Address to Interreligious Leadership Conference 2017
Seoul, Korea, November 10 to 14, 2017
Ladies and gentlemen, allow me, on my own behalf and on behalf of the Ukrainian Center for Dialogue and Communication, to express my pleasure to take part in this important international conference, and to thank its organizers. I would like to share some of my ideas which relate to the topic of our conference:
- Our world today is in dire need of cooperation between political and religious leaders in order to maintain peace and security and to establish a culture of peaceful coexistence and rejection of hatred.
- I have often said that the best example of peaceful coexistence is the airport, where people of different nationalities, ethnicities and places of residence sit side-by-side, without violence—this is what we need to pursue in our world.
- We at the Ukrainian Center for Dialogue and Communication consider it our duty to protect the human community from hatred and conflict and to address any problems at any time.
- One of our most important duties is to work with children, paying particular attention to instilling in them the values of coexistence and rejection of hatred; with the help of local religious leaders, we conduct programs where they can visit the shrines and holy sites of different faiths.
- We must also ensure a wider space in the media for religious leaders, which will enable them to perform their guiding and educational functions.
- We have to work on resolving religious conflicts as soon as they occur, and seek solutions that facilitate the reconciliation of all parties.
- It is our duty to work out a common code of ethics for religious leaders aimed at maintaining a positive relationship between them. This, in turn, will positively affect the relationship between their followers.
- The Ukrainian Center for Dialogue and Communication seeks to promote the values of peaceful coexistence and rejecting hatred by organizing conferences, symposia and roundtables; publishing books, magazines, and informational and educational brochures; and participating in similar international events. We have participated in many important events in Ukraine, the United States, Jordan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Thailand, Turkey, France and Egypt.
Once again, I would like to thank you sincerely for your kind invitation. I hope that the dialogue which will occur at this conference will help us to reach a wider consensus on the values of coexistence and rejection of hatred, and further the achievement of peace in our world.
To go to the Interreligious Leadership Conference Schedule 2017, click here.