On December 9, 2020, the 1000 Abrahamic Circles Project under the Foreign Policy Community of Indonesia had the honor to receive the Intercultural Achievement Award (IAA) 2020 for Innovation.
On December 9, 2020, the 1000 Abrahamic Circles Project under the Foreign Policy Community of Indonesia had the honor to receive the Intercultural Achievement Award (IAA) 2020 for Innovation. The 1000 Abrahamic Circles, conceived in 2018, is an independent, grassroots, and international interfaith effort that aims to bring together Abrahamic faith leaders (Christianity, Muslims, and Jews) from three different countries on a three-week bonding journey to each other’s community.
The 1000 Abrahamic Circles Project concept is driven by the realization that the interfaith conferences that we see so frequently around the world are experiencing fatigue. Despite the encouraging statements by religious leaders regarding tolerance and moderation in their fora, once they return to their home base, some in the grassroots do not change their attitude and are still mired in prejudice, negativity, ignorance, and hostility, all of which serve as breeding grounds for potentially violent and hateful activities.
It is in that context that we came up with the idea of the 1000 Abrahamic Circles Project, which aims to change negativity on the ground at the grassroots level to create new friendships out of disconnected Abrahamic leaders and then to cultivate respect out of ignorance.
The 1000 Abrahamic Circles project is 1 out of 5 selected initiatives from 300 entries coming from 41 different countries, becoming the only peace initiative from Indonesia and even Asia, to receive this prestigious award. The winning projects of this award have distinguished themselves with their civil society initiative, promoting intercultural dialogue, sustainably and across national borders.
It is an honor for us and we would like to express our deepest gratitude to the Austrian Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs, Zukunftsfonds der Republik Österreich, Austrian Development Agency, and Österreichische Integrationsfonds for the recognition and appreciation.
We would like to also send our gratitude and appreciation to our donors; the Royal Danish Embassy and the Australian Embassy, which have helped us commence the first 3 circles out of 1000 circles that we are aiming to achieve in this project, our circle members, and everyone who has dedicated their time for the implementation of this project.
We hope that this award will help us grow into a stronger peace initiative with global impact and inspire others to push for greater mutual respect among followers of the Abrahamic religions so that we can have a more durable peace in the 21st century.
Thank you very much.
Salam,
Dr. Dino Patti Djalal