International Celebration

With the aim of eliminating racial discrimination, the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination was established. On this day, human rights are presented in the highest form in accordance with respect for all races, colors, and nationalities.

“How boring and monotone a uniform world would be, one where everyone, cut from the same cloth, thought and lived the same way! Without anything to discover within others, how would we enrich ourselves?”³ This is what the writer and poet “Amadou Hampate Ba” said about human diversity. But even today, many people still view racial diversity through a lens filled with racism and discrimination.

Definition of Racial Discrimination

The definition of racial discrimination is any discrimination, exclusion, or restriction based on race, color, descent, or national origin. This leads to the obstruction or hindrance of recognition of human rights and basic freedoms, or even their enjoyment or exercise on an equal footing in the political, economic, social, or any other field of life.⁴

Forms of Racial Discrimination

1- Interpersonal Racism: preconceived judgment, bias, or discrimination by a white person toward a person of color.

2- Institutional Racism: policies, practices, procedures, and culture of institutions or systems that operate in favor of the white race and also cause harm to people of color, whether intentionally or unintentionally.

3- Structural Racism: the history, culture, and current reality of racism across institutions.

4- Internalized Racism: adopting stereotypical molds, images, and racist values perpetuated by the dominant white society about the racial group.

5- Internalized Racial Inferiority: accepting and acting upon a lower sense of self rooted in the historical labeling of the individual’s race over multiple generations.

6- Internalized Racial Superiority: accepting and acting upon a superior sense of self rooted in the historical labeling of the individual’s race over multiple generations, with an exaggerated self-image based on race.²

The reason for choosing March 21 as an International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination

On this day in 1960, South African police opened fire on a peaceful demonstration in Sharpeville protesting against apartheid laws. Despite the peaceful nature of the protest, police gunfire claimed the lives of 69 people. This incident became a clear violation of human rights and was based on racial discrimination, which South Africa and many other countries have long suffered from.¹

The goal of establishing this International Day

In 1966, the General Assembly declared March 21 as a day to express the struggle to put an end to apartheid policies in South Africa, and also as a call for the international community to redouble its efforts to eliminate racism and promote understanding and equality among all races.

This day also provides an opportunity to focus on the International Decade for People of African Descent, one of the world’s most impoverished and marginalized groups. It is an occasion to evaluate the progress made by countries and determine the actions needed to improve the human rights situation of people of African descent.¹

Despite the progress made by the world in various fields, the retrograde mentality based on racial discrimination is still deeply rooted in many minds. It is inherited across generations, forming an empty circle of bigotry, violations, and endless conflicts.

The Uplifting Syrian Women initiative confirms its rejection of all forms of racial discrimination and its support for the principles of equality and respect for racial diversity. This is based on its belief that differences are a source of wealth and strength in the world.

Also read:

• Human Rights Day
• World Interfaith Harmony Week

• International Day of Human Fraternity

References:

[1] OHCHR

[2] Seattle

[3] UNESCO

[4] OHCHR

On Mother’s Day, there is always an argument about who is the best mother. There’s no such thing as a perfect mum, but rather a mother who has tried to give love the way she learned and received it. A mother gives you life and unconditional love, and her love is permanent despite all the bad and good manners you have. You realize that your relationship with your mother is what your entire life is about when you sit in her lap. Perfection fades in this kind of love, and fear disappears in her arms.

What is the reason behind adjusting one day to celebrate this relationship with all the sanctity it holds? 

Mother’s Day is celebrated in Syria on the 21st of March every year, not only for mothers who give birth but also for those who have raised and provided love and care to children they did not give birth to. 

Was the aim of this day commercial? 

The root of this story goes back to the Greeks and Romans, who used to celebrate and honor the goddesses Rhea and Cybele.

Moving to the modern era, we find “Mothering Sunday,” a celebration in the UK and some parts of Europe that happens to fall on the fourth Sunday of the Easter fasting period. Originally, this day was not only for mothers but also for believers to return to their original church, the one they grew up in, and serve in it. As time passed, children began presenting gifts and flowers to their mothers on Mothering Sunday. However, this practice did not last long and eventually vanished with the emergence of Mother’s Day in the USA in the 19th century by Ann Maria Reeves Jarvis.¹

She has founded local clubs for mothers to teach them how to take care of their children the right way. All of that was before the Civil War. Women’s groups were insistent on unity despite the consequences of the Civil War and its divisions. In 1868, Jarvis organized “Mother’s Friendship Day,” where mothers gathered with Union and Confederate soldiers to promote reconciliation.¹

Ann Jarvis was not the only one who initiated Mother’s Day celebrations. Julia Ward Howe, in 1870, advocated for the abolition of the death penalty and women’s suffrage. She also proclaimed Mother’s Day as a call for mothers to unite in promoting world peace. In 1873, Howe launched a campaign for “Mother’s Peace Day” to be celebrated on June 2nd each year.¹

After the death of Ann Reeves Jarvis, her daughter Anna Jarvis made Mother’s Day an official holiday to honor and appreciate the efforts and sacrifices of mothers in paving the way for their children’s lives. The day was adopted to pay tribute to mothers and their contributions.

Also read:

• Teachers’ Day

References:

[1] History

In the harvest of the second year of the Uplifting Syrian Women initiative, and with our services reaching over 1000 beneficiaries, we pause for a moment to be proud of our distinctive steps and their impact on us. We see them as building blocks that pave our way toward achieving our goals. What makes this brief report important is to appreciate the efforts of our volunteers, whose number has reached more than one hundred volunteers, who have worked and continue to work for the greater good.

Training sessions and workshops held by the initiative

Over the course of twelve months, the initiative offered more than fifty training sessions. These sessions aimed to provide participants with information that could be basic, intermediate, or even advanced in the field covered by the course. The courses covered various fields and served actual needs in our society. The training topics varied from programming to foreign language courses, engineering software, design programs, scholarships, and language exams (such as IELTS). In addition to modern areas such as artificial intelligence or podcasting.

Training does not end when it is delivered. After these training sessions, we strive to gather feedback from participants to evaluate the service as a whole. The feedback has always been positive, emphasizing the amount of benefit achieved through the sessions. This encourages us to continue our efforts.

The initiative also offered various workshops, reaching a total of approximately 20 workshops. Workshops were considered a convenient and concise way to obtain practical information in fields such as data collection, freelancing, email writing, resume writing, and more.

The initiative’s website

At the beginning of last year, we launched our own website for the initiative to document our achievements and facilitate access to our services and articles for our target audience. With gentle efforts driven by a great force – the power of collaboration – we published nearly 100 articles over the past year, which were the result of the efforts of our teams of content writers, translators, and designers. These articles covered many aspects, including social issues, and mental health issues, and we celebrated international days through our words to remind you of them or introduce you to them, as well as including sustainable development goals.

We also do not forget that the Uplifting Syrian Women Initiative supports in every way it can, so we shared success stories of more than ten young women who have truly blossomed wherever they were, to assure our support for them and spread the energy of change and positive impact among individuals.

Campaigns launched by our initiative

On another note, our initiative launched three campaigns in the past year. The first one was “We Choose Peace,” which is the main campaign of the initiative, as it seeks to achieve sustainable peace in Syria by supporting women. The campaign included a competition and the winner’s work was published along with a brief description of it on the initiative’s page.

The second campaign was a reminder and promotion of awareness during “Pink October” to encourage new healthy habits as part of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The last one was “Elimination of Violence Against Women” to coincide with the 16 days of activism to support and advocate for women.

In the belief of the Uplifting Syrian Women Initiative in partnerships and collaborations, our initiative participated with the Sanad Development Team in a campaign about the importance of self-learning in the provinces of Damascus and Aleppo. In addition, we attended the Global Share conference and supported the initiative in sharing the stories of individuals and groups who believe in them, their cards, and their goals.

Collaborations held with supportive entities

Believing in the sanctity of cooperation and the importance of what it produces, and that each of us has a unique touch that can be offered with a different impact, the Uplifting Syrian Women initiative has established many collaborations with active entities in the field of education to deliver real and beneficial value to beneficiaries, including:

• Paper Airplanes organization: Paper Airplanes provided the initiative with several important workshops on all levels related to applying for scholarships, learning English, applying for job opportunities, how to write a professional email, and building a resume.
• Prodigy and System and G Egypt initiatives: These two Egyptian initiatives provided several workshops for the benefit of the Uplifting Syrian Women initiative, in addition to granting the initiative some seats for its beneficiaries in their own workshops.
• Sanad Development Team: The initiative, in cooperation with the Sanad Development Team, held a self-learning education tools activity, and at the end of this activity, the initiative provided a free course to teach English to the participants.

These collaborations have helped the initiative to move forward in achieving its sustainable development goals, which it believes in and is working hard to achieve.

The conclusion of the tremendous effort of initiative members

Finally, we are proud to announce that the tremendous effort made behind the scenes has been recognized and honored by receiving the “Most Impactful Initiative Award of the MENA Region.” This award is a recognition of the initiative’s contribution to promoting diversity and achieving gender equality in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. The judging committee evaluated the project’s impact, scalability, and reproducibility, as well as the authenticity and clarity of the project presentation. This award is the result of a true belief in the ability to continue and achieve the impossible, and to lift up Syrian women and society after years of bitter war.

None of these achievements and this reach would have been possible without the cooperation of initiative members and their deep and genuine belief in its goals. We can only thank you all, our dear audience, and thank each member of the initiative individually.

We have provided a quick summary of what we have accomplished during the past year and promise to strive with all our efforts to achieve more this year.

We can never pay back a teacher for whatever we say or do in teacher’s day since a teacher spends their whole life teaching and guiding kids to reach success, knowledge, and a never-ending thrive for turning dreams into reality.

“Have you ever met someone better than one who builds minds and people?”
– The poet Ahmad Shawqi.²

What is Teacher’s Day?

It’s an international day that’s celebrated yearly on the third occurring Thursday of March each year.¹
More than a hundred countries celebrate this day around the world to honor every teacher, everywhere. Teachers’ day is celebrated on the 5th of October. This is the same day that UNESCO and the International Labour Organization adopted a joint recommendation together to regulate teachers’ conditions. Which contains several principles that are related to parental policies and educational programs, in addition to onboarding teachers and providing jobs for them while studying their circumstances. Without forgetting the constant pursuit of achieving goals that guarantee their participation in decision-making on an educational level.²

What are the reasons behind celebrating teachers’ day?

There’s a strong relationship between the quality of education and teachers’ efficiency. A country that has a high level of educational quality must have teachers that are also of high rank. And since the importance of education is less than in certain countries of the world, teachers’ day is here to remind us of the weight of this profession and its message, and the role teachers play in society.

What’s a teacher’s role in society?

Teachers help students think critically, deal with information using different measures, and push them to voluntary work and study choices before taking them. Teachers are considered one of the most important human resources globally since good educational quality would never be available without good teachers.

Some numbers and facts

In many cases, we attribute poor education and lack of teachers to the countries’ lack of progression. This makes us think that developing countries are the only ones suffering from this issue. But as a matter of fact, the USA, Spain, Ireland, Italy, and Sweden are all experiencing low numbers of available teachers. The gap can be bridged in the USA by employing 0.5% of the population. China needs 1%. Nigeria needs 1.2%. while southern Sahara countries need to employ 1.8 million teachers. This indicates that despite progressiveness, we internationally and generally need more teachers. ²

The countries that suffer from a lack of teacher jobs are:

Northern Sahara in Africa; only has 243 thousand teachers, West Asia with less than 292 thousand teachers, and  North America and western Europe with 155 thousand teachers. In addition to central and eastern Europe and central and eastern Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean represent only 11% of the additional numbers of needed teachers on a worldwide level to achieve the generalization of primary schooling. ²

We at Uplifting Syrian Women respect and honor teachers’ messages, especially since our initiative is educational at first, we make sure with every course or training provided to choose the right teacher. And with this day we would like to congratulate each person that offered their time and energy for free with the aim of helping others grow. We always try our best to raise teachers by showing their vital role in society.

Also read:

• Quality Education
• International Day of Education
• Role of Education in Peacebuilding

References:

[1] Faharas

[2] Marefa

Despite the high level of scientific progress and the efforts to achieve gender equality, we continue to find clear differences between men’s and women’s ratios in the field of science. On 22 December 2015, The United Nations General Assembly decided to establish an annual International Day to recognize the critical role girls and women play in science and technology.

The International Day of Women and Girls in Science celebrated on 11 February, is implemented by UNESCO and UN-Women, in collaboration with institutions and civil society partners. This Day is an opportunity to promote full and equal access to and participation in science for women and girls. Gender equality is a global priority for UNESCO, and the support of young girls, their education, and their full ability to make their ideas heard are levers for development and peace.¹

Statistics for The International Day of Women and Girls in Science

Despite the progress made in certain societies regarding gender equality, however, the participation of women and girls in the scientific field is still limited, since we figured out that:

• Usually, female researchers are given smaller research grants than their male colleagues, although female researchers represent about 33,3% of all researchers, only 12% of members of the National Academic of Science are women.²
• In cutting-edge fields (e.g., Artificial Science), only one in five professionals (22%) is a woman.²
• Despite a shortage of skills in most of the technological fields driving the Fourth Industrial Revolution, women still account for only 28% of engineering graduates and 40% of graduates in computer science and informatics.²
• Female researchers tend to have shorter and less well-paid careers. Their work is underrepresented in high-profile journals and they are often passed over for promotion.²

The Reasons for Establishing This International Day

Many stereotypical bad ideas have been associated with women through the evolution of humans. Most societies force women to behave and make their decisions through ready templates without being given the right to freely determine their own destinies. The dominant image of girls’ future is marriage and motherhood, which is the primary goal of women in many eyes. Even though that role is very important, it does not have to be inevitable for every woman.

In addition, motherhood in such societies burdens women with the responsibilities of kids and household affairs entirely, which stands in the way of building their professional careers, and forces them, most of the time, to stay at home to take care of their families.   

Regardless of the importance of women and girls’ participation in scientific fields, when a woman is encouraged to learn and work, it’s most likely in majors which don’t take long outside of the house and have fewer responsibilities, because of being afraid of falling short in the primary mission (take care of the house). In this case, a woman has two jobs: a payless job inside the house, and a little pay job outside the house.

Thus, it becomes difficult for women to enter scientific research fields because of the time that such fields require; which women don’t have due to the unfair household responsibilities, that are covered with a fascinating names such as “the sacrificial mother” or “the good wife”, and “the woman behind each great man”.

In addition the discrimination in wages between men and women in these fields, constitutes a clear injustice that makes the whole situation more difficult. In many cultures, it’s still believed that women are less mentally and physically capable of working in such professions, and that’s why they’re considered less productive and less good at their work.

Solutions to strengthen the presence of women and girls in scientific fields

The terms against women which force them to make their own decisions must be eliminated; such as the women, when reaching the age of twenty and thirty, are indirectly forced to get married in fear of society, in which they might be called a “spinster”. After marriage, she must have children to become a mother, and then she has to assume the responsibilities assigned to her according to this role. As for men, it’s often that their decisions are made out of their personal opinions. Even If they had to keep up with certain ideas forced by society, there’s nothing that’s standing in the way of their career development, on the contrary, they receive all the encouragement and support. This makes girls and women’s roles in science limited.

Clear laws of equal pay between men and women should be put in place, regardless of the job they do. In addition to working on changing the prevailing beliefs that women are less able to work, especially in science.

Laws must be put in place to help both parents when having a child; not only should the mother take maternity leave, but the father should also take paternity leave. Such laws will entrench the concept of equality between parents and will give both of them the right and obligation to nurture their kids without discrimination.

Limited efforts are made to support women reaching such scientific heights. The Marie Sklodowska-Curie Program aims to inspire ambitious young women to enter the nuclear studies field, that’s done through offering them scholarships to continue studying through masters’ programs and providing internship opportunities with the help of the Agency.³

Our initiative clearly works on bridging this gap by orienting most of its training courses to women; since we already know the difficulties they face, and by trying to achieve gender equality.

Also read:

• International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation.
• Violence against women.
• Human Rights Day.

References:

[1] UNESCO

[2] UN

[3] IAEA

The reason for having international days is to spread awareness about important issues all over the world. It might seem strange that we have an International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation in today’s world. Are we really suffering and still have these kinds of issues?

Do girls still suffer and must undergo such cruelty? Why are we suffering from cases that should have been eliminated long ago in the 21st century? Does violence still exist?  At a time when everyone should think about health and how to achieve and preserve it, there are those who aim to harm our health. 

“I call on men and boys everywhere to add their voices to mine in demanding an end to female genital mutilation and moving forward towards that goal, for the benefit of all.”
– UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.¹

In this article we are going to talk about this day and why it exists. We will also talk about circumcision for girls, its harms, and the efforts made to stop this violent practice.

International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation

In 2012, the UN General Assembly designated February 6th as the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation. The United Nations have done significant work to make this day reach the entire world to consider the consequence of this practice. What’s unbelievable is that 4.32 million girls worldwide will be subject to female genital mutilation in 2023 alone.¹

UNFPA, together with UNICEF, has been leading the world’s largest program to accelerate the elimination of female genital mutilation (FGM). The program currently focuses on 17 countries in Africa and the Middle East and also supports regional and global initiatives. It is important to know that this partnership supported more than 6 million girls and women. Thirteen countries have also established the legal frameworks needed to ban this harmful practice, as well as building a program for funding the national budget articles in order to address this problem.¹

This makes it important to educate ourselves about the harms of circumcision on the body and soul of the girl.

What is circumcision and what are its harms? 

The term female genital mutilation (FGM) refers to all procedures that involve partial or total removal of the external female genitalia or other injury to the female genitalia for cultural or other non-medical reasons.²

Female genital mutilation is a clear violation of girls and women rights. It is also a global crime that we are still suffering from today. Circumcision does not have any medical benefits, on the contrary, its harm can take a girl’s life. Some of these harms include:

1- Severe pain in the genital area.

2- Severe bleeding.

3- Gynecological diseases and septic infection of the genital area.

4- Partial or complete loss of pleasure and sexual arousal and it can also lead to sexual impotence.

5- Psychological trauma.

6- Difficulties during childbirth.³

The harms of this brutal operation are multiple and dangerous. So have the United Nations and international organizations been able to make progress on the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation?

The most important achievements of the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation

The United Nations, together with UNICEF, were able to achieve a significant achievement in light of the spread of circumcision. The joint program was able to combat many harmful acts, and also included additional programs to empower girls. The most important achievements of the UN in this regard are:²

1. The National Committee to Eradicate FGM:
   The UNFPA-UNICEF joint program supported the establishment of the National Committee to Eradicate FGM, through this committee the United Nations cooperated with civil society to combat female genital mutilation. It also supported a number of campaigns such as the #ProtectHerFromFGM which included a radio campaign.
2. Door-knocking campaigns:
   The national door-knocking campaign was launched to reach women and girls and their families in rural areas through house visits to raise awareness and provide advice on FGM elimination.
3. FGM on TV:
   Programs dealing with female genital mutilation, child marriage, and violence against women were shown on television.
4. Girls empowerment:
   The UNFPA supported the National Council for Childhood and motherhood in launching (the DOI) initiative, which means a voice that has an impact or resonance. This initiative aims to represent a society that supports all the abilities of girls and their access to the best opportunities and improves their skills.
5. Training to address harmful practices:
   In an effort to combat FGM and child marriage in governorates where they are highly prevalent, the UNFPA supported many Community Development Associations to raise awareness and provide prevention and response services on FGM and child marriage.

On the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation, we ask everyone to take a minute and think about the harms of this procedure. We in the Uplifting Syrian Women Initiative are working hard in order to be with this group as supporters and warriors, seeking to spread awareness in successive generations until we finally get rid of this phenomenon and reach a better world.

Also read:

• Violence against women.
• Human Rights Day.
• International Day of Human Fraternity.

References:

[1] UN

[2] UNFPA

[3] Gynuity

“As we commemorate the International Day of Human Fraternity, let us commit to do more to promote cultural and religious tolerance, understanding, and dialogue.”
– UN Secretary-General António Guterres. [1]

The International Day of Human Fraternity is observed on the 4th of February, according to the United Nations General Assembly, to remind us that our life on the same planet necessitates the unity of our destiny.  and that we are brothers in humanity; men and women, young and old, regardless of our skin color, race, and religion. We are peoples and tribes created to know one another and to serve a higher purpose than greed that has been cultivated in us in one way or another.

The purpose and importance of the International Day of Human Fraternity

Our world, which suffers from constant struggles and conflicts, is in dire need of a wake-up call to remember the meaning of its existence,  redoubling the efforts to spread the message of peace, harmony, and coexistence, and a moment to remember the common values and human Fraternity.

Especially after incidents such as wars and their consequences from the refugee crisis and natural disasters, or what comes to mind as soon as we remember disasters, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, which showed us an aspect of discrimination and hostility. On this day, we remember the most important and prominent individual and joint initiatives for achieving human fraternity, reinforcing and empowering it through dialogue, tolerance, respect for religions,  and others.

International Day of Human Fraternity milestones

In 2019, the Document on Human Fraternity was signed in the UAE, by Pope Francis and the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, Ahmad AL-Tayeb. It is a joint declaration urging peace among all people in the world. It intends to serve as a guide for the next generation to advance a culture of mutual respect, recognizing that we are all members of one human family. [4]

A document starting with: “In the name of God who has created all human beings equal in rights, duties, and dignity, and who has called them to live together as brothers and sisters, to fill the earth and make known the values of goodness, love, and peace… In the name of human fraternity that embraces all human beings, unites them and renders them equal.”

This document truly invites us to rediscover the values of peace, justice, and human fraternity and believes that among the most important causes of the crises of the modern world are a desensitized human conscience, a distancing from religious values, and a moral deterioration affecting international action, despite all the achievements of modern civilization. [2]

As a tribute to this historic event, the idea of the “Zayed Prize for Human Fraternity” arose. The Grand Imam, Sheikh of Al-Azhar Al-Sharif, and His Holiness Pope Francis were the first honorary winners of this award in 2019. The award also receives annual nominations for individuals and organizations from all over the world, to celebrate their collaborative work that transcends the boundaries of division and segregation. [3]

The Role of Individuals and Institutions

Based on the impact of large groups – such as institutions – we see how they can nurture and adopt these values. One example is the Foundation for Knowledge and Liberty in Haiti “FOKAL”, which runs a wide range of programs to chart the future of young people there. The organization has been selected by the judges of the Zayed Prize Committee for Human Fraternity, in recognition of their work in programs aimed at serving the public interest and building a more prosperous and peaceful society. [5]

The matter will not depend on the strength of groups, as the individuals when their humanitarian motivation fuels them, will take the initiative to spread peace and goodness among people. Our example is Latifa Ibn Ziaten, a Moroccan-French activist, who works closely with families and communities to prevent youth radicalization and spread the message of human fraternity. 

Mrs. Latifa’s motive for such actions is the loss of her son Imad, who was murdered in a terrorist attack in 2012. This prompted her to combat such extremist phenomena. She also established the “Imad Association for Youth and Peace” to accomplish her goals. In recognition of her efforts, Mrs. Latifa was awarded the Zayed Prize for Human Fraternity in 2021. [6]

We, at the Uplifting Syrian Women Initiative which includes volunteers from diverse backgrounds, believe that humanity in its highest sense is embodied in cooperation. Therefore, we do our best to help and support Syrian women, which, in our belief,  will have an impact on reinforcing human fraternity in Syrian society.

Also read:

• Human Rights Day.
• World Interfaith Harmony Week.
• United Nations Day.

References:

[1] UN

[2] Muslim Elders

[3] Zayad Award- Home

[4] For Human Fraternity

[5] Zayad Award- Fokal

[6] Zayad Award- Latifa

You might be surprised to know of the “ World Interfaith Harmony Week”. As you know, we’re all different from each other regarding our skin color and race, our origins and homelands, our thoughts, dreams, beliefs, and religions. We can’t fight or hate each other for any of those differences, because they’re all that makes us special. We can’t live in peace and agreement without reciprocal respect, understanding, and acceptance.

World Interfaith Harmony Week

The world celebrates World Interfaith Harmony Week during the first week of February (which falls between the 1st and the 7th of this month). The concept goes back to the King of Jordan -Abdullah the Second- when he suggested it back in 2010. Based on his approach, the United Nations General Assembly declared this week as an international occasion on the 20th of October that same year. The Assembly also invited all individuals and countries to support the designated week and to participate in the aims of spreading and boosting world peace and reciprocal understanding. [1]

World Interfaith Harmony Week Throughout the Years

Interfaith Harmony Week is a chance and a reminder for us to share kindness and humanity with others. It’s also an invitation to accept differences and an initiative toward dialogue and unison. Since this week has been celebrated for over 10 years, we would like to share some special information from those years.

2012

Together with the “Give Them a Hand” organization, the African Union responded, participated, and arranged a discussion conference at the United Nations, and chose the theme “The Diaspora – A Force of Positive Change”. They both still participate in World Interfaith Harmony Week to date. [1]

2014

In honor of the late Nelson Mandela, the celebrations of World Interfaith Harmony Week headlined in 2014 as: “Tolerance, Reconciliation and Forgiveness”. Additionally, through sponsoring this event, the Indonesian and Ethiopian commissions collaborated together. [1]

2015

The subject of this year was “Interfaith Prayer, Healing, and Community Services in the Cause of Peace”. The African conference worked with partners to gather hundreds of volunteers to help offer food for the needy and clean out damaged houses after the destruction caused by (Hurricane Sandy) in New York City, this event was sponsored by Ethiopian, Indonesian, and Jamaican commissions. [1]

2016

With the aim of reinforcing global support and collaboration, this week’s organizers picked out “Building Bridges across Boundaries” as a subject. This aligned with the United Nations creation of a plan for Sustainable Development Goals for (2030), and the occurrence of the worst emergency health cases as a result of the spreading of the virus (Ebola). [1]

2019

The World Interfaith Harmony Week focused in 2019 on “Sustainable Development through Interfaith Harmony”. To assure our need of loving and supporting each other to live in peace and harmony in a sustainable world. [1]

World Interfaith Harmony Week Events

In recent years, a variety of events have been organized, most notably:

• Firstly: the Qatar Global Award For Dialogue Among Civilizations, which was organized by the Qatar Committee for the Alliance of Civilizations under the state department and Qatar University. The committee chose “Science Dialogue: Towards a Civilized Framework for Knowledge Integration” to be the subject of the award’s fourth cycle (2022-2023). [2]
• Secondly: Online meetings and seminars at the United Nations for World Interfaith Harmony Week. The focus last year was on the subject of “The Role of Interfaith Dialogue in Building a Culture of Reconciliation” and the struggle with recovery from the pandemic. The meeting was sponsored by the permanent expeditions of Sierra Leone, Canada, Morocco, and Bahrain for the United Nations Many spiritual gurus and world leaders spoke during the meeting, in addition to member states’ representatives. [2]
• Thirdly: Global Interfaith University (GIU) is a certified newly launched online non-profit school that was established a week before Interfaith Harmony Week of 2022. It aims to offer award-winning educational programs that work on initiating and forming relationships between people in disregard of their faith and traditions. [3]

As an initiative that is working on building sustainable peace in Syria, we value World Interfaith Harmony Week greatly. It takes understanding and harmony with others and our environment to live a peaceful life. Also, Our ability to work together and grow both as individuals and as a society as a whole depends on our ability to appreciate and accept one another’s diversity.

Also read:

• International Day of Peace.
• International Day of Living Together in Peace.
• International Day of Multilateralism and Diplomacy for Peace.

References:

[1] UN

[2] MOFA

[3] European Times