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: Jacques Marion, President, UPF-France
Evry, France - One month after the terrorist events in January, in order to mark the UN World Interfaith Harmony Week, UPF-France organized a gathering at the Islamic Cultural Center of Evry, south of Paris, on Feb. 8.
- Written by: Katerina Minollari, Chair, Women's Federation for World Peace-Albania
Tirana, Albania - Women’s contribution to interreligious dialogue and harmony was the theme of a forum held to commemorate World Interfaith Harmony Week.
- Written by: Steinar Murud, UPF-Norway
Oslo, Norway - Together with a Lutheran church in Oslo, UPF-Norway organized a program on the topic "Religion and Human Rights" on Feb. 5 in observance of UN World Interfaith Harmony Week.
- Written by: Christina Ishizaki Rutkauskas, UPF - UK
London, UK - A forum in a committee room of the House of Lords in London on Feb. 4 featured people from various backgrounds and religions giving their perspective on the topic of "Interreligious Harmony and Free Speech."
- Written by: UPF International
UPF chapters organized observances of UN World Interfaith Harmony Week Feb. 1-7, 2015, including forums, ceremonies, rallies and other events.
- Written by: Miguel Werner, Secretary General, UPF - Argentina
Buenos Aires, Argentina - "Honoring Life and the Commitment to Brotherhood and Peace" was the theme of UPF-Argentina's Feb. 5 forum in Buenos Aires in observance of World Interfaith Harmony Week.
- Written by: Kazunori Arase, Director of Publications, UPF-Japan
Tokyo, Japan - About 25 leading religionists representing Shintoism, Buddhism, Islam and Christianity gathered in Shinjuku, Tokyo, on Jan. 29 for a forum on "The Mission of Religious Leaders at This Critical Juncture."
- Written by: UPF - Canada
Ambassadors for Peace and friends and supporters of UPF gathered in Montreal and Vancouver in support of World Interfaith Harmony Week for prayers, readings and ceremonies of interfaith harmony.
- Written by: Peter Haider, Secretary General, UPF-Austria
Vienna, Austria - Approximately 200 people observed World Interfaith Harmony Week by attending a conference at the Vienna headquarters of the United Nations.
- Written by: UPF - Bangladesh
Dhaka, Bangladesh - An Interfaith Harmony Rally on Feb. 1 opened the observances of World Interfaith Harmony Week 2015 at the University of Dhaka.
- Written by: UPF - USA
Salt Lake City, United States - Pouring water into a common bowl symbolized different faiths coming together in harmony during the Interfaith Roundtable’s annual Interfaith Prayer Breakfast in Salt Lake City Feb. 5.
- Written by: UPF - Germany
World Interfaith Harmony Week observances took place in Munich and Stuttgart.
- Written by: Dr. Trevor Jones, Executive Director, UPF-Peru
Lima, Peru - Representatives of various religions gathered at UPF headquarters on Feb. 2 with Ambassadors for Peace to observe the United Nations World Interfaith Harmony Week.
- Written by: UPF International
The King Abdullah II World Interfaith Harmony Week Prizes were awarded on April 27, 2014 to organizers of events in the Philippines, India, Egypt and Uganda.
- Written by: UPF - Moldova
Chisinau, Moldova - Galata Middle School has a very active group of teachers who are Ambassadors for Peace, who in observance of the UN Interfaith Harmony Week invited families with children to a sport competition on Feb. 7, 2014.
- Written by: UPF International
An overview of observances of World Interfaith Harmony Week 2014 organized by UFP in 23 nations.
- Written by: UPF - Japan
Tokyo, Japan - “Towards peace in the Middle East through harmonizing and cooperation among religions” was a topic of the Feb. 21, 2014 assembly of Ambassadors of Peace in Tokyo, organized by the UPF Japan with some 50 Ambassadors for Peace and young people attending.
- Written by: Dr. Robert S. Kittel, Director of Peace Education, UPF-Asia
Four UN World Interfaith Harmony Week 2014 programs were held throughout India. They addressed the role religions should collectively play in peacebuilding. Two seminars were held at the UN Conference Hall in the capital, New Delhi. Other programs were in Siliguri, West Bengal, and in the southern city of Chennai, Tamil Nadu. UPF-India was the main organizer of these events.
- Written by: UPF Office of UN Relations-New York
United Nations, New York - World Interfaith Harmony Week was celebrated at the UN Trusteeship Council chamber on Feb. 12, 2014, with the theme "A Vital Key for Peace and Development."
- Written by: UPF - Washington DC
Washington DC, USA - The World Interfaith Harmony Week program in Washington DC on Feb. 27 featured speakers sharing their life experiences and spoke of their deep convictions about the importance of interfaith dialogue among different religious leaders as a means towards building world peace.
- Written by: UPF - Russia
Conferences, seminars and visits to places of worship of various faiths took place in Moscow, Novosibirsk, St. Petersburg and Yekaterinburg.
- Written by: Report by Hubert Arnoldi, UPF & House of Religions, Stuttgart, Germany
Stuttgart, Germany - The UPF community center in Stuttgart hosted a celebration of the UN World Interfaith Harmony Week on Feb. 8, 2014.
- Written by: Geoffrey Fyers, UPF-New Zealand
Auckland, New Zealand - For World Interfaith Harmony Week last year UPF invited leaders of diverse faith communities to the Peace Embassy to share readings from their holy scriptures on the theme of “interfaith harmony.”
- Written by: Dr. Raphael Ogar Oko, Secretary General, UPF-Nigeria
Abuja, Nigeria - UPF-Nigeria convened a Special Interreligious Assembly on Feb. 5 to mark World Interfaith Harmony Week 2014 at the Peace Embassy in Abuja and deliberated on innovative approaches to promoting interreligious harmony for the national unity in Nigeria.