2025
Date: April 3, 2025, 8.30 AM-13.00 PM (EST)
Format: Hybrid: Zoom and in-person (8th Floor Conference Room, Church Center for the United Nations, 777 UN Plaza, New York NY 10017)
Registration Link
Faith-based partners initiated the Annual Symposium on the Role of Religion and Faith-based Organizations in International Affairs as an annual event aiming to foster dialogue on the intricate interplay between religion and international affairs. Since 2016, the founding faith-based organizations established a strong partnership with the UN Interagency Task Force (IATF) on Religion and Sustainable Development, creating an annual policy dialogue involving UN entities, member states, faith-based actors, and civil society to address pressing global challenges.
11th Annual Symposium Theme: “The Future is Upon Us: What Now?: Amplifying the Role of Faith and Civil Society Actors in Multilateral Solutions”
As global challenges such as climate change, economic inequity, violations of human rights, and global conflicts continue to grow, the inclusion of diverse voices—especially those from civil society and faith-based organizations—is critical to ensuring sustainable peace and development. However, recent years have seen a systemic reduction of space for civil society, and often the absence of any mention of faith actors as vital contributors in national and multilateral solutions and in policy formulation at both the national and international levels .
This year’s theme will explore how civil society, particularly faith actors, can actively contribute to shaping global solutions through multilateral engagement. It will also assess how faith communities, often working at the grassroots level, can influence policy at the national and global levels to ensure sustainable development, peace, and justice.
Moreover, following the adoption of the Pact for the Future in September 2024, the year 2025 marks a significant moment in global governance and multilateral cooperation, asking us as a global community to learn from the challenges of the past while confronting the future that is now at our doorstep. Several major milestones in 2025 will provide essential contexts for the symposium’s theme and discussions, including:
- 30th Anniversary of the Beijing Platform for Action
- 25th Anniversary of UNSCR 1325 on Women, Peace, and Security
- 2025 UN Peacebuilding Architecture Review
- 4th International Conference on Financing for Development (June 30-July 3, Seville, Spain)
- World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS+20 Forum, July 7-11, Geneva, Switzerland)
- UN Ocean Conference (June 9-13, Nice, France)
- Second World Summit on Social Development (November 4-6, Doha, Qatar)
Proposed Program
The opening sessions will offer a broad framing of the challenges and opportunities facing faith-based actors in multilateral spaces. The program will then shift to specific thematic discussions examining what is needed for grassroots faith communities and organizations to contribute to global decision-making processes, promoting a localized and people-centered approach to sustainable development.
Principal sessions are envisioned as follows:
- High-Level Welcome: The formal welcome session will feature high-level representatives both from the UN and from the faith community, and will frame the discussions to follow.
Moderators:
Dr Nkeiruka (Kiki) Didigu (UNFPA) and Mr Peter Prove (WCC)
Speakers:
Ms Nyaradzayi Gumbonzvanda, Deputy Executive Director, UN Women
Hon. Maina Talia, Minister for Climate Change, Tuvalu (tbc)
Nika Saeedi (UNDP)
Bishop Julius Trimble, General Secretary, General Board of Church and Society-United Methodist Church
- Opening Session: Faith Actors and Multilateralism: Advocating for Inclusive Global Governance: This session will explore how faith-based organizations and civil society can enhance their participation in multilateral processes, advocating for inclusion in national, regional, and global governance structures. This session will assess how civil society and faith actor contributions are essential for sustainable development, peace, and human rights. It will also highlight relevant UN and faith advocacy efforts.
Moderator:
Ms Audrey Kitagawa (International Academy for Multicultural Cooperation)
Speakers:
Mr Rio Hada, Officer for UN the High Commissioner for Human Rights, NY Office
Mr Ganoune Diop, Public Affairs and Religious Liberty, Seventh-day Adventist Church
Mr Ishaan Shah, Stolen Dreams (UK)
Ms Bani Dugal, Principal Representative of the Bahá’í International Community to the UN
- Panel: Revitalizing commitments to the Beijing Platform for Action: As we mark the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Platform for Action and the 25th anniversary of the Women Peace and Security Agenda (UNSCR 1325), this panel will assess the link between gender equality and peace. It will explore the importance of multi stakeholder collaboration with faith actors to advance these agendas and building on the Pact for the Future look towards genuine and sustained commitments for women’s rights and security.
Moderator:
Dr Thorsten Göbel, Director of Programmes, ACT Alliance
Speakers:
Ms Leyla Sharafi, UNFPA
Ms Ivy Koek, Soka Gakkai International
Ms Nkechika Ibe, Founder, Impact Her World Foundation, Chair of the Women in Security Peace and Diplomacy Network (WISPAD)
Mr Anas Badawi, The Network of Religious and Traditional Peacemakers
- Panel: Building Peace in the Midst of Conflict: We live in a time of proliferating conflicts and conflict risks. In this panel, representatives of faith communities and related organizations will engage with the UN and other counterparts in reflecting on the current threats and challenges to sustainable peace, and the responses prescribed in the Pact for the Future. The panel will also address opportunities in the context of the 2025 UN peacebuilding architecture review.
Moderator:
Elizabeta Kitanovic, Professor in Human Rights Law, Protestant Theological Faculty and Religious Studies in Brussels
Speakers:
Ms Roselyn Akombe, DPPA
Ms Sylvie Jacqueline Ndongmo, President WILPF
Ms Jenny Neme, WCC Deputy Special Envoy to Peace Process in Colombia
Dr. Makrina Finlay, Regenerate Shingal (Iraq), URI
Mr Ahmed Shehata, CEO Islamic Relief USA
- Panel: The AI Genie is Out of the Bottle. Can Digital Governance Catch Up?: This panel discussion will address the implications of the accelerating roll-out of Artificial Intelligence for addressing existing inequity and exclusion. It will reflect on possibilities for catching up on global governance of this new technology arising from the Global Digital Compact adopted by the Summit of the Future. The discussion will cover the ethical dimensions of Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) as agreed in the WSIS Declaration and Plan of Action which will be reviewed at the WSIS+20 High-Level Event in July 2025 in Geneva.
Moderator:
Rev Dr Liberato Bautista, President, Conference of Non-Governmental Organizations in Consultative Relationship with the United Nations (CoNGO)
Speakers:
Mr Tomas Lamanauskas, Deputy Secretary-General, ITU
Ms Yu Ping Chan, Head, Digital Partnerships and Engagement, UNDP
Mr Fadi Daou, Executive Director, Globethics
Ms Rose Payne, Lead – Policy and Advocacy, Global Partners Digital
Concluding session
Dr Nkeiruka (Kiki) Didigu (UNFPA) and Mr Peter Prove (WCC)
Sponsoring Organizations:
World Council of Churches, ACT Alliance, General Board of Church and Society of The United Methodist Church, Islamic Relief USA, Seventh-Day Adventist Church, Soka Gakkai International, United Religions Initiative.
In partnership with:
Members of the UN Inter-agency Task Force on Religion and Sustainable Development
Participant profile:
Invitations will be sent to various constituencies and networks of the collaborating symposium partners. This includes FBOs, civil society organizations, Member States and their Permanent Missions, and UN agencies through the Inter-Agency Task Force on Religion and Sustainable Development, and other supporters.
