Interreligious Dialogue’s Contribution to Peace to be discussed at the Complutense Summer Courses

The International Dialogue Centre (KAICIID), in cooperation with the Institute of Sciences of Religions (IUCCRR, in its Spanish acronym) and the Complutense University of Madrid (UCM, in its Spanish acronym) Summer Courses, will conduct a summer course at San Lorenzo de El Escorial, a small town close to Madrid, Spain, on “World Governance: Interreligious Dialogue and Peacebuilding”, from 13-15 July 2016. 

During the three-day event, students and panellists will discuss how interreligious and intercultural dialogue has become a priority for international organisations and local policy makers, given the recent rise of conflicts in which religion has been manipulated to justify violence.  They will analyse such conflicts and the potential of interreligious dialogue for their resolution, while also addressing the potential roles of states, international organisations, religious communities and NGOs.

The course will convene representatives of international organisations, national policy makers, and prestigious academics, including: Amb. Alvaro Albacete, KAICIID Deputy Secretary General for External Relations; Dr. Fernando Amerigo Cuervo-Arango, ISR Director; Jos De La Haye, UNDP Regional Cluster Leader; Nihal Saad, Chief of Cabinet & Spokesperson for the High Representative of the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations; Gustavo Suarez Pertierra, former Spanish Minister of Education and Defense, professor at the National University of Distance Education; and José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, former Prime Minister of Spain.

Through four lectures and two panel discussions, the topics of world peace and interreligious dialogue, conflict resolution and interreligious diversity management, the role of religions in public spaces and the experiences of the United Nations Alliance of Civilisations will be discussed. The course’s full programme is available here.

The summer course is part of KAICIID’s and UCM’s collaboration agreement, signed on April 2015. Both institutions also recently co-organised the 11th Congress of the Spanish Association for the Sciences of Religions on “Violence, Peace and Religion”, celebrated in Seville, Spain, from 19 to 21 May 2016.

Complutense Summer Courses in El Escorial are a reference point in the world of university education. Since 1988, UCM has been organising them, receiving each year around 4,000 students and 1,500 lecturers from around the world.  

Accreditations

Media representatives are welcome to attend the World Governance Summer Course, following accreditation through https://www.ucm.es/cursosdeverano/acreditaciones.

For more information on the accreditations, please contact Antonia Cortes, Head of Press at UCM Summer Courses: [email protected]

For more information on the course and interview requests, please contact Mariela Hoyer Starcevic, Public Affairs Officer at KAICIID: [email protected]

About KAICIID

The International Dialogue Centre (KAICIID) is an intergovernmental organization that promotes dialogue to strengthen social cohesion. Its work enhances understanding and cooperation between people of different cultures and followers of different religions. The Centre was founded by Austria, Saudi Arabia and Spain. The Holy See is the Founding Observer. Its Board of Directors comprises prominent representatives from five world religions (Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, and Judaism). The Board designs and supervises the Centre’s programs.

About IUCCRR

The Institute of Sciences of Religions at the UCM is a university institute that analyses religious matters from an academic and non-denominational perspective. It has professors and researchers in the areas of History, Philology, Law, Political Sciences, Sociology, Anthropology and Psychology.