September 11-12, 2024

Alongside PeaceCon 2024, AfP, in partnership with Porticus and World Vision will convene the Evidence Summit for Effective Interreligious Action. The Evidence Summit will bring together implementers, practitioners, academics, organizations, and donors focused on the important role of religious communities, organizations, and actors in preventing and resolving violent conflict. It will feature speakers from around the world, and highlight practices and approaches from East Africa, the Middle East, Latin America, and South and Southeast Asia. To support more effective, whole-of-society peacebuilding programming and policies grounded in conflict prevention, the Summit will foster better design and evidence-based evaluation; advance improved policy, practice, and partnership; and create network opportunities. All of the Evidence Summit sessions will occur virtually and are available free of charge.

Please note, attendance at these sessions will be free to all who register using the code 24PCESD even if they are not attending the wider PeaceCon2024 digital agenda. All participants of the PeaceCon digital agenda will automatically have access to the Evidence Summit.

September 11 | 6:15 am - 7:30 am ET

September 12 | 6:15 AM - 7:30 AM ET

  • Religion and belief can be divisive, and siloed approaches to policy and programming have often overlooked religious engagement as a crucial peacebuilding tool. Misconceptions about religion hinder its integration into peace efforts, but while not every conflict is religious, most conflicts have a religious dimension. Neglecting freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) can lead to long-term grievances and greater conflict. This session aims to help participants understand FoRB's significance, explore religion's role in peacebuilding, and develop practical skills for promoting FoRB and working with religious actors. The session will challenge assumptions about faith, conflict, and peacebuilding, highlighting opportunities for better policy, programming, and diplomacy through an integrated approach.

    Speakers:

    • Rachel Forster, Policy Officer, Search for Common Ground

    • Dr. James Gomez , Regional Director, Asia Centre

    • Hening Parlan, Coordinator for Indonesia, Greenfaith Indonesia

    • Ali Aden, Program officer, Search For Common Ground

  • In places where inter-communal conflict and violence harms physical and psychological integrity and destroys opportunity, women’s rights, gender rights, and ecological action are often the very last priorities to be addressed during peacemaking efforts. Around the world, religion plays a crucial role in shaping norms, beliefs, and behaviors. However, misinformation and misunderstanding about how sacred tenets address women’s rights often leads to avoidable mistreatment, oppression, and violence against women, girls, and the environment. This session will explore how interfaith strategies,  the ecofeminism approach, and community and national level advocacy can overcome obstacles and measurably advance women’s rights, gender justice, social cohesion and peaceful coexistence, especially among cultures and religions in fragile and conflict-affected areas.

    Speakers:

    • Hening Parlan, Director of Eco Bhinneka Muhammadiyah, Joint Initiative for Strategic Religious Action (JISRA) Program

    • Farida Abdulbasit, Peacebuilding Program Coordinator, Faith to Action Network

    • Mr. Yilma Hirpa, Project Coordinator, Joint Initiative for Strategic Religious Action (JISRA), Ethiopia Interfaith Forum for Development Dialogue and Action (EIFDDA)

    • Karen Hoehn, Managing Director, Bonstar SRL

  • Faith plays a significant role in the multipolar world—either making it more polarized or reducing it. Empowered local faith actors strive to reduce polarization on many levels. The evidence from the field confirms this and more investment is needed in this area of work. This session will provide an interactive platform where researchers, program administrators, and PeaceCon participants will engage in a conversation about the role of local faith actors in peacebuilding. Panelists will highlight the evidence base from the Hidden Peacebuilders Project implemented in Sri Lanka, Philippines, and Burundi, while discussing programmatic and policy implications of the project findings, including opportunities and challenges for mainstreaming the peacebuilding activities of local faith actors.


    Speakers:

    • Professor Emma Tomalin, Professor of Religion and Public Life, School of Philosophy, Religion, and Science,  University of Leeds

    • Jayeel Cornelio, Professor, Development Study Program, Ateneo de Manila University

    • Professor Kalinga Tudor Silva, Emeritus Professor at the Department of Sociology, University of Peradeniya

    • Dr. Theodore Mbazumutima, Director, Rema Burundi

    • Dr. Kathryn Kraft, Senior Research Advisor for Faith and Development, World Vision International

    • Alex Ruban, Senior Manager, Technical Programmes, World Vision Sri Lanka

Register Here