To commemorate International Peace Day this year, the Bahá'í International Community’s Addis Ababa Office co-hosted a two-part series of discussions about how the moral authority and unifying power of religion can be harnessed to build lasting conditions for peace and prosperity across the African continent.  

The event series, “Harnessing Religious Values to Foster Peaceful Coexistence,” brought together diverse representatives from the African continent together to deliberate on an important pillar of the African Union’s Agenda 2063, "A Peaceful and Secure Africa." 

The first event was co-hosted with the Beyers Naudé Centre for Public Theology at the University of Stellenbosch and hosted in Cape Town, South Africa.  Held amid national outcry over recent targeted violence against women, participants reflected on numerous grassroots efforts aimed at dismantling the persistent culture of violence, with some pointing toward the history of the interfaith community’s collective efforts against apartheid in South Africa as a foundation for future collective action.  

“Religion has a unique role to inspire hope, drive meaningful action, and provide the moral framework through which society can achieve sustained peace,” said BIC Representative Shemona Otu-Ansah.  

The second event was co-hosted with the African Union (AU)-Interfaith Dialogue Forum, United Religions Initiative (URI)-Africa, the All Africa Conference of Churches (AACC), and Religions for Peace. The discussion highlighted mutually reinforcing processes of fostering individual versus collective growth as part of contributing towards peaceful conditions.  Speakers also noted the significant role of the media as a powerful force that can either promote or undermine peace.

Across both events, participants highlighted a central question: How do we reshape educational systems to build the capacity of the rising generation to act as champions of peace? 

Ambassador Mussie Hailu, Regional Director of URI Africa and URI Representative at the UN and the African Union, emphasized the universal foundation for peace: “When we ground our educational systems and peacebuilding efforts in the universal ethic of treating others as we wish to be treated, we can bridge divides and build a true culture of lasting coexistence.” 

Amid rising global tensions, participants voiced hope that faith communities, alongside broader society, can pioneer new methods of collective action for lasting peace.