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The series aims to foster meaningful dialogue, mutual understanding, and shared reflection across religious and cultural traditions. It is designed primarily for young people with a background or interest in theology, ecumenical studies, and interreligious engagement, while also welcoming students, practitioners, alumni of ecumenical institutes, members of WCC-affiliated churches, interreligious partners, and others interested in the field.
Participants will explore interreligious dialogue from academic and practitioner perspectives, with particular attention to Christianity, Islam, and Buddhism. Themes will include academic approaches to interreligious dialogue, the impact of international conflicts on interreligious relations, Buddhist approaches to dialogue, Christian witness, Muslim perspectives on interreligious engagement, field-based practice, youth engagement, and dialogue in a shifting global landscape.
The series will begin in June with two online sessions and will continue in the autumn with one session per month. Each session will last approximately 75 minutes and will include an opening introduction, a keynote presentation, breakout group discussions, and a plenary question-and-answer segment.
WCC programme executive for Interreligious Dialogue and Cooperation and professor at the Ecumenical Institute at Bossey, Dr Angeliki Ziaka, welcomes all interested participants, noting that “this series offers a unique opportunity to learn from the diverse expertise of members of the WCC Interreligious Dialogue and Cooperation Reference Group. Rooted in local realities and shaped by ecumenical and interreligious experience, the contributors will invite participants into meaningful learning, dialogue, and encounter.”
WCC programme executive for Young People in the Ecumenical Movement, Abigayle Bolado, highlights the importance of the initiative for the Young People in the Ecumenical Movement programme, which brings together young Christians from around the world. She notes that “the interreligious series will offer young participants an opportunity to engage with religious diversity, deepen their knowledge and understanding, and discover how interreligious encounter can become a path of learning, solidarity, and shared action. Hopefully, this will also open opportunities for them to explore interreligious dialogue in their own communities.”
First session
The first session, titled “Interreligious Relations in the Shadow of International Conflicts,” will take place on 1 June, 14:00-15:15 CEST, and will be led by Prof. Jakob Wirén of Lund University, whose work focuses on global Christianity and interreligious relations.
The session will explore how war, nationalism, and geopolitical tensions affect interreligious relations at local and global levels, and will reflect on the possibilities and limits of dialogue in times of conflict.
Register here for the first session
Upcoming session
The second session, titled “Seeing Interreligious Dialogue through a Buddhist Lens,” will be led by Venerable Phramaha Napan Santibhaddo (Thawornbanjob), assistant abbot of Wat Saket Rajavaramahavihara in Bangkok, secretary-general of Religions for Peace Thailand, and founding chair of the IBHAP Foundation.
Register here for the second session, to take place 22 June, 14:00-15:15 CEST
Learn more about the WCC interreligious work
Current Dialogue - World Council of Churches’ journal on interreligious dialogue
