This public roundtable hosted together with the European Academy of Religion concludes the closed-door policy dialogue of the ‘Religions in International Relations’ Initiative of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and ISPI convened this year to discuss the growing international policy attention on interreligious dialogue and collaboration as tools to combat intolerance and discriminations and to strengthen peace building. The roundtable offers the opportunity to reflect, in dialogue with the broader community of scholars convened by the conference, on how and why we got to the point where a policy-oriented discussion on interreligious dialogue and foreign policy become possible and, some would contend, even necessary? Is not interreligious dialogue a matter only for religious leaders and theologians? Is perhaps the nature of interreligious engagement changing in the 21st century? Should religious and interreligious actors be welcome at the leading global policy tables? Is interreligious dialogue only wishful thinking, a feel-good rhetoric completely inadequate to face the many challenges, tensions and conflicts of our global era? Is there not a risk of instrumentalising religion beyond its legitimate and authentic role? Or, perhaps, is this new postsecular orientation crucial to a new visionary realism capable of finding innovative ways out of the current crises?
Moderators
Alberto MELLONI, Director, John XXIII Foundation for Religious Studies; UNESCO Chair on Religious Pluralism and Peace, Bologna University – Italy
Fabio PETITO, Scientific Coordinator of the Italian MFA-ISPI initiative on ‘Religions and International Relations’; Director of FoRB & Foreign Policy Initiative, University of Sussex – UK
Speakers
Mauro GAROFALO, Head of International Relations, Community of Sant'Egidio – Italy
Yahya PALLAVICINI, President, COREIS Islamic Religious Community of Italy - Italy
Jean Christophe PEAUCELLE, Advisor for Religious Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs - France
Sharon ROSEN, Global Director, Religious Engagement, Search for Common Ground - Israel
Monica TOFT, Director, Center for Strategic Studies, The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University - USA
Michael WIENER, Human Rights Officer, Rule of Law and Democracy Section, Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights – Switzerland