Date: September 27, 2016

Venue: ICC Auditorium, 37th and O St., N.W. Washington, DC 20007, US

In 2013, the U.S. State Department established the Secretary’s Office of Religion and Global Affairs (S/RGA). The office advises Secretary of State John Kerry on policy matters as they relate to religion, supports U.S. diplomatic missions overseas in assessing religious dynamics and engaging religious actors, and serves as the first point of entry for those seeking to engage the State Department on religion.

This year, the S/RGA, in partnership with the Secretary’s Open Forum, will host the first Religion and Diplomacy Conference. The two-day event will explore ways in which religion matters to foreign policy in various regions of the world and on a number of global, cross-cutting issues. A public component will take place at Georgetown University on the second day, featuring two panel discussions. The first will focus on the role of religious actors in communities in implementing the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals; the second will examine the two incongruent poles of global xenophobia and discrimination on one hand, and efforts to promote interreligious understanding, inclusion, respect, and cooperation on the other. This event is co-sponsored by the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs and the U.S. State Department.

SCHEDULE

– The Role of Religious Actors in Achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals

• Azza Karam, United Nations Population Fund
• David Hollenbach, Berkley Center
• Katherine Marshall, Berkley Center
• Ulrich Nitschke, International Partnership on Religion and Sustainable Development
• Peter Mandaville, U.S. Department of State (moderator)

– A Tale of Two Trends: Between Xenophobia and Inclusion

• Yvonne Haddad, Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding
• Paul Heck, Georgetown University
• Yahya Hendi, Georgetown University
• Zia Makhdoom, MakeSpace
• Timothy Shah, Berkley Center (moderator)

Source: Berkley Center for Religion, Peace & World Affairs