Abu Dhabi [UAE], February 3 (ANI/WAM): On 21st December 2020, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution designating 4th February as the International Day of Human Fraternity, to be commemorated annually starting in 2021.
Co-facilitated by the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt, the resolution acknowledges initiatives fostering interreligious and intercultural dialogue, and encourages all Member States to actively promote a culture of peace, tolerance, inclusion, understanding, and solidarity.
Notably, it recognises the historic meeting on 4th February 2019, between His Holiness Pope Francis, Head of the Catholic Church, and His Eminence the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, Ahmad al-Tayeb, in Abu Dhabi, which led to the signing of the “Document on Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together.”
The observance comes in light of the efforts and influential role played by the UAE to promote and spread the values and principles of peace, tolerance and coexistence at the global level.
To mark the occasion, Trends Research and Advisory, in partnership with the Ministry of Tolerance and Coexistence and the University Platform for the Study of Islam, will convene the Fourth International Conference of PLURIEL on Sunday (4th February) in Abu Dhabi to coincide with the fifth anniversary of the “Document on Human Fraternity for World Peace and Coexistence”, and the International Day of Human Fraternity. The conference will be held under the central theme “Islam and Human Fraternity: The Impact and Prospects of the Abu Dhabi Declaration on Coexistence”.
The conference will be attended by more than 57 speakers and chairpersons from 40 universities and research institutions representing four continents. Specialists in the fields of scientific and academic research and religious thought, will hold 12 sessions and deliver 5 insightful lectures to enrich the discussion. The conference is an important opportunity to examine the impact of the Document on Human Fraternity on coexistence between Christians and Muslims in the world, as well as its future prospects.
The conference will explore the impact of the Document on Human Fraternity on its fifth anniversary, and analyse the transformations necessary to promote global human fraternity. The discussions will highlight three main axes, the first is the socio-legal axis, where the issue of human citizenship in multicultural and multi-religious societies will be examined, with a special focus on the legal protection of religious minorities. The second axis is geopolitical and will examine the role of religion and ideology in current conflicts.
The third axis will explore religious and theological thinking, which is motivated by the Document on Human Fraternity, and how the concept of fraternity can be developed to include all humanity.
Since its signing, the document has formed the starting point for many initiatives that promote the spirit of tolerance and coexistence between all religions, the most prominent of which is the Abrahamic Family House project, on Saadiyat Island in Abu Dhabi, which houses a church, a mosque, and a synagogue under one roof.
The Zayed Award for Human Fraternity (ZAHF) announced on Friday its 2024 honourees: Indonesian organisations Nahdlatul Ulama and Muhammadiyah; Egyptian world-renowned cardiac surgeon Sir Magdi Yacoub; and Chilean grassroots leader Sister Nelly Leon Correa. Named in honour of the UAE Founding Father, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the Zayed Award for Human Fraternity recognises his renowned humanitarianism and dedication to helping people regardless of their background.
Selected by an independent judging committee for their exceptional efforts in tackling complex societal challenges and promoting peaceful coexistence and solidarity among humanity at the international and grassroots levels, the recipients will be recognised during an award ceremony on 5th February 2024, at the Founder’s Memorial in Abu Dhabi.
Over 130,000 students from 43 schools across the UAE have been invited to create artistic visual expressions of human fraternity as part of an initiative organised by the Zayed Award for Human Fraternity (ZAHF) in partnership with GEMS Education to raise awareness for the International Day of Human Fraternity among youth.
The second edition of ZAHF’s “Expressions of Human Fraternity” initiative will engage students of all ages to showcase their personal interpretations of human fraternity through various types of art – paintings, drawing, sketches, and mixed media.
The UAE annually hosts the Abu Dhabi Forum for Peace, which discusses the humanitarian problems and issues facing people in today’s world that have resulted from intellectual and sectarian conflicts in Muslim societies. (ANI/WAM)
