Promoting Peaceful Coexistence and Common Citizenship

[ xiii ] — INTRODUCTION — founding observer. I also thank these nations’ representa- tives for their presence here today. At our first meeting in 2014, in this very room, you agreed upon an action plan that KAICIID would put into practice. I’m glad to report that your decisions became measurable actions. You asked us to support young people and to use social media to recruit followers in the use of dialogue, against hate. Young people can and will change the world and we must give them the tools to make sure that the change is positive. We have a responsibility to our youth to use the opportunity presented by social media to demon- strate a model for solidarity. These media tools can be utilized to help young people appreciate religious identities and respect diversity. Divisive rhetoric is more easily recognized and rejected when others are seen as peers rather than stereotypes. Dialogue through social media will offer their young peers an accurate and sympathetic understanding of young people of different religions rather than a false and biased picture. In the past three years, we trained approximately 400 young community leaders of different religions and denom- inations from Tunisia to Iraq. These young people are, in turn, training other young people. Every day the group of trainees is increasing and, now that they are connected across the region, they will launch social media campaigns together. These campaigns will offer many social media users a perspective that respects all religions and identities. You also asked us to support the Islamic and Christian educational institutions that train future religious leaders to introduce interreligious dialogue into their teaching. We therefore launched the very first Network for Religious Muslim and Christian Faculties and Institutes in the Arab