Logo of the World Interfaith Harmony Week initiative.
H.M. King Abdullah II World Interfaith Harmony Week Prize recognizes events organized during the UN observance which best promote the goals of the initiative.
— WIHW Team
AMMAN, JORDAN, April 26, 2021 /EINPresswire.com/ — The World Interfaith Harmony Week (WIHW) initiative announced the official winners of the 2021 H.M. King Abdullah II World Interfaith Harmony Week Prize on March 24th. Established by the Royal Aal Al-Bayt Institute for Islamic Thought in Jordan, the prize is awarded to the three best events hosted during UN World Interfaith Harmony Week to have been most successful in promoting interfaith harmony and impacting religious understanding.
UN World Interfaith Harmony Week is based on UNGA Resolution A/65/PV.34 for a worldwide week of interfaith harmony. It was proposed in 2010 by HM King Abdullah II and HRH Prince Ghazi bin Muhammad of Jordan. All around the world, organizations, and individuals host events during February to help neighbors of different faiths get to know each other and build a foundation for more peaceful and friendly communities. World Interfaith Harmony Week encourages grassroots events that link people together in a global wave of understanding, respect, and action.
The WIHW initiative reports that 133 applications for the prize, in the form of event reports, were received from the over 1,020 events held between January 30th and February 28th, 2021. According to the World Interfaith Harmony Week team, “the judges are highly appreciative of all the efforts of all those who held events and applied for the prize. They wish they could reward all who held an event but are consoled by the fact that good deeds are their own reward so that everyone who held an event—whether they applied for the prize or not—is a true winner.”
The first-place prize was awarded to the Wellington Interfaith Council for their “Launch of World Interfaith Harmony Week”. Held on the first day of World Interfaith Harmony Week, Monday 1 February, the launch marked the start of the week in New Zealand’s capital city, Wellington. All faiths represented at the event shared a prayer or message based on the theme of WIHW.
The second-place prize was awarded to the Religion and Politics Forum for their “Religion and Politics Forum Discussion on Interfaith Dialogue and Islam”. The Religion and Politics Forum commemorated World Interfaith Harmony Week on February 4th, 2021, in Tokyo, Japan. The Forum was hosted by the organizing committee composed of several religious organizations and included the participation of around 40 people from over 10 religious organizations including a Muslim Imam, Christian pastors, a Buddhist priest, and many other religious activists.
The third-place prize was awarded to the Institute of Harmony and Peace Studies for their engagement in “Celebrating World Interfaith Harmony Week 2021”. Director of Institute of Harmony and Peace Studies, New Delhi, Fr Dr. M. D. Thomas, envisaged different ways of celebrating the ‘World Interfaith Harmony Week 2021’, in line with the declaration of the United Nations. These engagements were intended for promoting awareness of the need of interfaith harmony and social wellbeing in society as well as educate about the core values of all traditions of faith, ideology, and culture. The engagement programmes included video messages, articles, and lectures on connected themes.
Join the global interfaith movement in congratulating the winners and explore opportunities to get engaged with the World Interfaith Harmony Week at worldinterfaithharmonyweek.com
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The Parliament of the World’s Religions is a proud supporter of UN World Interfaith Harmony Week. Our work with WIHW is made possible through the support of a grant from the John Templeton Foundation. For more information about the Parliament of the World’s Religions, please visit www.parliamentofreligions.org
Miriam Quezada
The Parliament of the World’s Religions
+1 312-629-2990
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