Faith to Action Network took part in a closure  meeting for the project Communities Richer in Diversity (CRID). The partners discussed the complexities and dynamics of the different approaches each undertook in their context. They emphasized that strained interfaith relations mediated by deeply rooted cultural factors related to multiple and intersecting form of identities contributes to othering, where identities are formed by excluding others – “us versus them”. This harms intercommunal relations and sometimes results in conflicts. Participants of the recent closure event of the Communities Richer in Diversity project noted commonalities and differences. They realized that in some cases, their project work had reversed and improved intercommunical relationships through everyday peace activities .  

Faith to Action Network was a core member of this project aiming to promote cultural diversity and respect for the equal dignity of all people in Burundi, Egypt, Kenya, South Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda through interfaith dialogue and cooperation. Faith to Action Network’s role was to manage a small grant and micro-grant facility, accompany grantees with technical assistance, document their work through baselines, endlines and case studies.  

The closing meeting took place in Bujumbura, Burundi, and brought together representatives from Council for Anglican Provinces in Africa (CAPA), Faith to Action Network (F2A), and African Council for Religious Leaders (ACRL) and national partners from Evangelical Alliance of South Sudan, Interreligious Council of Burundi, Uganda Joint Christian Council, Kenya Muslim Youth Alliance, Ibrahimia Media Centre-Egypt, and Evangelical Lutheran Church of Tanzania.The consortium leads and the partners discussed potential scale-up strategies, with Faith to Action Network already citing the success of The Joint Initiative for Strategic Religious Action (JISRA) as a major scale-up, to extend the gains of peacefull and just societies by  leveraging the freedom of religion and belief.  

The consortium leads and the partners also visited project beneficiaries, in Kamenge location in Burundi, where a peace platform, a safe intergenerational space for interfaith dialogue, had been constituted by the Inter-Religious Council of Burundi targeting men, women, and youth during implementation. The members shared compelling stories about the project, which are documented in a case study, and how the project interventions helped them leverage their diversities to enhance everyday peace. Please read more about the CRID project and the intervention in Burundi here .