On September 2022, Dr Renee Hattar, RIIFS Director, participated in the International Roundtable in a hybrid format: “On the significance of the VII Congress of the Leaders of World and Traditional Religions and its Declaration”. Roundtable was organised by the N. Nazarbayev Center for Development of Interfaith and Inter-Civilization Dialogue in cooperation with the Research Centre for Islamic History, Art and Culture of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (IRCICA). The main objective of the round table is to consider the further development of the role of religious leaders in achieving sustainable development of the world, as well as to promote the messages of the VII Congress of the Leaders of World and Traditional Religions and its Declaration.
Dr. Hattar gave a presentation under the title “Role of Religious Leaders in Achieving Sustainable Development”, in which she emphasised how Interfaith work is closely related to sustainable development. Religious values and doctrines enter everyday life and help introduce a code of conduct in all the aspects proposed by the SDGs. Values such as solidarity, empathy, dignity, and integrity, and how to apply them can help in refining relationships among people to achieve reducing poverty and hunger, providing decent work conditions and working with dedication, as well as treating each other with equality while accepting our differences, all of which was recognised by the declaration of the seventh Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions. [full text of the presentation: Role of Religious Leaders in Achieving Sustainable Development – The Astana Times].
Text of the declaration of the VII Congress of the Leaders of World and Traditional Religions: