Peace Center Lahore Annual Report From January to December 2018 Director: Fr. Dr. James Channan OP Peace Center Lahore Executive Secretary: Mr. Faisal Ilyas Peace Center Lahore Address: Peace Center, 125-B, Pak Arab Housing Scheme, Ferozepur Road, Lahore-54760 Pakistan. Tel. +92 42 3592 4513, Cell. +92 300 8730 669 1 Table of contents Sr. No. List of Programs Page No. 1 Introduction 4 2 Message from Fr. Dr. James Channan OP 5 3 Message from Mr. Faisal Ilyas 6 4 AIMS & Objectives 7 5 Summary of the Programs 8 Inter-religious & Peace-Building Programs at national and international levels 1 World Inter-faith Harmony Week Celebration and welcome of Fr. Fabrizio 9 Meroni 2 Solidarity with the family of a minor girl Zainab – who was murdered 12 3 Interfaith and Peace Building Conference with Dr. R. k. Jan Meja Sing 13 from USA 4 Paigham-e-Pakistan Workshop for four days at O’ Spring Murree 14 5 13th Doha Interfaith Dialogue Conference 16 6 Conference in Philippines, Church in Communion: Theology and 17 Expression 7 International Women’s Day Celebration 18 8 Tolerance Believe in it, a youth training 19 9 Interfaith Holi Celebration 20 10 Press Conference conducted by Pakistani Christian and Muslims 20 11 Symphony of Peace Prayers on “A Spark of Divine” 23 12 Fr. James Channan interviews His Eminence Cardinal Joseph Coutts 26 13 Kashmir Youth Alliance, Press Conference 28 14 Training on Essentials of Social Mobilizations at O’ Spring Murree 29 15 Faith Formation Program; Spirituality of Fasting in Islam and Christianity 30 16 Memorial Service for His Eminence, Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran 31 17 71st Independence Day Celebration 33 18 Training Workshop with Interfaith Youth 36 19 2 days workshop on Digital Story Telling 37 20 International Day of Peace 38 21 Empowering Women through skills 40 22 3rd URI Asia Assembly Conference in Sri Lanka 41 23 Paris Peace Forum-1st Edition in France 42 24 World Tolerance Summit in Dubai 43 25 Meeting of a Pakistani and Italian delegation with His Holiness Pope 45 Francis in Vatican-Rome 26 Interfaith Christmas Celebration 47 27 Women celebrating Interfaith Christmas 49 2 28 9th National Peace Youth Festival 51 29 Interfaith Peace Festival/Mela at Peace Center 52 30 Challenges Faced 53 31 Pictorial Glimpses 54 32 Conclusion and gratitude 57 3 Introduction: Peace Center, Lahore Peace Center Lahore is a project of the Dominican Order Ibn-e-Mariam, Vice Province Pakistan. It was inaugurated & blessed by His Eminence, Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, President, Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, Vatican, on 28th of November, 2010. It was a dream which became a reality to have a place for dialogue among various religions, especially Muslims and Christians. At the blessing ceremony the entire Catholic and Church of Pakistan (Protestant) leadership along with Muslim, Hindu, Sikh and Bahai religious leaders were present to witness this event. Peace Center is established to play significant role in bringing peace and interfaith harmony among the believers of different religions, religions especially Christians and Muslims. The Most Rev. Fr. Bruno Cadore OP, Master of the Dominican Order has visited this center twice and highly appreciated all activities which are conducted to promote peace and interfaith harmony. Although we are confronted with many challenges and difficulties, threats, extremism, terrorism, religious discrimination and violation of human rights, we are playing a positive role to bring healing, reconciliation, tolerance, counter violence, positive understanding and good will among believers of all religions, especially Christians and Muslims. For this purpose, conferences, seminars, workshops, celebrations and symposiums are organized throughout the year. The Director and Executive Secretary of Peace Center participate in several national and international conferences and meetings. We also publish quarterly magazine UMANG. We also update our website regularly www.peacecenter.org.pk. This center has already earned good reputation both at national and international levels. Building of Peace Center Lahore inaugurated on 28thNovember, 2010. 4 Fr. Dr. James Channan OP Director, Peace Center Lahore It is with great joy that I am presenting you the Annual Report of Peace Center from January 1 to December 31, 2018. Through Peace center we were able to accomplish all of our planned activities; conferences, seminars, workshops, publication of our magazine “Umang” and had regular updates of our website www.peacecenter.org.pk. We organized programs in the Peace Center. I participated in several programs of interfaith and Christian-Muslim dialogue in Pakistan and several other countries, including; USA, Germany, Italy, Philippines, Qatar, United Arab Emirates and Sri Lanka. Our Peace Center is becoming more and more recognized and appreciated both at national and international level. As you know that we are faced with many challenges in Pakistan such as of extremism, terrorism, and at times discrimination and persecution of Christians and other religious minorities. There are also issues of discrimination of women and social and political issues as well. There are also problems of intolerance, violence, lack of respect for the others and gender inequality. In such circumstances we are trying our best to play a positive role of brining brothers and sisters of different religions together to discuss our common issues and seek our possible remedies of these issues to that we can make our society more humane. We are helping and playing our imperative role to be bridge builder and build bridges to love, respect, tolerance and acceptance of the other – no matter to which faith he/she belongs to. We are playing our role to break the walls of hatred, violence and intolerance. We are seeing many signs of hope and reaping the fruits of our mission and dedication in bringing together people of different religions and cultures. All of our activities; seminars, conferences, workshops were not possible without your moral and financial support. I thank you for being an integral part of our interfaith dialogue and peace mission in Pakistan and elsewhere! I request you to keep supporting us spiritually, morally and financially in future as well. I do very humbly present you our Annual Report for the year 2018. I am sure you get good glimpses of the programs which we carried on. Thank you very much! 5 Mr. Faisal Ilyas Executive Secretary, Peace Center Lahore My heart is filled with thanksgiving for the wonderful year-2018 which gave lot of successes and achievements with regard to building peace among different religions, sects and countries at large. I would like to pay my heartily regards in the favor of all who directly or indirectly contributed for building peace and harmony. I feel pleasure to present Annual Report for all our national and international supporters, friends and collaborators. Throughout the year we organized peace building, interfaith harmony, conflict resolution, national and international days, religious events celebrations, trainings, seminars, conferences, workshops and many other needful activities in Peace Center or elsewhere in the country or outside the country. Knowledge is a virtue; Peace Center is contributing to pass information and also organizing faith formation programs to strengthen youth in their social and religious aspects. I also witnessed the urge to promote co-existence and togetherness among all religions in the world, especially Christians and Muslims. Peace Center staff participates in all religious events i.e. Eid-ul-Fitr, Holi, Iftar Parties, Easter and Christmas celebrations to give a message of love, care and solidarity. People living in the country belong to different religions, sects, cultures and regions and speaking different languages. We collaborate with them in different ways to promote peace and harmony. Personally, I had a great experience while organizing, participating and attending programs regarding peace building under the kind supervision of Fr. Dr. James Channan OP, Director, Peace Center that honorable guests, speakers and general community come with great enthusiasm. They also share their views and feel pleasure to be the part of our programs. Being project leader at Paris Peace Forum-1st Edition, I represented Peace Center Lahore at international level for the first time. In the forum there were 65 heads of states, more than 10,000 people from various countries and 120 project leaders from various backgrounds gathered to share their governance and developmental ideas to make the world more human friendly. Peace Education for interfaith youth in Pakistan is the real need of the hour. We should promote it in schools, colleges and universities to sensitize our youth for better future. I say thank you very much for all your moral and financial support in many ways to continue the good work for the promotion of peaceful co-existence in Pakistan and in the whole world at large. My good wishes and best regards are always with you! 6 AIMS & OBJECTIVES Aims: 1. To build bridges of trust and respect and demolish the walls of hatred and mistrust among people of various religions, especially Christians and Muslims. 2. To provide a forum where Muslims and Christians and believers of other religions come under one roof and share their problems and challenges and seek their possible solutions for better of humanity. 3. To discuss and concentrate on those things which unite us rather than which divide us. 4. To work jointly for the betterment of our society and thus create an atmosphere of respect, tolerance and acceptance of each other and our society. Objectives: 1. To organize meetings, seminars and conferences for the promotion of peace and harmony. 2. To organize and celebrate International Days, such as; International Day of Peace, International Women’s Day, International Day of Rural Women, International Day for Elimination of Violence Against Women, World Interfaith Harmony Week. 3. To celebrate religious festivals of Christians and Muslims such as Christmas, Easter and Eid-ul- Fitr.