Bridge Building through Interfaith Youth Initiatives”

IYA serves as a network of diverse youth to promote pluralism and mutual respect for religious diversity and bridge building among youth of different faiths through interfaith dialogues, friendly relationship and human based coexistent. Our purpose is to provide opportunity and safe spaces for the youth of each faith to come together to build understanding, reduce misconceptions and develop healthy relationship through social activities, exposures visits, interfaith celebrations, sports gathering and community service activities to promote interfaith dialogues and relationship building by interaction and practical action for peace and harmony in Pakistani context. We have been implementing our various peace advocacy projects mainly in Lahore, Faisalabad and Rawalpindi; Solidarity has been one of the focal themes in promoting and advocating peace as a way of life. IYA has been working closely with many groups,organizations and individuals to make all it’s work successful and beneficial to the whole community.


 

INTERFAITH YOUTH IN ACTION LAUNCHES ‘DIVERSITY TALK SERIES’

Interfaith Youth in Action (IYA) launched its first annual Diversity Talk Series to address pressing Pakistani issues involving religion and intercultural conflict. The series will include four panel discussions in 2013, such as:

“The Scope of Interfaith Dialogue in Pakistan”
“The Role of Religion in Modern Society”
“The Spirit of Ecumenism among different Churches in Pakistan”

The series will conclude with an Interfaith Youth Conference 2013 to evaluate all these discussions and offer the chance for panelists and participants to discuss and share their learnings with a larger audience.

During the 1st panel discussion on Feb 22, 2013, more than 88 people participated, particularly youngsters from all ways of life, spending three hours in deep discussion with 10 national and international religious scholars on the theme of “The Scope of Interfaith Dialogues in Pakistan.”

Objectives of Diversity Talk Series 2013:

• To provide the opportunity for 250 young people in one year to participate and share faith experiences
• To get information, exchange views, and learn new facts from religious scholars and community leaders
• To listen and to learn from the way people who follow a particular faith explain or express their own religion or faith
• To heal the wounds of division and discrimination
• To grow in their own faith by being exposed to another faith in a safe and respectful environment
• To tap the strength and energy of Pakistani youth, who have strong faith experience
• To develop a correct and balanced attitude towards people from other faith traditions in Pakistan
• To build new relationships between members of different faiths