What:   Faith at the Frontlines: Harnessing Religious Leadership for Sustainable Peace in Africa.

When: Tuesday 24 June 2025

Where: Africa Union Commission, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Time:     09:00 – 15:00hrs

Who:   The Side Event is convened jointly by the African Union Citizens and Directorate (CIDO) and Faith for Our Plant.

Purpose

Faith For Our Planet (FFOP) and the African Union (AU) recognize the unique power of faith to address the complex climate-conflict nexus in Africa. Delegates will explore how faith, as a unifying force, can inspire innovative solutions and turn shared vulnerabilities into opportunities for resilience and sustainable development.

Objectives

The event aims to explore the transformative power of interfaith collaboration in addressing the intertwined challenges of climate change, conflict, and peacebuilding in Africa. Our objectives are to:

• Unpack the Faith-Climate-Conflict Nexus: Explore the interconnected dynamics of climate, conflict, and faith, revealing how these forces shape Africa’s most pressing challenges and urgently needed solutions.
• Showcase Interfaith Synergy in Action: Highlight successful models of interfaith collaboration that have resolved conflicts, restored ecosystems, and rebuilt trust in communities affected by climate crises.
• Equip Participants with Interfaith Solutions: Deliver an interactive training session for diverse participants—faith leaders, policymakers, environmental experts, and civil society actors—on leveraging interfaith approaches to mediate conflicts, address climate impacts, and foster unity.
• Inspire Cross-Sector Partnerships for Impact: Facilitate the creation of dynamic alliances across faith, policy, and environmental sectors, empowering collective action to address Africa’s climate-conflict challenges through holistic, faith-inspired strategies.
• Launch MWL-AU Report and Facilitate Knowledge Sharing: Unveil the Faith at the Frontlines report, highlighting key insights, case studies, and actionable recommendations to drive interfaith collaboration in climate resilience and conflict resolution across the continent.

Expected Outcome

FFOP and AU aim to chart a bold path forward - one where faith inspires not just hope but tangible action, uniting communities, protecting the planet, and fostering a just and harmonious future for Africans as they rise to meet the continent’s greatest challenges.

Participants

Religious leaders, policymakers, environmental experts and CSO’s.

Background:

Faith For Our Planet is a non-government organization and a global interfaith coalition that trains faith leaders to become climate action leaders. Seeded by the Muslim World League (MWL), one of the largest non-governmental Islamic organizations in the world, FFOP mobilizes diverse faith communities to inspire 84% of the world’s population which adheres to religion, cultivating a global faith-based movement to counter climate change. FFOP aims to unite and mobilize religious leaders across diverse faiths, communities, and regions in commitment to transformative climate action. FFOP also endeavors to create a global coalition of climate action leaders from the Global North and South, encompassing faith leaders, climate scientists, policymakers, and civil society actors.

The Civil Society and Diaspora Directorate (AUC-CIDO) within the African Union Commission founded the African Union Interfaith Dialogue Forum (AU-IFDF) in 2010 to promote interreligious dialogue to build peace and enhance social cohesion in Africa.

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For more information, please contact:

Ms. Hazel Maureen Danetta Dixon I Regional Desk Officer I Citizens and Diaspora Directorate I African Union Commission I Email: dixonh@africa-union.org

Mr. Joseph Hammond I African Director I Faith for our Plant I Addis Ababa I Email: joseph@faithforourplanet.org I

For media inquiries and interviews please contact:

Mr. Molalet TsedekeI Communication Officer I Information and Communication Directorate I African Union Commission I Email: Molalett@africa-union.org I Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Information and Communication Directorate, African Union Commission I E-mail: DIC@africa-union.org I Web: www.au.int | Addis Ababa, Ethiopia | Follow Us: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube