At the nomination of the World Council of Churches WCC, CAPNI Executive Director, Father Emmanuel Youkhana, represented the council in the: “Parliamentary Conference on Inter-faith Dialogue: Working Together for our Common Future”, which was organized by the Parliament of the Kingdom of Morocco and the Inter-Parliamentary Union and held in Marrakech – Morocco from 13 to 15 June 2023.
The conference was held under the patronage of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, who addressed a message to the conference read on his behalf by the Speaker of the Moroccan Parliament, His Excellency Mr. Rachid Talbi Alami.
The conference was attended by representatives of parliaments of member states, international bodies and institutions, representatives of various religious references, interested organizations, and academia.
The program included discussion sessions on important topics, including:
• The rule of law: Working together for the promotion of the rule of law: good practices and challenges
• Peace and inclusion: Promoting regional and global peace through intra-faith dialogue.
• Parliaments and religious leaders: Promoting dialogue, working together for our common future.
• Religion and belief in different secular systems: Examples from around the world.
• How can parliamentarians cooperate with religious communities and faith-based organizations to mobilize society for greater moderation, solidarity, and inclusion?
• Different mandates, common goals: Religious actors and parliamentarians as allies for promoting gender equality and youth participation. (CAPNI director, Father Emanuel Youkhana, was a
panelist.)
• And many other panels and debates.
In addition to other activities parallel to the conference, including:
“Building bridges of understanding: Fostering interfaith coexistence and inclusive communities” organized United Arab Emirates-based Manara Center for Coexistence.
And:
“Our Common Future” organized by the Moroccan Rabita Mohammedia of Elemis.
The Moroccan Parliament host party also organized a cultural evening for the participants, including heritage, music, and artistic performances from the Moroccan heritage and culture.
In the closing session of the conference, which was moderated by His Excellency Speaker of the Moroccan Parliament, and in which Mr. Martin Chungong, Secretary General of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, participated, the final declaration of the conference was approved, which was adopted as one of the official documents of the Inter-Parliamentary Union.
For more information and documents about the conference, please visit the conference website: www.ipu.org
