Tony Blair Faith Foundation

A Christmas message from Tony Blair

Bhai Sahib Mohinder Singh Chairman of Guru Nanak Nishkam Sewak Jatha (Birmingham, UK) and Nishkam Civic Association gives his message of solidarity on a day which saw people from around the world take the opportunity to remember their common humanity – and stand in solidarity with those who are suffering from disease and poverty. International Human Solidarity day was originally conceived by the United Nations in 2005, the mission of Human Solidarity Day was to remind governments to keep the promises they’ve made to help end suffering in develo

The Jewish festival of Hanukkah is well known as a celebration of the triumph of the Jewish people over the attempts of the Greek of Syrians to deny them of the freedom of religion. In Jewish tradition arguably the most well known slogan associated with this event is the triumph of the few over the many. The festival recalls a miracle associated with this period which embodies this particular idea. It is the story of the one cruise of oil that was found in the temple when the Jews returned to purify their sanctuary which had been polluted and desecrated.

McGill University has become the first Canadian university – and the fourth in the world – to partner with the Tony Blair Faith Foundation’s Faith and Globalisation Initiative. The Initiative is a global network of universities committed to exploring the complex interrelationship of faith and globalisation in the modern world.

Randa Kuziez, one of 30 Faiths Act Fellows, sends a message for Eid al-Adha. To find out more about Randa and the rest of the Faiths Act Fellows click here

On the 12th of November the Department for Communities and Local Government and The Interfaith Network launched the first ever Interfaith Week in England. There were lots of stalls showcasing the work of the different multi and single faith organisations- all bursting with colour and meticulously decorated. These were a real testimony to all the hard work and enthusiasm that exists for interfaith work in the UK. John Denham, Communities Secretary, gave an inspiring speech.

This has been a very busy few months for the Tony Blair Faith Foundation (TBFF), thanks to your support. We're really pleased with the many ways you've found to show the world how people of different religions can work together. Our Faiths Act volunteers are active in 36 countries, our education projects in 15.

On the 12th of November the Archbishop of Canterbury gave a closing keynote address to “New Perspectives on Faith and Development” drawing the core themes of the seminar series together.

On Thursday the 5th November I attended a very successful seminar on faiths and poverty as part of the Faith and Globalisation course at Yale University. Miroslav Volf started with an overview of the subject, pointing out that faith groups and supporters of economic globalisation are both committed to poverty alleviation, however both parties had fallen short through failing to practise what they preach. Volf then turned to deeper definitions of wealth and poverty by drawing on the Jewish philosopher Erich Fromm’s distinction between “being” and “having”.

On the 5th of November Yale University and the National University of Singapore linked up via video conference for a joint seminar on the topic "Religions in the Contemporary World". This is the latest connection between the two universities, who have had two exchanges previous to this.