On November 16^th, 2022, the African Union Civil Society and Diaspora Directorate (AUC-CIDO) in partnership with King Abdullah Bin Abdelaziz International Centre for Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue (KAICIID), United Religions Initiative (URI), and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) commemorated the International Day of Tolerance.

Tolerance is considered the bedrock of society, due to globalization, people of different backgrounds, cultures, and faiths have been pushed into urbanized communities where they live together. While this provides an opportunity for cross-cultural collaboration and unity, it has also proven to be a breeding ground for people to challenge the principles of tolerance. Issues like race, gender, and political beliefs have caused intolerance and divisions in society by isolating some groups while openly favouring others. Furthermore, the rise in terrorism has caused rifts in society that were designed to weaken the fabric of unity, solidarity, and living together in peace. By reminding ourselves every year of the values of tolerance, we are creating a society where people would feel more valued, respected, and united in the face of adversity.

The commemoration of the “International Day of Tolerance” aimed at creating a space to share cultural/religious and faith-based best practices on tolerance and discuss ways of fostering greater common understanding to enable more tolerant and inclusive societies. A panel discussion was held with the participation of the United Arab Emirates Embassy to Ethiopia, The AU Organ Economic Social and Cultural Council (ECOSOCC), and members of the African Union- Interfaith Dialogue Forum (AU-IFDF).  The United Arab Emirates was recognized as a champion of tolerance having established a Ministry of Tolerance and Co-existence. Mr. Talal Al Azeezi, Head of the UAE's political, economic and media affairs stressed the importance of tolerance and harmony in their culture and showcased examples of acts of tolerance. Pastor James Movel, co-executive director of the Interfaith Mediation Centre Kaduna and steering committee member of the AU IFDF addressed the panel and highlighted the importance of the role religious leaders play in building and fostering tolerance in the community giving examples of his own work in Nigeria and the impact it has made in building cohesion.  ECOSOCC also contributed to the conversation by providing first-hand accounts of projects and programs they have led that focus on building tolerance. Mr. Khaled Boudali, Deputy Presiding Officer of ECOSOCC also gave and culturally relevant experiences of the practices of tolerance from Morocco.

A whole-of-society approach was addressed as being core in building tolerance, where government, religious leaders, youth and women work jointly towards achieving Agenda 2030 and Agenda 2063. Without tolerance sustainable development and achieving the global and continental agendas and building peaceful cohesive communities would be impossible. The ‘leave no one behind’ policies that underpin most of these frameworks depend on tolerance.

Participants in the commemoration ceremony included: officials from AU Member States; representatives of the diplomatic corps in Addis Ababa, AU Commission and Organs; Representatives of International Organizations, diaspora, Faith Based Organizations, and religious leaders.

For more information contact:

Ms. Malaz Yousif  I AUIFDF- project coordinator  I Citizens and Diaspora Directorate | African Union Commission I Tel: +251 115 517 700 | E-mail:  yousifma@africa-union.org I Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Information and Communication Directorate I African Union Commission I E-mail: DIC@africa-union.org

Web: www.au.int | Addis Ababa, Ethiopia | Follow Us: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube