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African Envoys Laud Religious Leaders' Role in Peace and Development Interfaith Womenâs Group on Solidarity Visit to Nordic Countries
STOCKHOLM, Sweden/GENEVA, 3 May 2007 (LWI) * The head of African diplomats accredited to Sweden emphasized the role of religious leaders in the search for peace and development in Africa, during a recent meeting with an interfaith women's group on a study visit to the Nordic countries. "Peace is a pre-condition for everything and the role of religious leaders cannot be overemphasized," Ambassador Mary Mubi, dean of African Ambassadors to Sweden, told women representatives of the Inter-Faith Action for Peace in Africa (IFAPA), a pan-African initiative started by Rev. Dr Ishmael Noko, general secretary of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF).
Mubi, Zimbabwe's envoy to Sweden spoke on behalf of 17 other African ambassadors who received the IFAPA group in the country's capital, Stockholm. The women drawn from 11 countries were on an awareness-raising visit from 16 to 24 April to Sweden, Norway and Finland, in the context of their campaign, "A Mother's Cry for a Healthy Africa," launched in 2005.
Inaugurated in October 2002, IFAPA brings together representatives of Africaâs seven major faith traditions - African Traditional Religion, Baha'i, Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam and Judaism - in collaborative peace building initiatives.
Challenges for Women and Children
The women's study visit with representatives of local authorities, government ministers, diplomats and civil society networks in the Nordic countries was aimed at highlighting development issues pertinent to women and children in the African context especially the challenges of conflict. The group also sought co-operation and support toward capacity building in leadership development in order to address issues that would ensure a "healthy" Africa.
Ms Carin Gardbring, the program's coordinator in the Nordic countries, and her African counterpart, Ms Merab Mulindi, stressed the significance of the interfaith initiative in breaking bridges of division and in constructively building bridges that enhance understanding and trust across faith and religious divide.
The visit to Sweden under the auspices of the Church of Sweden featured interactive sessions with representatives of United Nations organizations working with Africa in different areas including gender, democracy, peace building, reconciliation and integration. Seminars and workshops were also held with representatives of peace movements, faith communities and development agencies.
Rev. Lennart Molin, associate general secretary at the Christian Council of Sweden, and a female Imam in Stockholm, Ms Suad Mohammed, stressed the significance of inter-religious initiatives with all groupings in understanding issues of unity and the challenges of diversity. This is the "responsibility of religious leaders in the 21st century," they noted.
Ms Margareta Grape, director of International Affairs, Church of Sweden, commended the IFAPA women's campaign as a way of working on the identity of bearers and actors of peace in the context of the United Nations Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security.
Norway: IFAPA Commissioner Advocates Negotiations
In Oslo, Norway, the president of the Oslo Center for Peace and Human Rights, Kjell Magne Bondevik said the notion of coalition governments provided valuable experiences that should be adopted to promote peace and equity. Bondevik, an ordained pastor of the [Lutheran] Church of Norway is a former Prime Minister of Norway. He is a member of the IFAPA Commission, inaugurated in June 2006 in Kigali, Rwanda.
During a seminar with the IFAPA women's delegation, Bondevik identified power sharing and cooperation between governments and faith organizations as major challenges to today's societal struc tures. He advocated the good use of compromises, dialogues and negotiations by various groups to avoid conflict.
At a separate meeting, Ms Guro Katharina H. Vikor, Ambassador for Women's Rights and Gender Equality, Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, challenged the "mothers of Africa" under IFAPA to draw up specific concerns relevant to their countries and involve non-governmental organizations and the private sector in their plans toward achieving peace in conflict-affected parts of Africa.
Finland: Call for Solidarity
At a seminar on interfaith understanding and women's empowerment in peace processes in Helsinki, Finland, IFAPA Commission member, Mr Par Stenback said the IFAPA model represents a future for Africa, and was proof that it was possible for religious leaders to work together. The former government minister called for solidarity between the Nordic countries and Africa on the initiative.
Mr Leo Siliamaa, deputy director of FinnChurchAid, expressed concern about the spate of conflicts due to the struggle for power and political leadership in Africa, and urged interfaith communities' active involvement in dialogue and in providing tools that would enable peace to thrive.
In discussions with the IFAPA representatives, Ambassador Ilari Rantakari, Finland's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, advocated closer collaboration between the formal and informal sectors to ensure effective participation toward peace building. (773 words)
(Nigerian journalist Ms Brenda Akpan accompanied the IFAPA women's group to the Nordic countries and contributed this article for LWI.)
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(The LWF is a global communion of Christian churches in the Lutheran tradition. Founded in 1947 in Lund, Sweden, the LWF currently has 140 member churches in 78 countries all over the world, with a total membership of nearly 66.7 million. The LWF acts on behalf of its member churches in areas of common interest such as ecumenical and interfaith relations, theology, humanitarian assistance, human rights, communication, and the various aspects of mission and development work. Its secretariat is located in Geneva, Switzerland.)
[Lutheran World Information (LWI) is the LWF's information service. Unless specifically noted, material presented does not represent positions or opinions of the LWF or of its various units. Where the dateline of an article contains the notation (LWI), the material may be freely reproduced with acknowledgment.]
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