In a video message with his prayer intention for April, the Pope urges putting technology at the service of everyone, especially those most in need. Read full story here.

2025 Gold Medal

The 2025 Global Business & Interfaith Peace Gold Medal goes to Dr. Rahul Vishwanath Karad,  Managing Trustee and Executive President of MAEER’S MIT Group of Institutions, which encompasses more than 70 institutes and nurtures over 80,000 students.

In 2005, Dr. Rahul Karad founded the MIT-World Peace University School of Government with the mission of shaping future political leaders who embody ethics, spirituality, and leadership. More recently he launched the National Legislators’ Conference Bharat, providing an avenue for legislators across India to gather at one place and exchange ideas.

Most recently, under his patronage, the MIT World Peace University’s Education Department piloted “Human Rights & Business Skills” secondary school curriculum in diverse schools, including Muslim and Christian minority schools, schools serving underserved communities, and the university’s own attached secondary school. The results were overwhelmingly positive, and a very promising feature of the curriculum is that Corporate Social Responsibility funding is a potential avenue to sustain and expand this initiative across India and the world. We congratulate Dr. Rahul Karad and the MIT Would Peace University’s Education Department for developing the world’s first business skills curriculum that reinforces and applies human rights.

Since 2016, the Global Business & Interfaith Peace Awards have been held in Rio de Janeiro, Seoul South Korea, Tokyo Japan, New Delhi India, and Washington DC, honoring leaders including the CEO of the Intel Corporation, Chair of Tyson Foods, Chair of Godrej Industries, CCO of American Airlines, Chairman and CEO of Span Construction and Engineering, and Founder and CEO at Empowering a Billion Women, for championing interfaith understanding, religious freedom and peace.

The Awards began in partnership with the UN Global Compact and former UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon’s Business for Peace initiative.

UPDATE: #dare2overcome – 6th National Fortune 500 Faith@Work Summit

For the first time, Dare to Overcome (DTO) will begin with resource and networking roundtables for the four most prevalent faith employee resource groups (ERGs): Christian, Interfaith, Jewish, and Muslim.

Members and leaders of faith ERGs will have the opportunity to network and learn from their peers as well as benefit from the resources and experience of the convening sponsors: Coca-Cola Consolidated, Interfaith America, Clal, and the El-Hibri Foundation.

DTO is the premier annual gathering for Fortune 500 company ERGs, corporate chaplains, and other faith-and-belief workplace initiatives to share best practices and celebrate achievements.

To learn more or register, click here.

REDI Index: Benchmarking Faith-and-Belief Friendly Workplaces

The REDI Index is the premier benchmarking measure of an organization’s commitment to including religion & belief as part of its overall people and belonging initiatives. You can download a pdf of the questionnaire here. If you want to participate, please request a personalized survey for your organization by email that can be saved and accessed on separate sittings or devices using the unique link that will be provided.

DEADLINE: March 31, 2025 (extensions possible upon request)

REQUEST REDI Survey

By Brian Grim

Greetings from Washington DC and from all my colleagues and partners at the Religious Freedom & Business Foundation.

On May 21, in Washington, in recognition of the success of the pilot Human Rights & Business Skills curriculum, which I will briefly describe in a moment, we will be conferring the Global Business & Interfaith Peace Gold Medal to MIT-World Peace University’s Executive President, Dr. Rahul V. Karad at our Fortune 500 Dare to overcome conference..

Dr. Rahul Karad is carrying on the noble and world-changing work of Revered Professor Dr. Vishwanath D. Karad, established the university’s guiding principle based on the teachings of India’s Noble Son Swami Vivekananda, “The union of science and spirituality will bring peace and harmony to mankind.”

I would also like to express my deepest gratitude to Professor Dr. R.M. Chitnis, MIT-WPU Vice Chancellor, for his enthusiastic support of this initiative, without which it would not have been possible. And the expert support of MIT World Peace University School of Education department head Dr Shalini Tonpe ensured our success. Thank you to both of you!

So … Last month, I had the tremendous opportunity to observe four of the 10 schools in the Pune region that participated in the “Human Rights & Business Skills” secondary school curriculum pilot. MIT World Peace University School of Education professors and student teachers supplemented the curriculum, which is based on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, with parallel articles from the revered Indian Constitution along with business skills that reinforce and apply the human rights.

Before my visit to the schools, School of Education professors and student teachers kicked off the week with a roundtable demonstrating how they adapted the curriculum to the Indian context and piloted the curriculum.

The Roundtable conference began with Asst Prof Rahul Landge delivering a comprehensive report on the implementation of human rights curriculum, which was piloted across different schools of Pune city. The report provided valuable insights into curriculum’s execution, identified opportunities for growth, highlighted the challenges encountered, and included series of accountable recommendations for enhancing future efforts. This review played a crucial role in assessing the curriculum’s impact and its adaptability within diverse educational settings.

The human rights were very well received, and each of the 10 school principals were especially attracted to the practical business skills tied to higher values. Asst Prof Priya Kale, as seen in the photo, shows that while none of the schools has a business skills curriculum and only four are aware of such a curriculum, they all would like to implement such a curriculum in their schools.

The team’s student teachers demonstrated as part of the roundtable four of the 10 human rights lessons that they piloted in the fall: Freedom of Religion, Protection from Child Labor, Right to Marriage and Family, and Freedom from Bullying.

In the Schools

The class teacher at Anjuman Islam Peer Mohamed High School – Pune, an all-girls Muslim school (pictured below, bottom right), gave a ringing endorsement after the demonstration lesson, Protection from Child Labor. She and the chief school administrator invited us to implement the curriculum on an ongoing basis. I was particularly impressed to see how well students and teachers from different backgrounds — Muslim, Hindu and Christian — worked together joyfully and productively. It was a wonderful demonstration of India’s national motto Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam — “the world is one family”.

At a Pune school for underprivileged students, the Bharati Vidyapeet School, the pilot was on the fundamental human right to Marriage and Family. The class was executed effectively, with a variety of engaging activities designed to raise awareness about this right. Students actively participated in role-playing exercises, group discussions and case studies, which helped them explore marriage laws, family dynamics and personal freedoms.

A highlight was the performance of one of the 10 original songs written by one of the Hindu student teachers. He partnered with a Christian student teacher (both pictured) to write the songs to go with each of the 10 lessons.

At a prep school attached to MIT WPU, the pilot class on Religious Freedom was animated through “gamification” – using games and competition to motivate learning. In one game, teams competed to see who could find the most similarities between India’s multiple religions. My minor but really fun part was to come on stage and hand out the awards.

The final demonstration pilot was at a tutoring center giving evening classes for underprivileged students. The center is an act of love by a husband and wife team who offer daily coaching classes on English and math as well as other subjects as needed. The lesson was one that hits close to home for these students: Freedom from Bullying.

The Impact and Next Steps

Comments from students ranged from, “I didn’t realize we had universal rights at birth,” to coming up for strategies on how to combat discrimination.

We are working towards sustainability and expansion of the initiative across India and worldwide through Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funding. Indian companies must spend a minimum of 2% of their average net profit over the preceding three years on CSR activities.

The results were overwhelmingly positive, and with Corporate Social Responsibility funding, we can see the real potential to sustain and expand this initiative not only across India and but throughout the world.

I congratulate the MIT Would Peace University for developing the world’s first business skills curriculum that reinforces and applies human rights. This is truly a recipe for peace and prosperity. Thank you!

6th Annual Fortune 500 Faith@Work ERG Conference

By Brian Grim

Join us in Washington DC for the 6th Annual Fortune 500 Faith@Work ERG conference, May 20-22, 2025 (register here). We’re thrilled to be back at the Catholic University’s Busch School of Business for the 6th year!

We have an exciting and growing list of sponsors including DELL Technologies, Equinix, Merck, American Airlines, Coca-Cola Consolidated, ServiceNow, among others.

In the weeks leading up to the conference, I’ll be introducing the exciting elements of the program. This week, meet two of our keynotes!

Super Habits

Each year, our most popular keynote has been by the Busch School’s Dean Andrew Abela. This year promises to be the best yet, as he unpacks the ancient yet modern secrets to a successful life (and business).

Everyone registered gets a free copy of his new book, Super Habits: The Universal System for a Successful Life.

Harvard’s Arthur C. Brooks says, “A rich blend of social science and ancient wisdom, Andrew Abela’s Superhabits shows how strengthening our virtues leads to well-being. This beautiful book is a must-read for anyone in pursuit of the better life.”

Brighter Days

Get ready for a fun, authentic and inspiring keynote from my friend and colleague, Patrick Regan, OBE.

Patrick’s new book, Brighter Days: 12 Steps to Strengthening Your Well-being, couldn’t be more relevant with all the disruption and divisiveness swirling about. It empowers readers to embrace their struggles while equipping them with the tools needed for a healthier, more fulfilling future. Discover that you are not alone in your journey, and get ready to look forward to brighter days ahead!

Patrick is a sought after mental health provider and founder of three successful NGOs. Boris Johnson gave him the London Peace Award for his work in the prevention of knife crime and the late Queen Elizabeth II awarded him an OBE for his services to young people.

This conference is part of our global Dare to Overcome initiative that builds religious freedom for all by expanding the space where people’s faiths and beliefs have a place at the table. In a growing number of companies, this is through faith-oriented Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) or chaplaincy programs.

“As the Jewish holiday of Purim begins, I shared my thoughts on combatting #antisemitism in the workplace,” Brian Grim.

The results of a troubling new report about the workplace atmosphere for Jewish people is setting off alarm bells. CBN’s Raj Nair is joined by Brian Grim, the President of the Religious Freedom & Business Foundation, to break down the upsetting details.

Employee networks, resource groups and communities are good for business 

• ERGs are growing
• ERGs shape strategy
• ERGs drive change
• ERGs build belonging
• ERGs enhance careers
• ERGs drive innovation

This new report further strengthens the business case for ERGs across their organizations. Among the 10 most common areas of impact shown in the chart below, key business benefits of ERGs include that they create support networks and safe spaces, advocate for employee benefits and well-being, and ERGs create support networks and safe spaces, advocate for employee benefits and well-being, and positively influence recruitment and retention of diverse talent.

Overview

The “Global ERG Impact Report” by Radius Networks underscores the significant role Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) play in modern organizations. Based on a comprehensive survey initiated in early 2023, which included hundreds of global organizations and interviews with 75 HR or Network Leads, the findings are compelling. Notably, 99% of respondents acknowledged the positive impact of employee networks on their organizations, 94% recognized their influence in driving change, and 93% felt that these networks enhanced their personal sense of belonging.

The report features case studies from prominent companies such as EY, Google, HSBC, Tesco, and Ericsson, illustrating how ERGs contribute to organizational success. These groups are instrumental in shaping strategies, fostering inclusive cultures, and promoting employee development. For instance, at the University of Sunderland, staff networks have been pivotal in retaining talent by building a sense of belonging and ensuring employees feel valued.

Beyond internal benefits, ERGs also drive external impact by connecting organizations with diverse customer bases and contributing to societal change. The report highlights initiatives ranging from facilitating discussions on faith and finance in the Asia-Pacific region to promoting social mobility in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. These examples demonstrate the extensive reach and influence of ERGs in fostering more inclusive communities both within and outside organizational boundaries.