After a period of intensive planning and conceptualization, the Soetendorp Institute has launched the Faith and Leadership Seminar that is being supported by the municipality of The Hague. 15 young leaders aged 18 to 30 from diverse cultural and spiritual backgrounds participate in the course that includes ten sessions from September to December 2011.
The seminar aims to promote intercultural understanding by giving emerging leaders the chance to gain valuable new perspectives through interaction with peers from different cultures and religions.
Through a wide-ranging programme that covers an in-depth introduction to the different levels of interfaith dialogue, special skill training sessions as well as the visits to different houses of worship (a buddhist center, a mosque, a Hindu temple, a church and a synagogue) participants are being provided with the skills necessary for responsible leadership and constructive dialogue both within their faith community and between communities of different faiths.
The course so far received positive feedback from the participants – “We have more in common than I thought” and “We should spread this information to fight prejudices” were some comments we often heard after the sessions.
The Soetendorp Institute takes this first seminar as an occasion for gaining experience for organizing further training courses in the forthcoming years.
For more information, please contact Kirty Matabadal at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
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