"This significant conference will bring together diplomats, experts, and religious leaders to look at the whole subject of religious freedom and tolerance in the 21st century," says John Graz.
A major religious freedom conference will convene in Bermuda, March 14 to17, reports John Graz, secretary-general of the International Religious Liberty Association.
“This significant conference will bring together diplomats, experts, and religious leaders to look at the whole subject of religious freedom and tolerance in the 21st century,” says Graz. “As we see religious freedom under threat in different areas around the world, this is certainly a hot issue. We hope to be able to make a constructive contribution to the fundamental human rights of religious liberty and freedom of conscience through this event and through the use of materials developed during our time in Bermuda.”
The conference, entitled “Religious Freedom: An Answer to Discrimination and Intolerance,” will be opened by the Premier of Bermuda, the Hon. Jennifer Smith, and many international religious freedom experts from governments, universities and world organizations will address its theme.
Among those attending are Ambassador Joseph Verner Reed, Under-Secretary, United Nations; Dr. Doudou Diene, UNESCO Director of Intercultural Dialogue; Dr. Rosa Maria Martinez de Codes, Department of Religious Affairs, Spain; and Dr. Tad Stahnke, US Commission on International Religious Freedom.
“We invite applications from those willing to address the challenge of discrimination and intolerance, especially as it relates to the principles of religious freedom,” says Graz, who is also director of public affairs and religious liberty for the Seventh-day Adventist Church worldwide. “Through dialogue and the willingness to understand each other we can reduce discrimination and aid tolerance, while maintaining our right to difference.”
(More information on the upcoming conference can be found at www.irla.org or by calling 301-680-6680 in the United States.)
