Interfaith Global Forum concludes in Vienna

November 19, 2013 - In A global interfaith and intercultural meeting discussing “The Image of the Other” in the context of interreligious and intercultural education came to an end on Tuesday in Vienna, Austria. The two-day event brought together hundreds of religious leaders, experts and policymakers from every continent and every major world religion. Among the speakers at the start on Monday of the first Global Forum of the King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz International Centre for Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue (KAICIID) was Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, the President of the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue. He placed the issue of respecting fundamental human dignity at the heart of the two-day event. He noted that each one of us as a citizen and a believer, belong to the same human family, which means that, “we share the same dignity, we are confronted by the same problems, we enjoy the same rights and we are called to accomplish the same duties.” The aim of the Vienna-based KAICIID, inaugurated in November last year, is to enable, empower and encourage dialogue among followers of different religions and cultures around the world. Named after the king of Saudi Arabia, the centre’s founding states are Saudi Arabia, Austria and Spain, while the Holy See is a Founding Observer.