline of the planned exploration of MEAL and faith in subsequent sessions.
Introductory remarks about the topic will be shared by hub members:
- Sister Emilie Tannous (Lebanon)
- Dr Souleiman Al Abbar (Syria)
Note: this discussion is private and exclusive for hub members. If you’re interested in the hub and its thematic focus, please contact Zainab Chamoun at [email protected]
