National Festival of Tolerance’s int’l activities Tuesday at Expo

Among the activities to be launched are the Global Tolerance Alliance and the Joint World Summit of Religions, themed "Towards a Compassionate World through Interreligious Tolerance and Understanding". Prominent international leaders from the UN, the Vatican, and Al Azhar Al Sharif, along with leaders of different religions and laws, and prominent thinkers from different countries of the world will be attending.

The international activities of the Festival will continue until November 20, including the Global Tolerance Choir, the Global Youth Forum, the Tolerance and Inclusivity Conference for Women's Rights and Empowerment, and Zayed Trail of Tolerance.

"The influx and keenness of prominent global leaders of many international and regional institutions, notably the UN, the Vatican and Al-Azhar Al-Sharif, to participate in the World Summit of Religions and attend the launch of the Global Tolerance Alliance, translates the international community’s confidence in the UAE, and confirms nobility of its purpose in promoting tolerance, coexistence and peace throughout the world," Sheikh Nahyan said.

He continued, "It is also an emphasis of the success of the National Festival of Tolerance in achieving its lofty goal, as the Festival’s perspective of this year is very vital, because it contributes to transferring the Emirati experience in tolerance to the world, as well as identifying the most prominent successful experiences in this field."

The National Festival of Tolerance is open for all segments of society, including youth, women, school and university students, thinkers and religious leaders, as well as representatives of the countries participating in Expo 2020 Dubai, Sheikh Nahyan said.

"This edition of the Festival, which is being hosted by Expo 2020 Dubai, has contributed to enabling the Ministry of Tolerance and Coexistence to convoy its message to the whole world through it," Sheikh Nahyan said, commending the Expo’s role in spreading values of tolerance globally.

"The activities of the Festival will continue until November 20, including activities for partners from ministries, entities, institutions, universities and schools, along with the tolerance and coexistence committees in ministries and federal and local departments to promote the values of tolerance among employees and customers under the umbrella of the government program-the tolerance incubator. Moreover, the government buildings will light their headquarters with the slogan of the National Festival of Tolerance, in addition to changing the scope of Etisalat to the word tolerance," Sheikh Nahyan added.

The Festival’s key international activities including the following: -The Global Tolerance Alliance, which is expected to open the door for all countries of the world to join it, comes in a historical scene in which everyone pledges to make all possible efforts to promote a culture of tolerance and peaceful coexistence. A global initiative launched from the UAE to the world to express a strong commitment to accepting, understanding all and respecting their needs, as well as working constantly to reach shared knowledge and mutual enrichment for the sake of humanity.

Sheikh Nahyan Mubarak Al Nahyan, and Miguel Angel Moratinos, High Representative for the U.N. Alliance of Civilizations will speak on "The Undisputed Speech and the Power of Global Alliances".

-The Joint World Summit of Religions towards Prospects for Respectful International Cooperation: The launch of the Joint World Summit of Religions under the slogan "Towards a Compassionate World through Interreligious Tolerance and Understanding" by the Ministry of Tolerance and Coexistence seeks to reach a common understanding and unity of humanity and to end hateful sectarian conflicts and disputes.

Among the speakers of the Summit is the Italian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Marina Serini, who will speak on the promotion of humanity through global cooperation and interfaith dialogue. Also, Dr. Mohammad Al Duweni, Undersecretary of Al Azhar Al-Sharif, will address the issue of faith rooted in human values. Bishop Paul Hinder, Apostolic Vicar of southern Arabia, will address the importance of pluralism and fraternity as a path towards a cohesive society. In addition, a large number of religious leaders whose discussions enrich the summit, in an atmosphere of tolerance, coexistence and human fraternity.

-The Global Youth Forum A Message to the Future: The Ministry will also launch the "Global Youth Forum" under the theme "From Youth to Thinking about the Future", on Tuesday at 5:00 pm. The Forum is aimed to highlight the world's need to benefit from the creative capabilities of young people of different nationalities and disciplines. It will serve as an opportunity to host youth leaders and talents to explore their vision about the future in order to build sustainable programmes in all fields, to be able to keep pace with the rapid and endless changes. One representative from each country participating in the Expo (192 participants from 192 countries), will participate in this edition. The programme aims to promote a culture of tolerance and its importance as a way of life, presenting the UAE experience as a model that can be a standard for a tolerant world.

-Tolerance and Inclusivity Conference for Empowering Women: The Festival through the "Tolerance and Inclusivity" conference aim to highlight and support women’s efforts and their vital role in promoting the values of tolerance and coexistence (locally and globally). The conference will feature two panel discussions. The first will discuss the role of social norms in the emergence of the gender gap and the ways to inculcate and empower the values of tolerance and coexistence. The second will focus on the importance of tolerance, coexistence and inclusion in fragile environments, where the speakers will explain the ways to rebuild a stable society.

The Festival, which hosts personalities from all over the world and from different cultures and schools of thought, will shed the light on the achievements of Emirati women in this field.
-University students shine with innovative ideas in the activities of tolerance clubs: The tolerance clubs activities in universities that witnessed participation of students from more than 20 Emirati and international universities were concluded on Monday. The Ministry of Tolerance and Coexistence affirmed that the interest in promoting the values of coexistence and tolerance among the new generations is one of its main tasks, stressing that cooperation between it and all UAE universities is continuing in promoting the values of tolerance, coexistence and human fraternity among students of different nationalities.

The Ministry appreciated the efforts made by Emirati universities to make this initiative a reality, benefiting students of different races, colors and languages by involving them in dozens of wonderful programmes that activate their abilities and support their belief in themselves and noble human values. Therefore, the main goal of the tolerance clubs in Emirati universities is to spread the idea of tolerance and coexistence, whether inside or outside the university campus.

The "Tolerance Clubs" initiative is the first of its kind: "From Youth to Youth." The activities included international films, intellectual dialogues, intelligence games, contests with valuable prizes, and sessions related to the future of tolerance in universities.

Among the universities that participated in the initiative are the UAE University, Zayed University, Abu Dhabi University, Al Ain University, Higher Colleges of Technology, Fatima College of Health Sciences, Mohammed bin Zayed University for Humanities, University of Sharjah, American University of Sharjah, American University of Dubai, Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi, and University of Wollongong in Dubai.

-Fashion designers' dialogue... a vision about costume and the heritage of nations and its impact on coexistence among peoples: The Festival’s activities at Expo 2020 Dubai on Monday witnessed a global dialogue on the language of costume and its relationship to the world heritage and the cultures of nations and peoples. It highlights the impact of values and customs on them, in the presence of a number of senior international fashion designers.

Participating in the Fashion Dialogue were the media Rasha Al Zein, as the moderator, with a group of the most prominent fashion designers, including Mona Al Mansouri, an Emirati - global figure with her achievements, awards and participations, Waleed Atallah from Lebanon, Howaida Al Baridi from Syria, and others interested in fashion locally and globally.

The dialogue discussed many topics related to fashion as a culture that contributes to the rapprochement of peoples. Costume reflects identity and cultures of peoples, where the environment, climate, and customs control its design. It is also controlled by the people’s view of fashion and the religious, national or historical values it represents.