Event Summary

On behalf of the Alliance for Peacebuilding (AfP) and its 170+ members worldwide working in over 180 countries, we’d like to express deep appreciation for your participation and collaboration during 2022 Evidence Summit on Impactful Interreligious Action in partnership with the USAID’s Local Faith and Transformative Partnerships Hub.   

The 2022 Evidence Summit brought together more than 430 faith actors and faith-based organizations (FBOs), donors, and peacebuilding practitioners across 12 unique sessions to explore evidence on strategic engagement and partnership with faith actors and FBOs in the peacebuilding, development, and the humanitarian sectors. Registrants represented 68 countries, with 50% from the United States and 50% across the remaining international countries - representing the diversity of the field.  

The Evidence Summit featured outstanding keynotes from Adam Nichols, the Executive Director of Local Faith and Transformative Partnership Hub, Professor Azza Karam, Secretary General of Religions for Peace, and Rev. Gary Mason, the founder of Rethinking Conflict as well as important conversations on: 

  • barriers and best practices on integrating faith actors in policy development.  

  • state of evidence on religions in peace and conflict research 

  • effective women and youth-led collaboration in building peace and social cohesion. 

  • MEL accessibility and advancing new ways of producing research and evidence on faith 

  • funders’ perspective and approach to strategic partnership with religious actors 

  • impact evaluations of interreligious dialogue initiatives 

  • how faith and other local actors can work with USAID  

Through these conversations we have taken steps to: 

  • Build Bridges among religious actors, FBOs, implementing organizations, researchers, academics, and donors to explore shared priorities and develop relationships to broaden networks. 

  • Foster Better Design and Evidence-Based Evaluation to improve the practice and evaluation of inter-religious action. 

  • Advance Policy, Practice, and Partnership to promote policies and practices that are inclusive of religious actors and partnerships opportunities that support religious actors. 

However, achievement of these objectives requires your continued support and engagement. We at the Alliance for Peacebuilding are committed to engaging with you and the interreligious peacebuilding community to move these critical issues forward. Below you can find recordings of the conversations.

 
Featured
Welcome Keynote with Adam Phillips. Executive Director of USAID's Local Faith and Transformative Partnerships Hub.
Welcome Keynote with Adam Phillips. Executive Director of USAID's Local Faith and Transformative Partnerships Hub.

Recording of Adam Phillips the Executive Director of USAID’s Local Faith and Transformative Partnerships Hub welcoming attendees of the 2022 Evidence Summit on Impactful Interreligious Action

Best practices in Implementing policies related to FBO and religious actors’ engagement
Best practices in Implementing policies related to FBO and religious actors’ engagement

In this session, panelists explore key barriers and best practices for the integration of faith actors in policy development and implementation.

The state of evidence on the effective religious/multireligious/interreligious action
The state of evidence on the effective religious/multireligious/interreligious action

In this session panelists reflected on the state of evidence on religions in peace and conflict research. 

Promoting women and youth led multi-religious collaboration in peacebuilding
Promoting women and youth led multi-religious collaboration in peacebuilding

In this session panelists explored effective women and youth-led collaboration in building peace and social cohesion

Reflections on making MEL accessible to faith actors and advancing and supporting new ways of producing research and evidence on faith in HDP
Reflections on making MEL accessible to faith actors and advancing and supporting new ways of producing research and evidence on faith in HDP

In this session panelists reflection on MEL accessibility and advancing new ways of producing research and evidence on faith

Day 2- Welcome Keynote with Professor Azza Karam
Day 2- Welcome Keynote with Professor Azza Karam

Day 2 Welcome Keynote with Prof Azza Karam calling on us to ensure greater inclusion of critical and varied voices in the midst of varied consultations and widen the pool of religious work assessed to include other religious and interreligious work.

Investing in Faith: Understanding how funders approach strategic partnership with religious actors
Investing in Faith: Understanding how funders approach strategic partnership with religious actors

There is a wide spectrum of approaches to how different donors engage and partner with religious actors and local communities. These are however often shaped by structural factors, misconceptions, and misunderstandings. In this track, we will seek to understand how funders approach strategic partnership with religious actors.

Reflecting on impact evaluations of interreligious dialogue initiatives
Reflecting on impact evaluations of interreligious dialogue initiatives

In this session, panelists reflected on impact evaluations of interreligious dialogue initiatives 

Mechanisms for partnership with USAID- a practice-oriented workshop
Mechanisms for partnership with USAID- a practice-oriented workshop

This webinar explains how to work with USAID. It teaches participants about the agency's operations, key terms they need to know, tips for submitting proposals and finding funding opportunities, and more.

Closing Keynote with Rev Gary Mason
Closing Keynote with Rev Gary Mason

In this keynote Rev Gary Mason reflected on his experience of building peace in Northern Ireland, through interreligious engagement.