Parliament Joins Eminent Interfaith Representatives at the Annual Kofi Annan Faith Briefings
On Monday July 15th, 2019 the UN Task Force on Religion and Development and the Multi-Faith Advisory Council (CA) gathered for the Annual Kofi Annan Faith Briefings in New York.
The Parliament was invited to participate in the panel discussion entitled Role of Multi-Faith Partnerships to Combat Climate Change and its Impacts, which highlighted climate programs and initiatives from key interfaith organizations. The Parliament’s presentation featured an overview of the Climate Commitments Project which can be viewed here.
About the Annual Kofi Annan Briefings
The purpose of the Kofi Annan Faith Briefings is:
• To provide a dedicated and ‘regular’ space, during a key intergovernmental moment (in this case the High Level Political Forum/HLPF) capitalizing on the unique constellation of geopolitical and socio-cultural human capital, well-versed in religion and religiously related affairs, which is capable of informing, and being informed by, UN system deliberations.
• To uphold the importance of strategic partnerships by the UN system with faith-based and faith-inspired civil society actors, around the world for specific SDGs;
• To present and assess the diverse range of partnerships between different faith entities and between them and the UN and its member states, as a means to realising the SDG goals;
• To thereby showcase the multi-faith civic support for multilateralism which is dedicated to the service of human rights, sustainable development and peace and security.
In 2019, the program focused on the theme of Empowering People and Ensuring Inclusiveness and Equality: The Role of UN and Multi-Faith Collaboration and included keynotes from high-level experts and five panel discussions. The panel discussions focused on issues like multi-faith collaboration, intergenerational dialogue, the rights of children, and climate change. Explore the full list of programs here.
The Parliament participated in discussions moderated by Charles McNeill and Rev. Victor Kazanjian of URI and included eminent speakers including Jamil Ahmad from UN Environment, Mary-Evelyn Tucker from the Yale Forum on Religion and Ecology, Gopal Patel from GreenFaith, Rev. Ken Kitatani from Forum 21, Karenna Gore from the Center for Earth Ethics, and Audrey Kitagawa from the Parliament of Worlds’ Religions.
Participants were invited to address the following questions:
• What are some challenges of multi-faith and UN collaboration in this area and what are some success stories
• What are some of the partnership efforts in this area which also tie in concerns about peace and inclusive societies? educational dynamics? Reducing inequalities?
• What Commitments the interfaith community is/will be making/announcing to advance climate action?
Read the full report on the 2019 Annual Kofi Annan Briefings here and view images from the panel below.
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About the Multi-Faith Advisory Council (CA)
Established in 2018, the Council is composed of the CEOs of the UN’s top global faith-based partners. The AC is committed to “uphold multilateralism and international human rights through multi-faith collaboration around/for Agenda 2030”. The CEOs of the FBOs were selected according to nominations from across the UN system entities members of the UN Interagency Task Force. To date, each major faith tradition is represented on the Council.
The Parliament of the World’s Religions is a member of the Multi-Faith Advisory Council along with partners like United Religions Initiative, KAICIID, The Interfaith Center for Sustainable Development, Global Interfaith WASH Alliance, and the World Council of Churches. Explore the complete list of members here.
