IRD Activities

• Peacebuilding

  The programme utilizes interreligious dialogue to support conflict prevention and resolution. Working with religious, interreligious international and civil society organizations, KAICIID seeks to form a united front to stand up in defence of the universal values of peace and dialogue, shared by all religions. KAICIID convenes local, regional and international stakeholders to develop and implement multilateral peacebuilding initiatives. KAICIID also offers training to strengthen interreligious dialogue and interreligious cooperation to foster plurality and tolerance. In 2014, the Programme convened the conference ‘United Against Violence in the Name of Religions' and the consultations ‘Promoting Social Cohesion in the Central African Republic' and ‘Fostering Common Citizenship in the Middle East'

• United Against Violence in the Name of Religion (UVNR)

  This groundbreaking KAICIID initiative was launched in Vienna in November 2014 to denounce violence in the name of religion. Under UVNR, KAICIID is working with high-level level representatives of five world religions, as well as Christian, Muslim and other minority religious communities In Iraq, Syria and the Middle East. This includes representatives of the Armenian Orthodox Church, the Council of Senior Scholars from Saudi Arabia, the Iraqi Muslim Association, the Evangelicals, Maronites, Melkite Greek Catholics, Mouwahiddoun Druze, Protestant communities and the Yazidis, among many others. Together, UVNR stakeholders engage the international community to support coexistence and to strengthen common citizenship for all religious and ethnic groups in the region. Under the UVNR initiative, KAICIID is undertaking activities with a range of partners, including UNDP, UNESCO, the UN Office for the Prevention of Genocide and ISESCO, as well as various NGOs. A)Promoting Coexistence in the Arab Region:Growing violent extremism and terrorism have threatened centuries of peaceful coexistence in the Middle East. In June 2014, the Centre launched the Arab region programme through a consultative session on common citizenship. The workshop coincided with a turbulent chain of violence in Iraq and Syria. During the session, 25 religious leaders, as well as a number of religious organizations and institutions from the Arab region, gathered to discuss the implications of current developments in Arab societies and their impact on social structure – particularly within interreligious and intercultural relations.KAICIID believes there is a gap between religious leaders and policymakers, especially in international organizations. Therefore there is an urgent need to launch a regional platform for dialogue and cooperation in the Arab region in order to support the activists, leaders and religious institutions, who are developing action strategies and working to establish the values of pluralism, religious and cultural diversity, and common citizenship.In February 2018, KAICIID organized a global conference which brought together leading representatives from numerous religious communities to support peaceful coexistence. At the conference, the Centre launched an historic interreligious platform supported by Christian and Muslim leaders to advocate for the rights and inclusion of all communities in the Arab world. The Platform is the first interreligious dialogue platform of its kind. Planned activities of the platform include training clergy of all religions to combat hate speech, implementing initiatives which empower youth and women, and working with local and national authorities on policy which promotes social cohesion and equal rights.

• Reducing Interreligious Tensions in the Central African Republic

  The International Dialogue Centre supports the process of national reconciliation in the Central African Republic by reinforcing the capacity of religious leaders to promote dialogue and reconciliation. With Search for Common Ground, the Centre is supporting the work being done by the Interfaith Platform in CAR. In addition to the project on the ground, KAICIID has convened three interfaith and intra-faith meetings in Vienna and in October 2015 held bilateral discussions at the UNGA in New York to advocate for the end of the recent cycle of violent attacks in the country

• Building Peace in Nigeria

  KAICIID is working to build a coalition of international and civil society partners to support interreligious dialogue in Nigeria. Focusing on the regional conflict in Nigeria, the Centre brings together religious leaders, policy makers, regional stakeholders and experts in a series of intra-religious meetings and regional dialogue forums that will culminate in a National Interfaith Conference in 2016. In January 2015, KAICIID hosted a workshop for 300 Christian and Muslim women and youth on using dialogue to prevent conflict in advance of the 2015 Nigerian general elections

• Network for Traditional and Religious Peacemakers

  In August 2015, KAICIID became a member of the Core Group of the Network for Religious and Traditional Peacemakers, joining Religions for Peace, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and Finn Church Aid (FCA). The Network is composed of diverse and active individuals and organizations – from grassroots religious and traditional peacemaking organizations to international NGOs, intergovernmental organizations and academic institutions. They work together to support the positive role of religious and traditional peacemakers in peacebuilding processes, from the local to the international level

• Preventing Incitement to Atrocity Crimes

  KAICIID - in partnership with the United Nations Office on Genocide Prevention - organized a religious leaders’ forum in Fez, Morocco, that resulted in an Action Plan to Prevent Incitement to Atrocity Crimes. The Action Plan prioritizes countering hate speech, strengthening interreligious education and engaging political leaders. This Action Plan has been refined at several regional meetings (Africa and Asia) with religious leaders, and a final version will be adopted at a UN conference at the end of in 2016

• KAICIID International Fellows Programme

  A one-year learning and training programme to provide future religious leaders from five world religions with the interreligious dialogue skills they need to become active peacemakers. In its first year, Fellows from 16 countries, now part of the KAICIID Fellows Network, were trained in dialogue, mediation and peacebuilding. In 2016, 20 KAICIID Fellows from 15 countries, and five conflict regions are in training. This year, in addition to the international programme, three regional Fellows programmes have been planned for the Arab Region, Southeast Asia and Africa

• The Peace Map

  KAICIID’s Peace Map is an interactive, online database that shows where people are working to build respect among communities through interreligious dialogue. The Peace Map is a tool for students, researchers, policymakers and dialogue experts to learn about organisations that are committed to interreligious dialogue. KAICIID designed this project to bring together different stakeholders in the fields of peace mapping and mapping of interreligious and intercultural dialogue activities to create awareness of the value of dialogue in transforming conflicts and addressing global challenges

• The Image of the Other

  The overall aim of this project series is to help replace subjective interreligious or intercultural misperceptions and stereotyping with more objective, appropriate and respectful ways of thinking about and depicting followers of other religions and cultures

• Education

  Education has a powerful influence on our understanding of other cultures and religions. KAICIID helps countries review curricula and to revise policies to improve the accuracy of the depiction of people of faith and members of different cultures. The KAICIID Policy Network convenes academics and policymakers for curriculum building at every level of education including formal and non-formal education and lifelong learning

• KAICIID Media Programme

  The programme aims to foster more accurate representation of religious and cultural diversity in the media and online through improved self-representation - that is, by making sure that the voices of interreligious dialogue leaders are represented in greater quantity and quality in traditional media, social media and online. KAICIID is developing training courses and conducting outreach through publications and events in order to address this need

• Capacity Building

  One of the overall aims of KAICIID is to provide trainings in the field of dialogue. Therefore, KAICIID organizes workshops to foster dialogue, mutual understanding and acceptance

• KAICIID's Online Course on Interreligious Dialogue (KOCID)

  KOCID is being offered as a pilot starting in the winter of 2015 using a Moodle platform. This pioneer course is the product of an ongoing collaboration between KAICIID and several universities: the University of Montreal (Canada), the Institut Superior de Ciències Religioses de Barcelona as well as the Complutense University of Madrid (Spain). Using a combination of peer-reviewed and group collaboration approaches with auto-evaluations and online-assessed technics, KOCID aims to enhance capacity-building in the field of interreligious dialogue, train instructors who will tutor KOCID, and build expertise in education

• Training of Trainers (ToT)

  KAICIID's transnational ToT programme builds on best practices with current training of trainers techniques utilized in interreligious dialogue for peacebuilding. KAICIID launched its international ToT to empower capacity-building practitioners of interreligious dialogue by offering them the knowledge, skills and resources needed to facilitate high-quality and effective interreligious dialogues. This initiative includes, inter alia, the 'World Scouts Interreligious Dialogue Training' (a workshop aiming to discuss the history of interreligious and intercultural dialogue, share best practices on dialogue in Scouting today, identify needs and share dialogue skills, experience and actively take part in dialogue with the group, share and learn about each other's ideas)

• MultiReligious Collaboration for the Common Good (MCC)

  MCC is a partnership-based programme undertaken with Religions for Peace. Together, the two organizations designed a programme to support dialogue and practical cooperation among religious leaders and communities. The MCC's goals include building upon successful models and practices of dialogue and tracking their outcomes in three targeted sectors: improving interreligious dialogue platform performance, protecting child health, and supporting interreligious education. In alignment with national and local priorities, KAICIID will provide dialogue training and facilitation as desired by participating partners

• Talking Dialogue

  Workshops aiming to bring together a number of scholars studying interreligious and intercultural dialogue from a variety of theoretical and methodological perspectives and to enhance their understanding of research methods and approaches to interreligious and intercultural dialogue

• Refugees in Europe Programme

  The sudden and large-scale arrival of refugees in Europe has had a pronounced effect on interreligious and intercultural relations, with questions and implications for social cohesion and the meaning of European identities. Simultaneously, terrorist attacks committed in Europe and polarisation of narratives present formidable cultural and religious divides. The Refugees in Europe Programme, launched in February 2017, strives to support refugee integration through dialogue-based projects. Like the EU Common Basic Principles of Immigration Integration Policy, KAICIID recognises that integration is a two-way process, and seeks to enhance the integration capacity of both people seeking refuge and European host communities.

• Dialogo Game

  We designed the Dialogo! game to support youth leaders and peace builders. Now, the game is played around the world, in schools, on teams, and in learning environments. The game teaches skills in dialogue, teamwork, speaking, and social emotional learning.

• Interreligious and Intercultural Outreach in Austria

  KAICIID engages with the Austrian public as an integral part of the Centre’s activities – promoting the positive, transformative effects of dialogue in the Centre’s host country, by bridging stakeholders from diverse backgrounds through intercultural and interreligious events. KAICIID regularly opens its doors to the public, hosting art and photography exhibitions, musical performances, expert lectures, interfaith workshops and headquarter tours. These dynamic events provide a space for guests to experience new cultures and perspectives, connecting individuals from Austria and around the world.Local outreach engages four key stakeholder groups in Austria through the Centre’s programming. These include local religious leaders and religious organizations, civic government, civil society and local media.

• Incorporating Dialogue into the Scouts Programme

  Recognising the important role young people play in contributing to the strengthening of social cohesion and peaceful coexistence within their communities, KAICIID actively promotes interreligious and intercultural dialogue among youth. The Centre’s flagship training, the Dialogue for Peace (DfP) programme, was developed in close cooperation with the World Organisation of the Scout Movement (WOSM) and was created for and with the help of young people.KAICIID sees young people as future changemakers therefore, the DfP programme aims to equip participants with the tools needed to meaningfully participate in building a culture of dialogue, contribute to reconciliation efforts, and dispel stereotypes within their societies and beyond. The programme also seeks to support the spiritual development aspect of youth programming within Scouting.WOSM and KAICIID bring together a diverse range of young people and leaders from around the world to participate in the DfP programme. The programme equips participants with the necessary skills and knowledge to develop dialogue-related projects in their communities, which has also contributed to the mainstreaming and institutionalisation of dialogue within WOSM and other organisations. From 2015 to 2018, over 2000 young people from all around the world have participated in the DfP programme.

• Programme for the Social Inclusion of People Seeking Refuge in Europe

  The political and social environment for people seeking refuge and other migrants has changed immensely over the past two years, with calls to put an end to “open border” migration policies. Popularised misperceptions give the impression that migrants and particularly people seeking refuge pose a threat to fundamental European values such as freedom of religion (and from religion), democracy and gender equality. Discrimination against Muslims continues to be a major concern in Europe, according to studies by the European Fundamental Rights Agency and the Migrant Integration Policy Exchange. People seeking refuge face numerous hurdles to their social, economic and educational integration, especially because policies do not always adequately distinguish between the needs of specific groups versus the unique needs of each individual. Newcomers and members of host societies need more contact points and shared spaces in order to effectively move forward toward successful integration.KAICIID recognises that successful integration is vital to preventing newcomers from becoming “outsiders,” which can endanger the fabric of society. Because all mainstream religious traditions promote inclusion and care for poor or marginalised people, integration provides a fantastic opportunity for coordinated interreligious cooperation. This can also have a broader positive impact on interreligious relations in the European context. To that end, the PSR Programme seeks to improve participation in European society for people seeking refuge through two main projects: Project Integration through Dialogue and a Network for the Social Inclusion of People Seeking Refuge.

Main Focus Countries of Activities

Vienna, Austria - Vienna, Austria - South-Western Asia - Vienna, Austria - New York, NY, USA - Central African Republic - Vienna, Austria - Nigeria - World - World - World - Vienna, Austria - Virtual - Vienna, Austria - Addis Ababa, Ethiopia - Buenos Aires, Argentina - New Delhi, India - Vienna, Austria - Vienna, Austria - Vienna, Austria - Virtual - Vienna, Austria - Vienna, Austria - Kampala, Uganda - Vienna, Austria - Vienna, Austria - Virtual - Austria - World - Europe -