wfn.org | First Regional Meeting of LWF-Led Inter-Faith Peace Summit

["Frank Imhoff" <FRANKI@elca.org>]

First Regional Meeting of LWF-Led Inter-Faith Peace Summit
Kenneth Kaunda to Deliver Keynote Address at South African Conference

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa/GENEVA, 23 September 2003 (LWI) - The first
regional follow-up meeting of the Inter-Faith Peace Summit in Africa,
facilitated by the Lutheran World Federation (LWF),
will take place 30 September-1 October 2003 in Johannesburg, South Africa,
under the theme, "Promoting Peace and Harmony."

Dr Kenneth Kaunda, former President of Zambia will deliver the keynote
address at the two-day Southern Africa Inter-Faith Conference, which will be
officially opened by South African Deputy President Jacob Zuma.

The conference is a follow-up to the October 2002 Inter-Faith Peace Summit
in Africa which produced "The Johannesburg Inter-Faith Declaration  -
Embracing the Gift of Peace," a joint affirmation of inter-faith
responsibility for safeguarding peace in Africa. 

Many of the major conflicts on the African continent are fueled by religious
differences and the essence of the declaration dealt with ways of promoting
co-existence and mutual understanding, as well as strengthening co-operation
for collective intervention in violence-affected areas. Similar regional
meetings are planned for Western Africa and the Eastern/Central region.

The Southern Africa follow-up conference will feature around 60 delegates
from eleven Southern African countries. Those represented include Angola,
Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Swaziland, South
Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe. All delegations attending the conference will be
giving a report on the state of peace or lack thereof, and inter-faith
dialogue and cooperation for peace in their respective countries.

Participants include religious leaders from the Christian, Muslim, Baha'i,
Buddhist, Hindu and Jewish faiths, and African Traditional Religions.
Speakers at the conference will include the summit coordinator, LWF General
Secretary Rev. Dr Ishmael Noko, and Rev. Dr Mvume Dandala, All Africa
Conference of Churches General Secretary. 

Representative media from Southern and Eastern Africa are invited.

(The LWF is a global communion of Christian churches in the Lutheran
tradition. Founded in 1947 in Lund (Sweden), the LWF now has 136 member
churches in 76 countries representing over 61.7 million of the 65.4 million
Lutherans worldwide. 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.)
 
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