World Interfaith Harmony Week
This age of globalization needs enlightened people in each faith who can examine their sacred writings and traditions and identify the aspects that can benefit all humanity as well as those that preserve each religion's identity. The UN designated the first week of February every year as World Interfaith Harmony Week with the motto of "Love of God and Love of the Neighbor" / "Love of the Good and Love of the Neighbor." UPF calls on people of faith to honor the Divine indwelling in a way that encourages understanding, respect, and cooperation among people of all faiths for the well-being of our communities and peace in the world.
- Written by: Greg Stone, president, UPF-Australia
Sydney, Australia—UPF marked World Interfaith Harmony Week 2016 with a program titled “Interfaith in Action: Working Together for the Common Good.”
- Written by: UPF-International
New York, United States—World Interfaith Harmony Week 2016 was celebrated at the UN on February 3 with the theme, “Interfaith Harmony: Implementing the Transformative Agenda of the Sustainable Development Goals.”
- Written by: Milo Klas, secretary general, UPF-Slovakia
Bratislava, Slovakia—To commemorate World Interfaith Harmony Week 2016, UPF held an event titled “Activities of Peacemakers in the Middle East.”
- Written by: Hubert Arnoldi, chair, UPF-Stuttgart
Stuttgart, Germany—More than 12 religious representatives attended a special program to celebrate World Interfaith Harmony Week 2016.
- Written by: UPF-Malaysia
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia—UPF-Malaysia commemorated UN World Interfaith Harmony Week by organizing a pilgrimage to places of worship.
- Written by: UPF-Brazil
São Paulo, Brazil—World Interfaith Harmony Week was celebrated in Sao Paulo on February 19, at the Indian Cultural Center.
- Written by: Knut Holdhus, chair, UPF-Norway
Oslo, Norway—UPF-Norway organized an evening conference on “Finding Ways to Reconciliation” as part of the UN World Interfaith Harmony Week.
- Written by: Franco Ravaglioli, secretary general, UPF-Italy
Bergamo, Italy—"The Divine Concept in the Various Faiths" was the theme of a meeting organized by UPF to commemorate World Interfaith Harmony Week.
- Written by: Susan Fefferman, UPF-DC Ambassadors for Peace program director
Washington, D.C., United States—UPF-DC held an interfaith prayer ceremony in commemoration of UN World Interfaith Harmony Week.
- Written by: UPF-Ecuador
Quito, Ecuador—UPF-Ecuador held an event in observance of World Interfaith Harmony Week 2016 on February 4 at the Peace Embassy.
- Written by: UPF-Philippines
Mindanao, Philippines—UPF-Philippines organized a seminar and brotherhood/sisterhood ceremony in observance of UN World Interfaith Harmony Week 2016.
- Written by: UPF-Peru
Lima, Peru—More than 80 representatives of various faiths attended an event in Lima to celebrate World Interfaith Harmony Week 2016.
- Written by: David Fraser Harris, regional secretary general, UPF-Middle East
Vienna, Austria—UPF marked World Interfaith Harmony Week with a conference that asked how religions can help to bring peace to the Middle East.
- Written by: Geoffrey Fyers, secretary general, UPF-New Zealand
Auckland, New Zealand—UPF-New Zealand observed the United Nations World Interfaith Harmony Week 2015 by asking “What should our response to ISIS be?”
- Written by: Gregory Stone, secretary general, UPF-Australia
Sydney, Australia—During World Interfaith Harmony Week, the first bimonthly Ambassadors for Peace meeting for 2015 was held with the theme “Future Directions for Interfaith: A Young Person’s Perspective.”
- Written by: Dmitry Samko, secretary general, Moscow branch, UPF-Russia
Moscow, Russia—The secretary general of the Moscow branch of UPF-Russia explained the UPF Principles of Peace at an interfaith roundtable attended by religious leaders, scientific and creative intellectuals, journalists and public figures.
- Written by: Dr. Nurit Hirschfeld, Secretary General, UPF-Israel
Jerusalem, Israel - The Jerusalem Interfaith Forum held a special session for a group of Muslims visiting from Azerbaijan, entitled “Interfaith Cooperation for Peace.”
- Written by: Susan Fefferman
Washington, D.C., United States - Representatives of five world religions attended a program honoring World Interfaith Harmony Week which was organized by UPF International and The Washington Times Foundation.
- Written by: Dr. Juraj Lajda, Secretary General, UPF-Czech Republic
Prague, Czech Republic - Representatives of five world religions gathered at a meeting, held in honor of World Interfaith Harmony Week, whose theme was “Harmony and Peace.”
- Written by: Dr. Raphael Oko, Secretary General, UPF-Nigeria
UPF-Nigeria organized a campaign in many parts of the nation to "Pray and Preach for Peace and Peaceful Elections" during World Interfaith Harmony Week.
- Written by: Rev. Christian Lepelletier, Secretary General, UPF-Brazil
Sao Paulo, Brazil - World Interfaith Harmony Week was celebrated in Sao Paulo, February 12, at the Indian Cultural Center.
- Written by: Krishna Adhikari, Secretary General, UPF-India
Campus Peace Clubs were launched at three schools in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India, during World Interfaith Harmony Week 2015.
- Written by: Sam Yeoh Koay Seng, Secretary General, UPF-Malaysia
Petaling Jaya, Malaysia - From the melodious chiming of kuil temple bells in Kuala Lumpur to the azan call of prayer at a mosque in Putrajaya, 52 pilgrims immersed themselves in Malaysia’s vibrantly diverse socioreligious fabric.
- Written by: UPF - Nepal
Lalitpur, Nepal - NIMS College in Lalitpur hosted a World Interfaith Harmony Week program on Feb. 5, 2015. About 70 people attended the event.