2019 JAPAN SUMMARY REPORT TABLE OF CONTENTS EVENT SUMMARY .................................................................................................................................... 3 PLENARY SESSIONS ................................................................................................................................. 7 LAUNCHING THE 2019 G20 INTERFAITH FORUM.......................................................................... 7 FORMAL FORUM INAUGURATION – WORKING FOR PEACE, PEOPLE, AND PLANET: CHALLENGES TO THE G20 ............................................................................................................... 14 WHY WE CAN HOPE: PEACE, PEOPLE, AND PLANET ................................................................. 14 ACTION AGENDAS: TESTING IDEAS WITH EXPERIENCE FROM FIELD REALITIES ........... 15 IDEAS TO ACTION .............................................................................................................................. 26 TOWARDS 2020 .................................................................................................................................... 35 CLOSING PLENARY ............................................................................................................................ 42 PEACE WORKING SESSIONS ................................................................................................................ 53 FROM VILE TO VIOLENCE: FREEDOM OF RELIGION & BELIEF & PEACEBUILDING ......... 53 THE DIPLOMACY OF RELIGIOUS PEACEBUILDING ................................................................... 61 NEW WAYS TO SERVE AND INTEGRATE REFUGEES AND FORCIBLY DISPLACED COMMUNITIES .................................................................................................................................... 65 PEACEBUILDING IN PRACTICE ....................................................................................................... 70 INTERFAITH AND INTERCULTURAL DIALOGUE FOR ACTION ............................................... 76 PEOPLE WORKING SESSIONS .............................................................................................................. 86 EVERY CHILD HAS THE RIGHT TO A CHILDHOOD .................................................................... 86 INCLUSION, FOCUSING ON CHALLENGES OF WOMEN’S EQUAL RIGHTS ........................... 90 UNIVERSAL HEALTH COVERAGE: TRANSLATING GLOBAL GOALS INTO ACTION .......... 94 HIGHLIGHTING PRIORITIES FOR 21ST CENTURY EDUCATION: VALUES, CHANGE, AND PRACTICE ............................................................................................................................................. 97 AGING SOCIETIES ............................................................................................................................. 100 PLANET WORKING SESSIONS............................................................................................................ 105 RELIGIOUS CALLS TO PROTECT RAINFORESTS ....................................................................... 105 CALLING FOR ACTION ON CLIMATE – DISASTERS: PAST, PRESENT, & FUTURE ............. 108 ENDING HUNGER, WATER AS LIFE .............................................................................................. 114 TORN BY CONTROVERSY: CONS AND PROS OF EXTRACTIVE INDUSTRIES ..................... 119 MOBILIZING FOR ACTION .............................................................................................................. 122 ADDITIONAL WORKING SESSIONS .................................................................................................. 125 1 BRINGING ETHICAL AND RELIGIOUS PERSPECTIVES TO THE CHALLENGE OF INEQUALITY ...................................................................................................................................... 125 COMBATTING CORRUPTION ......................................................................................................... 127 RELIGIOUS CULTURAL HERITAGE .............................................................................................. 129 YOUTH PROMOTING VALUES FOR PEACE ................................................................................. 131 HUMAN TRAFFICKING AND MODERN FORMS OF SLAVERY: TOWARDS NEW PARTNERSHIPS IN A G20 CONTEXT ............................................................................................. 134 INSTITUTIONAL CHALLENGES: GOVERNMENTS ENGAGING RELIGION ........................... 138 MEDIA IN THE SPOTLIGHT: PEACE, PEOPLE, AND PLANET DEMAND A ROBUST RELIGIOUS LITERACY ..................................................................................................................... 145 G20 INTERFAITH FORUM KYOTO 2019 ............................................................................................ 150 MEETING OVERVIEW ...................................................................................................................... 150 OPENING PLENARY .......................................................................................................................... 151 SESSIONS ............................................................................................................................................ 153 CLOSING PLENARY .......................................................................................................................... 155 G20 INTERFAITH FORUM POLICY BRIEFS ...................................................................................... 158 SERVING AGING POPULATIONS: RELIGIOUS DIMENSIONS OF HEALTH AND WELL- BEING .................................................................................................................................................. 158 FOCUS ON CHILDREN: RECOMMENDATIONS FROM RELIGIOUS ACTORS ........................ 165 THE IMPERATIVES OF BETTER GOVERNANCE: FIGHTING CORRUPTION IS A SINE QUA NON FOR GLOBAL AGENDAS ........................................................................................................ 170 RELIGIOUS DIMENSIONS OF REDUCING RISK, STRENGTHENING RESILIENCE, AND RESPONDING TO DISASTERS ......................................................................................................... 175 RELIGIOUS ACTORS ADDRESSING EXTREMISM AND VIOLENCE: SHARPENING THE FOCUS .................................................................................................................................................. 180 COMBATING DEFORESTATION AND PROTECTING RAINFORESTS: RELIGIOUS DIMENSIONS ...................................................................................................................................... 186 RESETTLEMENT OF REFUGEES AND FORCED MIGRANTS: RELIGIOUS DIMENSIONS .... 196 ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS IN COMBATING HUMAN TRAFFICKING AND MODERN FORMS OF SLAVERY: FAITH-INSPIRED ACTORS/COMMUNITIES SUPPORTING GLOBAL EFFORTS ............................................................................................................................ 202 COLLABORATING INSTITUTIONS .................................................................................................... 214 2 EVENT SUMMARY This note on the 2019 G20 Interfaith Forum highlights what happened, with some analysis of key points. This ambitious effort aimed to bring together a “network of networks”, linking religious actors working on global issues within the broad framework of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The core recommendations (see link below) were transmitted to Japan Prime Minister Abe and other G20 Leaders. A fuller set of policy recommendations were prepared, along with a full report on the event. Eight policy briefs, essential to robust and plausible recommendations, are available on the G20 Interfaith Forum website (see link below). The event and its broad goal. The 2019 G20 Interfaith Forum took place in Tokyo, June 7-9. It was the sixth in a series of annual events linked to successive G20 Summits. Japan was the 2019 host, with the G20 Osaka Summit occurring June 28th and June 29th. The originators and core organizers of the 2019 G20 Interfaith Forum have comprised an informal association for several years, and a legal entity has recently been incorporated to provide continuity and to facilitate ongoing activities. The Association’s organizing committee will continue as an advisory council in the formalized structure. The Centre for Interfaith and Cultural Dialogue at Griffith University in Australia and Brigham Young University and especially the International Center for Law and Religion Studies (ICLRS) in the United States have played central roles in the Forum’s evolution. They are delighted to see the ongoing expansion of the organization and formalization of its structure, with many other collaborating institutions assuming significant roles. The Forum’s aims and ambitions have expanded significantly over the years. They are currently sharply focused on drawing on the growing network of religiously linked networks working on global agendas, to present robust recommendations to the G20 as well as to the “network of networks”. Scope of Activities. The 2019 G20 Interfaith Forum was far larger and more ambitious than its predecessors - Australia (2014), Turkey (2015), China (2016), Germany (2017), and Argentina (2018). With substantial support from Worldwide Support for Development (WSD) (an organization supported by Dr. Haruhisa Handa, Japanese religious leader and philanthropist) as well as