Workshop on “Intercultural Dialogue for Interfaith Peace”

On 9 and 10 September, 2024, Nepal Forum for Restorative Justice organized its first Intercultural Dialogue for Interfaith Peace” in Kapilvastu, Lumbini Province in Nepal.

In the recent years, Kapilvastu, a district rich in cultural and demographic diversity, has been seeing incidences of violences erupting from interfaith lines. And such acts of violence tend to rise during specific times of the year, for instance, during the Dashain festival of Hindus or Mohammed Day of Muslims. Moreover, there have been reports of conflicts between Hindus and Christians in recent days, which has also become intergenerational in essence. In this context, Nepal Forum for Restorative Justice, which has been spearheading the culture of dialogue movement in Nepal has realized that such interfaith conflicts can be better dealt with if these groups in conflict are understood as diverse “cultural” communities.

It was in this context that the Nepal Forum for Restorative Justice kicked off its program on Intercultural Dialogue for Interfaith Peace in Kapilvastu and the first event was organized on 9-10 September 2024. The event was organized with 20 participants including civil society activists, political actors, human rights defender and religious leaders of the district.