IF20, ACWAY, Cape Town, August 10, 2025 Introductory comments by Katherine Marshall, G20 Interfaith Forum Vice President, at the opening meeting of the G20 Youth Interfaith Forum the day before IF20 South Africa commenced meetings. Attendees of the YIF20 included over 50 youth delegates from 25 nationalities and 15 religious…| Viewpoints
From Advocates to Agents: Takeaways from Day Four of the G20 Interfaith Forum| Viewpoints
By Luisa Banchoff – – – After three days of encounter and debate, participants of the G20 Interfaith Forum came together on the forum’s final day to share insights, acknowledge challenges, and plan next steps as they depart Cape Town and return to their communities. The day began with fishbowl…| Viewpoints
By Luisa Banchoff - - - Throughout this year’s G20 Interfaith Forum, participants have attended plenary sessions focused on priority areas for the G20, including hunger and poverty, economic and financial action, education, sustainability, and care for the most vulnerable. Complementing these plenaries are over 30 breakout sessions. These have…| Viewpoints
By Luisa Banchoff – – – For eleven years, the G20 Interfaith Forum has been a space for leaders from faith communities, civil society, and government to speak prophetically about the challenges facing the most marginalized and excluded members of our societies. The second day of this year’s forum began…| Viewpoints
By Luisa Banchoff – – – On Monday, more than 400 representatives of religious communities and faith-based organizations gathered in Cape Town for the start of this year’s G20 Interfaith Forum, “Ubuntu in Action: Focus on Vulnerable Communities.” Colorful placards and banners adorned the meeting rooms, emblazoned with the theme…| Viewpoints
By Luisa Banchoff - - - The 2025 G20 Interfaith Summit was a day away, and the main stage was being set up in the ballroom of Cape Town’s Westin Hotel. But in the room next door, a gathering was already well underway: fifty-five young people, representing 25 countries and…| Viewpoints
By JoAnne Wadsworth, Communications Consultant, G20 Interfaith Forum. – – – On August 8, 2025, the G20 Interfaith Forum hosted its final "Faith in Action: Reflections" webinar, focusing on "Disaster Preparedness, Relief, and Recovery." The discussion brought together faith-based humanitarian leaders to examine how religious communities serve as first responders…| Viewpoints
By JoAnne Wadsworth, Communications Consultant, G20 Interfaith Forum. – – – On July 31st, 2025, the G20 Interfaith Forum, in partnership with Praeveni Global, hosted a webinar on "Faith Leadership and Missions" as part of a monthly series commemorating the 25th anniversary of the Palermo Protocol. The panel explored how…| Viewpoints
By JoAnne Wadsworth, Communications Consultant, G20 Interfaith Forum. – – – On July 31, 2025, the G20 Interfaith Forum hosted its fourth "Faith in Action: Reflections" webinar, focusing on "Migration and Refugee Movements, Human Trafficking, and Modern Slavery." The discussion brought together anti-trafficking practitioners and advocates to examine how faith…| Viewpoints
By Marianna Richardson, Director of Communications for the G20 Interfaith Forum – – – This blog is part 5 of a 5-part series, exploring IF20’s five Priority Areas looking forward to the G20 Interfaith Forum in Cape Town, August 2025. Disasters—whether sudden or slow-moving—are intensifying in frequency and impact due…| Viewpoints
By JoAnne Wadsworth, Communications Consultant, G20 Interfaith Forum. – – – On July 24, 2025, the G20 Interfaith Forum hosted its third "Faith in Action: Reflections" webinar, focusing on "Addressing Interreligious Tensions Through Literacy and Enhancing Understanding and Harmony." The discussion brought together diverse faith leaders and practitioners to examine…| Viewpoints
Economic and Financial Action: Faith Perspectives on Economic Justice| Viewpoints
On July 17, 2025, the G20 Interfaith Forum hosted its second "Faith in Action: Reflections" webinar, focusing on "Economic and Financial Action: Faith Perspectives on Economic Justice." The discussion brought together faith leaders and practitioners to examine how religious communities can address debt injustice and economic inequality. The panel featured…| Viewpoints
By JoAnne Wadsworth, Communications Consultant, G20 Interfaith Forum. – – – The G20 Interfaith Forum launched its "Faith in Action: Reflections" webinar series on July 10, 2025, with a powerful discussion on "The Role of Inter-religious Actors in Addressing Hunger and Poverty." The inaugural session featured Dr. Renier Koegelenberg, Executive…| Viewpoints
By JoAnne Wadsworth, Communications Consultant, G20 Interfaith Forum. – – – On May 28-29, 2025, the G20 Interfaith Forum Association hosted Africa Week at Future Africa, University of Pretoria, dedicating significant time to amplifying youth voices on global governance priorities. The session "The Youth's Voice in Solidarity, Equality, and Sustainability"…| Viewpoints
By JoAnne Wadsworth, Communications Consultant, G20 Interfaith Forum. – – – On May 28-29, 2025, the G20 Interfaith Forum Association hosted Africa Week at Future Africa, University of Pretoria, bringing together global experts to examine complex intersections between traditional belief systems, indigenous rights, and international policy frameworks. The session on…| Viewpoints
By JoAnne Wadsworth, Communications Consultant, G20 Interfaith Forum. – – – On May 28-29, 2025, the G20 Interfaith Forum Association hosted Africa Week at Future Africa, University of Pretoria, examining how diverse stakeholders can meaningfully engage with global governance structures. This gathering featured key government officials and civil society leaders…| Viewpoints
By JoAnne Wadsworth, Communications Consultant, G20 Interfaith Forum. – – – On May 28-29, 2025, the G20 Interfaith Forum Association hosted Africa Week at Future Africa, University of Pretoria, bringing together interfaith representatives, youth leaders, and G20 engagement groups to explore how Africa's diverse faith communities can meaningfully contribute to…| Viewpoints
By Katherine Marshall, IF20 Vice President – – – Relationships between governments and religious communities take diverse forms in different countries, ranging from virtual theocracies to those that are purposefully secular. A common feature nonetheless has been a focus on executive branches of governments. Thus an ambitious meeting on interfaith…| Viewpoints
By Katherine Marshall, IF20 Vice President – – – Leaders hoping for peaceful, flourishing, and harmonious societies in today’s world contend with the dual challenge of promoting common values and a positive, unifying national identity, at the same time that they value and manage the trend towards increasing diversity of…| Viewpoints
By JoAnne Wadsworth, Communications Consultant, G20 Interfaith Forum. – – – On March 27th, 2025, the G20 Interfaith Forum, in partnership with Praeveni Global, hosted the first webinar in a monthly series commemorating the 25th anniversary of the Palermo Protocol, which will lead up to the G20 in South Africa…| Viewpoints
The G20 Interfaith Forum (IF20) hosted a series of Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) meetings in Cape Town, South Africa, from February 24 to 28, 2025. These meetings aimed to advance interfaith dialogue and policy recommendations for global peacebuilding, religious freedom, and social cohesion. The events were led by…| Viewpoints
By JoAnne Wadsworth, Communications Consultant, G20 Interfaith Forum. - - - On February 17, 2025, during the opening session of the G20 Interfaith Forum pre-meetings at the Future Africa Centre at the University of Pretoria, South Africa, Prof. Muhammed Haron, Head of Office in the Office of the Deputy Minister of…| Viewpoints
By Katherine Marshall, Vice President, G20 Interfaith Association - - - Members of the G20 Interfaith Forum leadership visited South Africa (the G20 2025 host) in February. The focus was on planning for G20 Interfaith events over the course of the year, and the group included Cole Durham, Tim Stratford,…| Viewpoints
Feb. 2-3. 2025 FIDELA is the Interreligious Forum of the Americas (Foro Interreligioso de las Americas). FIDELA helps to bring together individuals and organizations of faith, that address the issues and hope to be part of the solution to the problems that the people and the nations of the western…| Viewpoints
By Marianna Richardson, Director of Communications for the G20 Interfaith Forum – – – At the International Religious Freedom Summit, Brett Scharffs, Professor of Law at J. Reuben Clark Law School and director of the International Center for Law and Religion Studies and a member of the IF20 board, focused…| Viewpoints
By Marianna Richardson, Director of Communications for the G20 Interfaith Forum – – – Elder Ulisses Soares, an apostle of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, spoke at both the Global Faith Forum and the International Religious Freedom Summit 2025 during the first week in February. During both…| Viewpoints
By Marianna Richardson, Director of Communications for the G20 Interfaith Forum – – – Vice President Vance made an appearance and gave a significant speech at the IRF Summit. He pointed out that fostering a culture in which faith can thrive allows men and women to fully appreciate and respect…| Viewpoints
By Katherine Marshall, Vice President, G20 Interfaith Association The following reflections emerge from a series of workshops held in Manaus, Brazil, in June 2024, as part of the G20 Interfaith Forum's preparations for the upcoming G20 Summit. These discussions brought together religious leaders, environmental experts, policymakers, and representatives from indigenous…| Viewpoints