Tony Blair Faith Foundation

Thanks to everyone who made World Malaria Day on Sunday such a success. It was amazing to see so many people of faith taking action in their communities, all over the world, to eradicate a disease that kills nearly 1 million people a year. We marked World Malaria Day here in London with a Night Under Nets event, where some of the Faiths Act Fellows made a short video called "Malaria Wipeout." Watch it here - then share it with your friends: http://www.tonyblairfaithfoundation.org/MalariaWipeout This World Malaria Day was truly an event that spanned the globe.

To mark World Malaria Day, Sunday, April 25, Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams [a Co-President of the Religions for Peace World Council] , has for the first time recorded a message to demonstrate his support and to urge others to unite in the fight against malaria. Malaria, Williams says, is a massive yet solvable problem taking the lives of close to one million people every year, mainly women and children in Africa.

“In Britain we are engaged in a process of learning how to construct and live in a society made up of different faiths”. This is how Archbishop Vincent Nichols of Westminster begins his foreword to a significant teaching document from the Catholic bishops of England and Wales on inter-religious dialogue published today. But it is, of course, not only Britain. The same could be said for almost all countries in a time of globalisation and migration. For this reason Meeting God in Friend and Stranger needs to reach a wider readership than just British Catholics.

In a church draped with bed nets over 250 people from every faith, age and background came together to take action to help prevent a million lives lost to malaria each year by donating money, starring in an educational film and raising awareness about malaria online. Aqsa Mohammed a Faiths Act volunteer from Surrey expressed the sense of excitement generated by the evening, "It was inspiring and encouraging to see so many people from all walks of life, young and old from all faiths together in a church making a real difference to those suffering from malaria.

The Chicago Council released its task force report, Engaging Religious Communities Abroad: A New Imperative for U.S. Foreign Policy, on February 23, 2010, in Washington D.C.

Hollywood star Hugh Jackman, Bollywood star Anil Kapoor, Rabbi David Rosen and the Tony Blair Faith Foundation Faiths Act Fellows have all joined Queen Rania of Jordan and Jet Li and many more on the judging panel of Faith Shorts. Due to high demand we are keeping open the pitch competition till the 23rd April so you still have time to join young people from Nigeria to New York and send us your idea for a film on the topic, “Let me show you how my faith inspires me”.

Applications are now open for the Tony Blair Faith Foundation's “Faith and Globalization” course for the coming fall semester, but this year, more than three times as many students will get a seat in this popular class. The course, now in its third year, will include 60 to 80 students, up from the previous average of about 25 students.

Our second full day in New Orleans was very full, to say the least. From visiting the neighborhood hardest hit by Hurricane Katrina, to talking with congregants from a local Episcopal Parish about their experiences during the storm, the day was filled with stories about the social, economic, and environmental damage that Katrina brought on the city. Our day was also filled with hope as we listened to how faith communities and individuals came together after the Hurricane to rebuild and revitalize the city.