Opening Remarks at the Sixth Forum of the Global Network of Religions for Children by Kul Gautam

 

Opening & Welcome remarks by Kul Chandra Gautam

6th Global Forum of Global Network of Religions for Children
Abu Dhabi, 19 November 2024
Good morning

Esteemed & Venerable religious leaders,
His Excellency Sheikh Nahyan, Minister of Tolerance, UAE
Rev. Miyamoto, President of Arigatou International and Convenor of GNRC,
Madame Dana Humaid, President of Interfaith Alliance for Safer Communities, Co-Chair of IOC & our chief host,
Excellencies
Distinguished participants,
Dear children -

A warm welcome to you all at this 6th Global Forum of the Global Network of Religions for Children.
The motto of this conference says: The Child is Calling!
And we are gathered here to respond to their call to help build a more hopeful world for children.
Now, let us first understand what are the children calling for?

We just heard a passionate call from the first child representative, Ms. Ghaya from our Children’s Advisory Group.  We have dozens of other children attending this Forum from many countries around the world.  Yesterday, they completed their own Children’s Pre-Forum.

They represent the voices and views of their peers from around the world.  From developed and developing countries. Peaceful and war-torn countries.  They speak many languages and follow many different religions.   But they ALL share some common dreams and aspirations.  We will hear their call directly from them throughout this Forum.  But we can guess what their fervent call and appeal will be:

Children everywhere wish and deserve to enjoy the tender loving care of their parents, and neighbors.

To live a healthy life.

To play and get an education.

To get gainful employment when they grow up.

To live up to their full human potential.

To be good citizens of their community.

And above all, to live in a peaceful world with dignity.

Is that too much to ask?

They are not asking for the moon.

I trust none of us thinks they are demanding or expecting too much.  But alas, ladies and gentlemen, for most children in the world, even their simplest wishes – which are actually their fundamental human rights - seem utterly unattainable.

But why?

Perhaps some of us would blame politicians for neglecting the interest of children.

Perhaps others would blame greedy businessmen and the private sector for ignoring the wellbeing of children.

Yet others may blame UN agencies and NGOs for not doing enough.

But how about us – the faith communities and religious leaders?

This is a conference about building a better world for children through interfaith cooperation.

So, let us dive deeply into what we the faith communities and religious leaders can do to respond to the Call of the Child.  We will hear again and again at this Forum - that all our religions celebrate the sanctity of childhood.

That is true.

We will proclaim with pride that our holy books call for love, peace, compassion, brotherhood (but not quite sisterhood) and friendship.

And that is also true.

But notwithstanding what the holy scriptures and our great prophets say -  In the real world, far too many wrongs are committed, injustice justified, cruelties and indifference to the plight of women and children accepted - in the name of religion.

Not too far from here there is a country where girls are not allowed to go to school and women are not allowed to pray or even speak in public - in the name of religion.

Many of us come from countries where children face discrimination based on caste, creed, race and ethnicity - in the name of religion.

Recently, we saw leaders of several industrialized countries acknowledging and apologizing for the large number of children of indigenous communities who were separated from their parents and mistreated in places of worship - in the name of religion.

Millions of children are married around the world in ceremonies officiated by local priests – in the name of religion.

Millions of girls still undergo the medieval practice of female genital mutilation – in the name of religion.

In our history, many wars have been fought and crusades and jihads justified – in the name of religion.

Right now, we are witnessing horrific deaths of children and unimaginable, large-scale destruction of schools, hospitals, places of worship in Gaza, Lebanon, Sudan, Myanmar, Haiti and elsewhere.

The toxic mix of politics and religion is a blot on our human civilization.

Quotations from holy scriptures and teachings of great prophets are of little consolation to the millions of children who face the daily reality of such violence, abuse, exploitation and discrimination.

Of course, we will rightly say that such mistreatment of children is NOT sanctioned by our religion, but is a harmful traditional practice based on superstition or misinterpretation of religion.

But to the vast majority of the world’s population, religion is what is preached and practiced by their local priests, imams, swamis, rabbis, in their daily lives, not what is written in ancient scriptures and what is preached by distant prophets.

Dear friends,

Despite many such harmful traditional practices, overall, the goodness and positive inspiration that religions can bring in the world are enormous.

That is why we are gathered here to harness the great positive power and potential of religions for the wellbeing of children.

The children attending this Forum are calling on religious leaders to please impress upon your fellow local priests to abide by the lofty teachings of your faiths - and do no harm.

The children are also calling on the rest of us - secular leaders – of government, civil society, the media and other walks of life to honor the commitment we have made in signing international conventions, human rights treaties and Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development.

Dear friends,

Arigatou International has prepared this Multi-religious Study on the Convention on the Rights of the Child that shows that the rights of the child as enshrined in the world’s most universally ratified human rights treaty and the genuine teachings of all the major religions of the world are fully compatible.

Arigatou has also prepared this manual Learning to Live Together that shows how people – especially children - professing different faiths and cultures can live in peace and harmony - if we adults guide them the right way.

The common enemies of children are poverty, ignorance, violence, and the climate crisis, all of which can be addressed through the pursuit of sustainable development goals.

And to educate and motivate children, Arigatou in partnership with others, even runs an SDG Academy for Children, a model of which you can see just outside this hall.

Together with our gracious host and very special partner, the Interfaith Alliance for Safer Communities, we are gathered here to help build a safe, secure and sustainable world for children.

And let me take this opportunity to most sincerely thank the Interfaith Alliance and the Government of the UAE for your super-generous hospitality and partnership.

I would also like to thank all members of the International Organizing Committee who have provided great guidance in preparing for this Forum.

Dear friends,

At the end of this Forum let us come out with an Abu Dhabi Declaration and a Plan of Action that commits all of us to help build a truly hopeful world for children.

In the next three days I count on all of us to put our hearts and minds together to try to come up with the best ideas to help build such a hopeful world for children.

I trust that you will all agree with me that there is no cause that is more noble, that is more urgent, and that is more worthy for interfaith cooperation - than building a world that is safe, secure and sustainable for all God’s children.

Thank you.

Arigatou Gozaimasu!