The
curtain has closed on the first Global Forum of the King Abdullah Bin
Abdulaziz International Centre for Interreligious and Intercultural
Dialogue in Vienna, Austria.
Inaugurated in 2012 with the Holy See as a
Founding Observer, the dialogue centre known by its acronym, KAICIID,
this year dedicated its first-ever Global Forum to the exploration of
The Image of the Other, specifically in the key of intercultural and
interreligious education.
The two days of sessions included
ministerial-level policy discussions, small working groups and even
smaller roundtables focusing on themes both practical and theoretical.
Over 400 people took part.
One of the group sessions, focusing
on the historical theme of negotiating identity in relation to the past,
was chaired by the Secretary of the Pontifical Council for
Interreligious Dialogue, Fr. Miguel Ayuso, who is also the Holy See’s
representative on the KAICIID Board of Directors.
“In that forum there
was a fruitful sharing,” of ideas and experiences, said Fr. Ayuso in an
exclusive interview with Vatican Radio. He went on to say that he had a
similar impression of the Forum as a whole.
“What remains to be
seen,” he said, “is whether we can translate our work here into
practical results for the many people – especially I think of children
and youth – who, because of a lack of understanding and respect, are not
able at present to enjoy the basic human right of religious liberty in
the broadest and [most] robust sense of the term.”
Fr. Ayuso concluded,
saying, “The success, according to me, of KAICIID, will be measured in
the ability of the Centre to provide avenues of redress for those who
suffer in this way.” The KAICIID Global Forum on the Image of the Other
in intercultural and interreligious education concluded Tuesday in
Vienna, Austria.