Newsletter sent to members of the IDIU Network on 3 March 2025
Dear Network members,
Hello from the Convenor
I hope this first newsletter for our UniTwin Network for Inter-religious Dialogue and Intercultural Understanding (IDIU) finds you all well, and send my best wishes for 2025, with hope that the new year will bring us all a more inclusive, sustainable, and just world.
I am delighted to share with you, in this newly initiated quarterly Newsletter for our Network, some of the exciting work undertaken by our colleagues, UNESCO chairs working on intercultural and inter-faith dialogue from around the world. As you will see, we are trying to provide easy access to exciting and impactful activities that hopefully will raise awareness of the breadth and depth of the work undertaken by members of this Network.
We will continue to introduce new features including profiles and interviews with individual Chairs on their current and emerging work priorities and how this aligns with and contributes to UNESCO’s Inclusion, Rights and Dialogue (IRD) agenda. Please keep sending your updates to Dr Jasmin Chen, Digital Project Officer in my Chair, who is looking after the IDIU Network’s communications as well; and if there are any ideas for introducing new content to this Newsletter, we would of course be delighted to hear those too.
Finally, please share this Newsletter on your social media platforms or amongst your own networks and partners.
With kind regards,
f
Network News
| Network News | |
| 27-28 February: International Colloquium on the crime of genocide in light of the jurisprudence of international and national criminal jurisdictions The UNESCO Chair of Memories, Cultures and Interculturalism at Lyon Catholic University is holding a Symposium to mark the 30th anniversary of the creation of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) and the commemoration of the genocide perpetrated against the Tutsi of Rwanda. The Symposium will run from Thursday 27-Friday 28 February at the Saint Paul Campus in Lyon. Register or read more about the Symposium and the UNESCO Chair of Memories, Cultures and Interculturalism | |
| Priority Africa Flagships Series online sessions / La série des Programmes phare de la priorité Afrique As you know, Chairs have been warmly invited to join the online working sessions of the Priority Africa Flagships Series, organized as a follow-up to the International Forum of UNESCO Chairs and Partners on Transforming Knowledge for Africa’s Future. These sessions explore possible collaboration and actions on UNESCO’s Priority Africa Flagship Programmes. Visit the UNESCO webpage on UNESCO’s priority Africa Flagship Programmes for more information and to watch recordings of the previous sessions | |
| UNESCO Chair on Intercultural Competences Webinar Series The UNESCO Chair on Intercultural Competences hosted by Stellenbosch University recently held its first monthly Webinar on 18 February 2025. The first webinar was presented by Dr. Precious Simba, Co-Chair of the UNESCO Chair on Intercultural Competence, on the topic of ‘Seeing and being seen: Sawubona, ubuntu, and intercultural dialogue in a fractured world.’ For more information about this and future Webinars, please email: unesco-icc@sun.ac.za | |
| Intercultural Dialogue Index (ICDI) Report and Website Launch On 18 November, the UNESCO Chair; Cultural Diversity and Social Justice, at Deakin University in Australia launched the Intercultural Dialogue Index (ICDI) Report and website, which uses publicly available data to measure indictors of intercultural dialogue across 150 countries and includes 52 individual country reports. Read more on the IDIU Network website Visit the Intercultural Dialogue Index Website | |
| UNESCO Workshop at Stellenbosch University in South Africa: Driving Intercultural Outcomes through Digital Literacy and Competence On 7-8 November 2024, experts from around the world, including members of the IDIU Network, were invited to participate in an important two-day academic workshop organized by UNESCO and generously hosted by Stellenbosch University in South Africa. It was a highly productive and meaningful discussion, which will directly contribute to the future development of a comprehensive framework to embed an intercultural approach across all areas of digital skills development, including practical recommendations on how to support this at different levels of intervention. | |
| UNESCO Report Pre-Launch: More than Welcome: Intercultural Integration of Migrants through Higher Education On 6 November 2024, the UNESCO Chair on Intercultural Competences at Stellenbosch University in South Africa held a special event to pre-launch a groundbreaking publication More than Welcome: Intercultural Integration of Migrants through Higher Education. The event featured a panel, chaired by Dr. Darla K. Deardorff, and including Prof. Fethi Mansouri, which explored the publication’s insights on how higher education can act as a catalyst for the intercultural integration of migrants, within educational institutions as well as wider host communities. Read more on the IDIU Network website Watch a video recording of the panel | |
| Exciting new partnership for our Network member The UNESCO Chair “Memory, Cultures and Interculturality”, at the Catholic University of Lyon (UCLy), is delighted to share the news that they have established a formal partnership with the Higher Institute of Legal Practice and Development (ILPD) in Rwanda, advancing research and training on genocide memorialization. Read more on the IDIU Network website Read more on the ILPD website | |
| International Forum of UNESCO Chairs and Partners Members of our Network were pleased to attend the 2024 International Forum of UNESCO Chairs and Partners, which brought together more than 550 participants from some 90 countries and comprised 60 plenary and parallel sessions. Participants were invited to envisage Africa’s future and to consider some of the implications for knowledge and research ecosystems, including for the futures of higher education, science and innovation. Please find here the Programme, Concept Notes, List of Participants, Video Recordings and Photos of the Forum. | |
| Inaugural UNESCO Chair on Intercultural Competence Conference The UNESCO Chair on Intercultural Competence at Stellenbosch University proudly announced the resounding success of its inaugural intercultural conference, held from October 9-11, at Strathmore University. The event brought together 56 participants from 12 countries, fostering a vibrant exchange of ideas, experiences and practices. The next UNESCO Chair intercultural Conference is scheduled to take place in Rabat, Morocco in the last week of September 2025. For more information, including a video of conference highlights, read the December 2024 issue of the UNESCO Chair on Intercultural Competences Newsletter and subscribe. | |
| 6th Bolgar Forum with international participation: Theological Legacy of Muslims in Russia The UNESCO Chair on Comparative Studies of Spiritual Traditions, their Specific Cultures and Interreligious Dialogue participated in the 6th International Forum dedicated to the theological legacy of Muslims in Russia, which took place from 7-11 October 2024, in the holy town of Bolgar, which is situated in the Republic of Tatarstan, Russian Federation. Read more on the IDIU Network website | |
| Video on Human Dignity: Interreligious Teachings in Time of Global Conflict The Elijah Interfaith Institute, which hosts the UNESCO Chair in Interfaith Studies, released a short video compilation reflecting on a half a year of intensified learning and praying in the wake of October 7th, through their ongoing program Praying Together in Jerusalem, bringing together numerous organisations worldwide in reflection on the dignity and value of the human person and in praying for peace. You are invited to join future Praying in Jerusalem gatherings online or in person. Read more on the IDIU Network website Watch the Elijah Interfaith Institute video | |