The Emirati capital of Abu Dhabi is due to host the fourth round of the Forum for Promoting Peace in Muslim Societies December 11-13 . The Forum is held under the patronage of Emirati Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

Brian Grim, president of the Religious Freedom & Business Foundation, will speak on the theme of “Islam & the Wider World: Ways to Rapprochement and Solidarity.”

Organized during the period from December 11 until December 13 under the theme of Global Peace and the Fear of Islam: Countering the Spread of Extremism, the fourth round of the forum will be chaired by Sheikh Abdallah Bin Bayyah, President of the Forum for Promoting Peace in Muslim Societies and chief architect of the Marrakesh Declaration.

It will be attended by senior officials, ministers of Islamic countries, and high-level scholars, decision-makers, intellectuals and media figures who will discuss the role of violence in the dialectic between religion and identity, the root instigations that have caused fear in the global populous of Islam, and the development of strategies that need to take place for Islam to reintegrate harmoniously with the wider society in the modern climate.

Brian Grim, president of the Religious Freedom & Business Foundation, was honored by the Pontifical University in the Dominican Republic for his contributions to the promotion of religious freedom worldwide. The award was presented during the Caribbean’s first international Religious Freedom & Economy Symposium, which attracted significant national and regional media attention.

Margarita Cedeño, Vice President of the Dominican Republic, opened the symposium with delegates attending from 14 nations including Cuba. 

Cedeño stressed the importance for legal systems to recognize and guarantee religious freedom. She also emphasized the need for societies to develop cultures of mutual respect and to foster collaboration between the public and private sectors so that this freedom helps to confront social inequality — the great challenge facing humanity today.

Vice President Cedeño cited Pope Francis’s warning, issued during his historic trip to the United States, that we live in a world where diverse forms of modern tyranny want to suppress religious freedom. Therefore, it is necessary that the faithful of different beliefs join their voices to cry for peace, tolerance and respect for the dignity and rights of others.

“The fight against inequalities, which is the common struggle of all religious denominations, is based on the preservation of the moral integrity of individuals,” said Cedeño. She went on to observe that “it is demonstrated that religious freedom promotes development with equity, solidarity and love of neighbor.”

The Award

During the symposium, the international religious freedom award was presented to Grim by Alfredo de la Cruz Baldera (pictured), Rector and Professor at the Pontificia Universidad Católica Madre y Maestra (PUCMM).

Earlier in the day, Grim gave a keynote address on his groundbreaking research on the economic value of religion to the U.S. economy. He also addressed the connection between religious freedom and sustainable development, and the positive role business leaders can and are playing in advancing interfaith understanding and peace.

Grim also discussed practical ways businesses can get involved, including honoring their CEOs by nominating them for the Global Business & Interfaith Peace Awards held in tandem with each Paralympic Games, as well as committing to respecting freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) in the workplace by taking and implementing the FoRB Pledge.

The meeting focused on analyzing the theme ‘Religious freedom and economic development.’ Dr. Alfredo de la Cruz Baldera said that the symposium shows that “the person of faith, regardless of their tendency or way of understanding God, collaborates with the development of peoples and social peace.”

Delegates included diplomats from numerous countries, including the First Lady of Guyana, Sandra Granger, and Aruba’s Secretary of International Affairs Mireille Sint Jago.

Cuba

The Cuban delegate, Dr. Enrique Alemán Gutiérrez, said that “for Cuba as a country and for Cuba’s platform for interreligious dialogue Quisicuaba, participation in this first encounter of religious freedom is of extraordinary importance. The symposium is new but the roots of interreligious exchange in Cuba, the Caribbean and the world are part of our history.”

Gutiérrez also said that “our presence legitimizes that space of mutuality and exchange that Cuba has opened to the world through the Platform for Interreligious Dialogue.” Lastly, he pointed out that he will participate in a panel on governance and religious freedom in which he will talk about Cuban experiences regarding the multiple historical relationships of freedom of law, religious expression and ecumenical relations between the state and the church in Cuba.

In addition to the Dominican Republic’s Catholic bishop for interreligious dialogue, other religious leaders participating included Rev. Gary Harriott, General Secretary of the Jamaican Council of Churches, Elder Quentin L. Cook, of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and Suleiman Bulbulia, Secretary of the Barbados Muslim Association.

Researchers and academics from the United States, South America and the Caribbean, as well as government representatives, academic authorities, business leaders and the religious sector shared their knowledge, experiences and useful practices to promote religious freedom in the region.

The symposium was sponsored by the Pontificia Universidad Católica Madre y Maestra (PUCMM); the Chamber of Deputies of the Dominican Republic; Brigham Young University; the Religious Freedom & Business Foundation; Quisqueya University of Haiti; the Latin American Consortium of Religious Freedom of Argentina; and the International Consortium for Law and Religion Studies of Chile. The event took place at PUCMM from November 16 to 17, 2017.

The Caribbean Religious Freedom Symposium will include the participation of international experts, academics, government representatives, media, business, and religious leaders from 15 Caribbean countries, the United States, Chile and Argentina.

The symposium will focus on Religious Freedom and Economic Development, with the participation of Dr. Brian Grim, president of the Religious Freedom & Business Foundation and considered the world’s leading expert on the socio-economic impact of religion. His studies have shown that there is a connection between the guarantee of religious freedom and sustainable socioeconomic development.

This first ever Caribbean Religious Freedom Symposium will take place November 16^th and 17^th at the Pontificia Universidad Católica Madre y Maestra – PUCMM, Santo Domingo. The Symposium will evaluate the importance of religious freedom as a fundamental right related to freedom of conscience.

The opening session will be on Thursday the 16th at 9:00 AM. Experts, researchers, academics and enthusiasts from the United States, Argentina, Chile and 15 Caribbean countries will share knowledge, experiences and useful practices to promote religious freedom in the region. Government representatives, academic authorities, business leaders and the religious sector will participate.

The event has the sponsorship of the Pontificia Universidad Católica Madre y Maestra; Chamber of Deputies of the Dominican Republic; Brigham Young University; the Religious Freedom & Business Foundation of the United States; Quisqueya University of Haiti; the Latin American Consortium of Religious Freedom of Argentina; and the International Consortium for Law and Religion Studies of Chile.

The symposium will have ten thematic sessions focusing on the perspectives of different sectors of society regarding religious freedom.

The session for the religious sector will be on Friday 17 at 9:00 AM with the panel entitled: “Fundamental contribution of religion and the essential role of religious freedom in society”, in which representatives of the Catholic Church, the evangelical community, and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will participate.

Those interested in participating can call 809-580-1962, ext. 4493 or email to registro-CIER@pucmm.edu.do

Media contact: Néstor Saldívar, Tel.: + 809-487-0120, ext. 2262

Updated: Nov. 30, 2017. Religious Freedom & Business Foundation President Brian Grim gave an address at the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea on November 29, 2017. Below is a transcript of his remarks describing how interfaith understanding and peace is facilitated through business and partnerships, supporting UN Sustainable Development Goal 16 (SDG 16). Grim spoke as part of a panel of local and international experts and policy makers at the start of the international STS&P conference to highlight and share appropriate technology tools and solutions to achieve the SDGs as part of Korea’s Overseas Development Aid (ODA).

Peace and Sustainable Development in the 4^th Industrial Revolution

• National Assembly, Republic of Korea
• Brian Grim’s Comments, November 29, 2017

Honorable Speaker of the Korean National Assembly, Mr. Chung Sye-Kyun, Honorable Assembly Members, Your Excellencies, Ladies & Gentlemen:

We live in an age when the global community is partnering to support sustainable development as embodied the 17 universally approved United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Sustainable development means that there are multiple bottom lines when evaluating developmental success: financial, social and environmental. Sustainable development is characterized by giving everyone the opportunity to flourish, as companies, governments and civil society leaders put human needs and social well-being at the center of economic decision-making.

Businesses and corporations are stepping up to meet the challenge supported by the efforts of organizations such as the United Nations Global Compact and World Economic Forum. In partnership around the globe, they are working to reduce poverty, hunger, gender inequality, end pollution on land and sea. They are working to promote health, well-being, quality education, affordable and clean energy, decent work, and economic growth through industry, innovation and strengthened infrastructure.

However, the current context for these collaborative initiatives is radically different than it was even just a few decades ago due to the explosion in artificial intelligence (ai) capabilities, what the World Economic Forum calls the 4th Industrial Revolution. While ai can displace traditional jobs and disrupt economies, it also can bring tremendous benefits such as being able to identify and rescue people who are being victimized by human trafficking, which we discussed in a recent World Economic Forum meeting. Therefore, it is extremely important that we support and expand the efforts such as the STS&P conference being held here in Korea to highlight and share appropriate technology tools and solutions to achieve the SDGs without negative side effects.

To give an example, technology can be used to spread falsehoods that divide people. But even more powerfully, technology can bring people together. Terrorists use the internet each day to recruit, but at the same time Pope Francis, with his 14.6 million Twitter followers, promotes peace day after day.

SDG 16 – promoting peace and better governance – is critical because without peace sustainable development is only a dream. And peace is in short supply on many countries. Data from the prestigious Pew Research Center show that the world is engulfed in a rising global tide of religious hostilities and restrictions. These range from actions of the so-called Islamic State in the Middle East to the oppression of Rohingyas in Myanmar to total State repression of freedom in North Korea.

And these restrictions and hostilities not only hurt the people involved, but threaten world peace, which is critical for sustainable development.

What can be done to roll back this dangerous tide? We would be wise to recognize and engage the power of the global and national business community, among others, as an ally.

Research from the Religious Freedom & Business Foundation, which I serve as president, shows that freedom of religion or belief is a powerful instrument of peace. Data show that freedom of religion or belief is strongly associated with economic growth, global competitiveness, including education, innovation, health and better lives for women and children.

So, how can and are businesses lowering hostilities and increasing peace? To answer this question, on March 8, 2018, in Seoul, South Korea, the day before the opening of the 2018 PyeongChang Paralympic Games, we will hold the second Global Business & Interfaith Peace Symposium and Awards (video below) sponsored by my foundation in collaboration with the United Nations Global Compact Business for Peace platform and the Global Compact Network Korea. The first symposium and awards were held at the start of the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.

Symposium participants and award recipients will have the opportunity to present their commitment to interfaith understanding and peace, while contributing to the UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 16: “Promoting peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, providing access to justice for all and building effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels.”

I respectfully encourage the Korean government and Korean business community to more energetically engage in promotion of SDGs in general and, in particular, expand movements and projects aimed at building peace, justice and institutions that promote freedom and tolerance. There are many businesses in Korea already contributing through the Global Compact Network Korea, but more are needed to participate. Given the challenges Korea faces, your wonderful country has the opportunity to be the world leader in peace.

•    “Davos for geeks” – Bloomberg
•    “The best tech conference on the planet” – Forbes
•    “The giants of the web assemble” – Wall Street Journal
•    “It defines the ecosystem” – The Guardian

On November 8 Brian Grim, President of the Religious Freedom & Business Foundation, will address freedom of religion in the tech business as an invited speaker at the world’s largest web technology conference in Lisbon, Portugal.*

Religious freedom in the workplace

The most successful businesses encourage an environment in which employees can bring their “full self” to work. Employees need to feel comfortable being who they are in the workplace, including being true to their core identity and beliefs. That includes recognizing and respecting an employee’s religion and its practice.

In today’s increasingly more competitive business environment, companies will need to draw upon the talent and experience of every employee. They can’t afford to leave anyone out. If they exclude or alienate someone for reasons having nothing to do with a person’s ability to do the job, they might also be excluding the next great business solution or the next great product idea. The very thing a company might need for its success. At the very least, they’ll be missing out on lots of really great talent.

And as companies become increasingly more global, they’ll need employees who reflect the increasing diversity of their customers. They’ll need employees who can relate to the daily experience of customers and who can see the customer point of view. For potentially billions of customers, religious belief and practice are a part of daily life. Having employees who understand that will not only help companies avoid costly missteps, it will also help companies develop products and services better tailed to customer needs. That’s an essential part of being competitive.

Religiously Diverse Tech Business

And the tech industry is extremely religiously diverse. For example, the Guardian recently profiled Silicon Valley as home to some of Christian Evangelicalism’s most innovative new, Hipster congregations.

But beyond Christianity, Silicon Valley is perhaps one of the most religiously diverse places in the U.S. The Silicon Valley Interfaith Association notes that the region “is home to some 50 Buddhist centers, the largest Sikh Gurdwara in North America, a Jain temple, a Silicon Valley “store front” (converted technology assembly plant) mosque whose Friday prayer service draws over 3000 participants, several Hindu centers that host cultural programs and religious ceremonies, one of the Zoroastrian fire temples in North America, numerous Baha’i spiritual assemblies, and synagogues—reflecting the fact that the Valley is home to one of the most religiously diverse landscapes in North America. The percentage of individuals who identify with faith traditions other than Christianity—10%– is double that of the United States; but we also have a higher percentage of residents—17%–who identify themselves as non-affiliated compared to other parts of the country.”

Faith and the Internet

Christopher Helland points out, religious actors themselves are also quite tech savvy.

Faith & the Internet

Christopher Helland, Associate Professor, Dalhousie University, Canada

 The Pope & Climate Change

Christopher Helland, Associate Professor, Dalhousie University, Canada

* Web Summit started as a simple idea in 2010: Let’s connect the technology community with all industries, both old and new. It seemed to resonate. Web Summit has grown to become the “largest technology conference in the world”.

No conference has ever grown so large so fast. But we also pride ourselves in organising the “best technology conference on the planet”. In six short years, Web Summit has grown from 400 attendees to over 60,000 attendees from more than 150 countries. No technology conference has ever grown so large so fast.

Web Summit has become “Europe’s largest and most important technology marketplace”. An unrivalled global meeting place for the world’s most disruptive technology companies and those interested in how that disruption can transform their businesses and their lives.

Over 2,000 media from more than 100 markets came to Web Summit in 2016. It’s not just editors from many of the world’s most influential publications, but market-shaping industry reporters from leading technology and trade publications and blogs.

5-6 November 2017, Sheffield, United Kingdom

Top executives coming from or working in China will gather at the Horasis Meeting in Sheffield. There Brian Grim, President of the Religious Freedom & Business Foundation, will discuss how tapping into traditional Chinese values – including religious faith – is good for sustainable business.

Horasis will convene the 2017 Horasis China Meeting on 5-6 November in Sheffield, United Kingdom, co-hosted by the Sheffield City Region and the China Federation of Industrial Economics. More than 300 participants from business and government will join an intense two-day programme designed for senior decision makers from China and the world to identify business opportunities and innovative approaches to economic development.

Participants will discuss a wide range of issues related to China and its new economic leadership role. With the UK’s historic decision to leave the European Union, the summit will reflect on the implications for Chinese firms. The UK wants to build on its relationship with China, which has strengthened significantly in recent years, and establish a sound post-Brexit dialogue. The UK could be central to China’s ‘One Belt, One Road’ initiative, with the UK developing into a hub for construction and design competencies as well as other professional services linked to China’s outbound plan. Chinese partners are a major and growing part of Sheffield City Region’s unfolding success story, with the biggest Chinese investment outside London coming to the city centre earlier this year.

The Horasis China Meeting is the foremost annual gathering of Chinese business leaders and their global counterparts. The location of the meeting rotates annually, and has been held in Geneva/Switzerland (2005, 2006), Frankfurt/Germany (2007), Barcelona/Spain (2008), Lisbon/Portugal (2009), City of Luxembourg/Luxembourg (2010), Valencia/Spain (2011), Riga/Latvia (2012), The Hague/The Netherlands (2013), Lake Como/Italy (2014), Cascais/Portugal (2015) and Interlaken/Switzerland (2016).

Horasis: The Global Visions Community is an independent international organization committed to enacting visions for a sustainable future. In addition to the Horasis China Meeting, Horasis hosts the Horasis Global Meeting as well regional events focusing on India, Russia, South East Asia and the Arab world.

The co-chairs are: Anson Chan, Chairman, Bonds Group of Companies, Hong Kong SAR Guan Jianzhong, Chairman, Dagong Global Credit Rating, China Roger King, Member of the Supervisory Board, Orient Overseas (International), Hong Kong SAR Lu Yuebing, Chairman, TsingRay Investment Management, China Pierce Riemer, Director General, World Petroleum Council, United Kingdom Sun Ho, Chairman, Chang Cheng Insurance Brokers, China David Wright, Senior Advisor, Barclays International, United Kingdom Deborah Wince-Smith, President, United States Council on Competitiveness, USA Wu Yijian, Chairman, Ginwa Investments Holding Group, China William Y. Zhang, Chairman, EU-China Municipal Development Commission, China Zhao Jiasheng, Vice Chairman, China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association, China

Horasis is a global visions community committed to enact visions for a sustainable future. (http://www.horasis.org) For more information, please contact: Communications and Public Affairs Horasis. The Global Visions Community phone: +41 79 305 3110 fax: +41 44 214 6502 e-mail: visions@horasis.org

The Fletcher Initiative on Religion, Law & Diplomacy  is a student-run organization at The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University.

The Initiative’s 2017 conference titled, Approaching Religious Literacy in International Affairs, brings together high-level practitioners and academics in the fields of Security, Conflict Resolution, and International Business to discuss the importance of religious literacy in their respective areas of expertise.

Registration opens October 1, 2017. We look forward to seeing you in November!

Scholars and practitioners from across ASEAN countries and the world will gather in Hanoi, Vietnam, October 23-24 to discuss the connections between religion, law and the economy (topics at end).*

Venue: University of Social Sciences and Humanities (USSH)

Example from Indonesia

Yaya Winarno Junardy likes to tell the story about how he was just a boy from a small village in East Java, Indonesia, when he arrived in Jakarta in the 1960s. Pretty soon, he had four jobs — as a street cigarette seller, a high school biology teacher, a university student and a casino worker. He worked seven days a week.

The experience taught a lesson he still applies in his business and philanthropy today.

“I found myself in four different environments with four different kinds of customers in four different subjects,” he told a group of National University of Singapore students in 2012. “It taught me how, as an individual, to adapt to different situations. I learned that in my life and in my work I have to adapt.”

Adapt he did, taking on a fifth job — an operator for IBM — before he had the university degree the company required. He spent 25 years with IBM in a variety of executive positions in cities around the world. He has also held high posts with Bank Universal, ExcelCom and several other Asia-based telecommunications corporations. He is one of the most prominent businessmen in Jakarta.

Junardy learned how to adapt to people of different faiths and cultures from his grandfather, an ethnic Chinese who ran the family’s copra business among Muslim, Christian and Buddhist customers and contractors. He has said he believes this early exposure to people of different faiths and cultures taught him to relate to and respect others.

Today, as president commissioner of Rajawali Corp., he has more time to pursue what he calls his “second chapter” — improving conditions for the working and lower-income classes of Indonesia. His purpose now is “to give back to society by teaching young people, working with the underprivileged, and giving joy to others,” he told the publication HQAsia in 2012.

That ability to adapt has served Junardy, who is 69, well in his philanthropic endeavors. He is president of the Indonesia Global Compact Network — part of the United Nations Global Compact that encourages businesses to commit to universally accepted principles in human rights, labor, the environment and anti-corruption values.

Since 2011, Junardy has led a consortium of Indonesian businesses in hosting mass weddings for low-income Indonesian couples of multiple faiths who cannot afford the fees — 60,000 Indonesian Rupiahs or about five U.S. dollars — required for a legal marriage.

Without an officially recognized marriage, Indonesian couples cannot obtain identity cards, access health care or obtain birth certificates for their children. Junardy estimates 36 percent of Indonesian households lack these documents, stigmatizing their children — and affecting their education, health and, ultimately, their jobs.

For Junardy, providing poor children with legal status is a fulfillment of their basic human rights. “They are like nobodies in their own country,” he said earlier this year in a speech at the Gobal Child Forum. “They are left behind.”

In 2012, as he was preparing to spend more time on philanthropy, Junardy offered advice for would-be Indonesian business leaders “Take advantage of opportunities and learn from experiences,” he told HQAsia. “You learn best in times of adversity. Get exposed to cross-cultural experiences early in life and learn to relate to others who are different from you. Most importantly, always try to understand the context of the problem before jumping to solutions.”

* Topics include: Religion and Economy; Taxation Issues on Religious Economic Activities: the Cases of USA and Europe; Entrepreneurs, Enterprise-religious economy: Influence of religion to economic growth and social harmony: the case of Malaysia; Church’s contribution to society; Economics of religion today in South East Asia; Business individuals and corporations; Economic religion: influence of religion on economic development and social harmony; Religion and law in South East Asia; Taxation, abilities and roles of religious organizations of South East Asia in providing of social welfare and public services: the Case of Singapore; Legal Status Issue of Religious Organizations in Legislation of South East Asian Countries during the Economic Community Building; Financial and Taxation Regulations for Religion in ASEAN; Economics of religion in socio-political ASEAN context; Protestant Communities in South East Asia and sustainable social-economic development; Entrepreneurs, religious people, politicians, researchers: Social and religious Harmony of in development of ASEAN community; Religious Consumption Issues in South East Asia; Religious Supply and Demand Change; Religious organizations as Social Welfare Providers; Religion and Economy: South East Asia Issues and Prospects.

The most successful businesses encourage an environment in which employees can bring their “full self” to work. Employees need to feel comfortable being who they are in the workplace, including being true to their core identity and beliefs. That includes recognizing and respecting an employee’s religion and its practice.

In today’s increasingly more competitive business environment, companies will need to draw upon the talent and experience of every employee. They can’t afford to leave anyone out. If they exclude or alienate someone for reasons having nothing to do with a person’s ability to do the job, they might also be excluding the next great business solution or the next great product idea. The very thing a company might need for its success. At the very least, they’ll be missing out on lots of really great talent.

And as companies become increasingly more global, they’ll need employees who reflect the increasing diversity of their customers. They’ll need employees who can relate to the daily experience of customers and who can see the customer point of view. For potentially billions of customers, religious belief and practice are a part of daily life. Having employees who understand that will not only help companies avoid costly missteps, it will also help companies develop products and services better tailed to customer needs. That’s an essential part of being competitive.

Putting it to practice

The Corporate Pledge in Support of Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) — which supports religious diversity and freedom in the workplace — sends two clear messages to current and prospective employees: (1) You can work here without changing who you are; and (2) the company respects all employees and will not favor certain employees over others … and that’s good for the business of all.

The FoRB Pledge is one component of a company’s overall strategy to value its employees and increase their loyalty for the benefit of customers and shareholders. The FoRB Pledge is a company’s public commitment to take reasonable steps to ensure that working at the company does not put employees at odds with their deeply held religious convictions.

Supporting Resources:

You can download a non-logo “Company version” of the following PowerPoint for use in your own presentations. You can insert your own company logo in the top right of each slide.

The FoRB Pledge – Company version

Keeping the Promise of Eradicating Human Trafficking

• Monday 18 September
• 10:30 – 12:00 World Economic Forum Office New York
• Moderator: Brian Grim, President, Religious Freedom & Business Foundation
• Opening Remarks: Shaykh Abdallah Bin Bayyah, President, Forum for Promoting Peace in Muslim Societies

Every year, thousands of people around the world are victims of human trafficking. Women and children are particularly affected, representing 70% of those whose most basic human rights are violated through this modern form of slavery.

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (Goals 5, 8 and 16) demands that “immediate and effective” measures be taken to eradicate human trafficking, forced labour and modern slavery. Religious leaders and institutions have engaged in a global, coordinated effort to reach such goals, aiming to restore freedom and a hopeful future for all those enslaved and trafficked.

How can the vital work of faith communities be leveraged, and innovation and technology contribute, to achieving the human and moral imperative of eradicating the trafficking in human beings?

Dimensions addressed: Creating space and building trust for collaboration; Improving efficiency of supportive social efforts; and Leveraging technology and the media in the fight against human trafficking.

Overview by Brian Grim

Religious dynamics themselves – including how free religious groups are to engage in the public life of a society – offer promising possibilities for eradicating human trafficking. For example, a study we conducted at the Religious Freedom & Business Foundation finds that governments with low respect for religious freedom are more than twice as likely to be complicit in human trafficking as governments with high respect for religious freedom.

There are at least two reasons that governments that respect religious freedom are less likely to turn a blind eye to human trafficking. First, religious freedom is part of a bundled commodity of human rights and freedoms, such as freedom of speech, press, assembly, conscience and petition.

Second, governments that respect religious freedom reap the great practical benefit of religious freedom, that is, religious freedom sets people and communities of faith free to do good. Where this freedom is restricted, this force for good is stifled and civil society is much weaker and less resourceful and resilient as a result.

Let me describe how this second factor – setting faith communities free to do good – works using the example of Bakhita House, a Catholic ministry in London providing women escaping human trafficking with the safety and support to allow them to begin the recovery process.

Bakhita House is named after St. Josephine Bakhita, born around 1869 in the Darfur region of Sudan. She was sold into slavery but after a tortuous and lengthy journey found freedom in Italy, eventually taking religious vows as a sister with the Canossian Daughters of Charity. Her life continues to inspire Catholics to get involved with eradicating modern slavery.

Bakhita House offers women a range of services including emergency support, psychosexual therapy, legal and financial assistance, mentoring, and help with accessing accommodation. Guests of Caritas Bakhita House benefit from their values and principles of action:

• 1. Love – expressed in compassionate support and long term commitment
• 2. Respect – for the gift and dignity of each individual
• 3. Community – a welcome which creates friendship and belonging, including allowing women to stay twice as long in the house as women can in government schemes
• 4. Spirituality – nurtured by that Joy in creative activity which lifts the spirit

It’s important to understand that these values and principles come from a world view that begins with the proposition that all people – no matter how common or exceptional or how saintly or evil – are created in the image of God. This world view is also one that demands not just love of God and neighbor, but also love of enemy. Thus, when religious communities look for solutions to problems like slavery and human trafficking, they have a wider view. To demonstrate this, a prayer for the end of human trafficking promoted by the US Conference of Catholic Bishops has a rather surprising petition. In addition to praying “that those who are trafficked might know healing and justice,” the prayer petitions “that traffickers will come to repentance and conversion.”

I might even be so bold as to suggest that this petition represents an insight, a dot, so to speak, that needs to be better connected to the whole. Might a focus on better understanding what leads traffickers to abuse and enslave others lead to new strategies not only to rescue those enslaved, but also convert traffickers from their wicked ways by repenting of the evil they do? At the very least, the religious sentiments point out that the task is not just to rescue those enslaved, but also the audacious idea of helping the thief on the cross also repent and be saved.

This admittedly Catholic way of looking at the problem, however, is one that engages multiple actors and not just the victims. In particular, the Bakhita House is part of a multi-pronged strategy that has not only the typical multi-stakeholders, but also some unique partners, including the police who are a technology partner for the House: not for eavesdropping, but for interviewing facilities that can be used by law enforcement in the relaxed atmosphere of the House to investigate the crimes and apprehend perpetrators where possible.

Additionally, the Centre for the Study of Modern Slavery (CSMS) at St Mary’s (Catholic) University is engaged with Bakhita House in independent research to provide evidence that informs policy responses to modern slavery and human trafficking both in the UK and internationally. Indeed, government responses continue to be hampered by key knowledge gaps.

Bakhita House also partners with Penningtons Manches LLP, a leading UK law firm. The firm supports Bakhita House with charitable donations and allows their staff to undertake pro bono work on behalf of Bakhita House and the women the House serves.

Bakhita House also attracts dozens of community volunteers to help with everything from facilities upkeep to building friendships with the guests.

And finally, for the long term, the Bakhita House initiative recognizes that the problem will only be solved through education and public awareness – impacting children, employers, consumers, hiring practices, etc. Therefore, their ongoing campaigns and programmes are being designed with social media, events, and advocacy efforts direct to decision-makers.

Bakhita House is an example of multi-stakeholder action. From my brief description of Bakhita House, think of the following three questions which will guide all our conversations this morning:

1. 1. How is the initiative unlocking additional resources, innovation or increasing scale through a multi-stakeholder approach?
2. 2. What other actors (civil society, governments, business, investors, experts) must be engaged to further boost impact and take the initiatives to the next level?
3. 3. As you look across the issue of human trafficking, what dots need to be better connected among the various players? Is there a game changer missing?

Keep these three questions in mind as you listen to opening remarks by Shaykh Abdallah bin Bayyah, President, Forum for Promoting Peace in Muslim Societies. Shaykh bin Bayyah is assisted with translation by Shaykh Hamsa Yusuf, President, Zaytuna College.

Following Shaykh bin Bayyah we’ll have the opportunity to hear briefly from four distinguish panelists, after which we’ll break into discussion groups and finish by coming back together to give input on main ideas for advancing work on eradicating human trafficking. Our four panelists are:

• — Agnes R. M. ABUOM is the Moderator-President of the World Council of Churches Central Committee. She also represents the Anglican Church of Kenya.
• — Jeanne Bourgault, President, Internews, responsible for overall strategic management of the organization and its programmes in 49 countries around the world.
• — Rob Leslie, CEO and founder of Sedicii, which allows the secure authentication of individuals, using a novel technology called zero knowledge proof, where identity can be proven without exposing or sharing private data.
• — Robert Wilson-Black, Chief Executive Officer, Sojourners, with many years experience in higher education as well as in developing next-generation socially responsible investing.