APA-Dakar (Senegal) – A collaborative initiative by JCRC BridgesNY in partnership with Daylight Africa Inc. and Cheikh Anta Diop University promotes living together across diverse communities and religious beliefs.
Nowadays, living together is strongly challenged in many societies. Conflicts based on ethnicity, religion or culture are legion.
It was against this backdrop of high tension that the Interfaith Forum for Peace was held in Dakar on Monday, under the theme “The challenges of global migration and interfaith leadership for peace and progress.”
The collaborative initiative of JCRC BridgesNY in partnership with Daylight Africa Inc. and Cheikh Anta Diop University aims to foster dialogue and mutual understanding between religious leaders, academics and communities to address the challenges posed by global migration.
“We want to show that it is possible to talk to each other, to connect, but above all to appreciate each other. We are living in a time of a multitude of crises that bring people face to face with each other over identity and territory… We believe that it is from the bottom up that we can solve these problems. We can start with the people and create channels of exchange to build a world of peace. Because you just have to know the other to be able to accept him,” explained Professor Mamadou Drame, assessor at the Faculty of Science and Technology for Education and Training (FASTEF).
He is convinced that “if we manage to accept each other’s differences within the limits of the values we share and the values that are specific to each people, it is possible to live together in peace.”
According to Professor Drame, mistrust of foreigners often stems from ignorance about them and the fact that people don’t know each other very well.
JCRC BridgesNY and Daylight Africa are platforms that encourage open dialogue, cooperation and actionable ideas to address the challenges of global migration through the lens of interfaith leadership. Together, they strive to contribute to a more peaceful and progressive world.
American students were invited to take part in the forum. Together with students from Senegal’s virtual university, they will be exchanging ideas and getting to know each other better.
Through this twinning, the promoters of the event want to build a community capable of carrying the message of the need to live together in diversity.
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