On September 14-15, 2022, the capital of the Republic of Kazakhstan will host the VII Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions – the first major international event that Kazakhstan has been holding since the beginning of the pandemic. More than 100 delegations from 50 countries of the world will take part in the VII Congress. The full program of the event has been officially announced today.
The platform of the Congress is of great importance from the perspective of religious leaders discussing the agenda of the post-pandemic development of the world. In this regard, the main theme of the Congress is defined as "The role of leaders of world and traditional religions in the spiritual and social development of mankind in the post-pandemic period."
The format of the Congress involves holding multi-format meetings of religious leaders, plenary sessions at the grand opening and closing of the Congress; four breakout sessions; bilateral meetings of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Head of the Congress Secretariat with heads of delegations and authoritative participants of the Congress.
On the eve of the VII Congress, on September 13, the XX meeting of the Congress Secretariat will be held under the chairmanship of the Speaker of the Senate of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Head of the Secretariat of the Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions Maulen Ashimbayev. The meeting will be held at 10.00 in the Palace of Peace and Reconciliation.
On September 14, the official opening of the Congress will take place at the Palace of Independence at 10.00, which will begin with a minute of silence for prayer. The President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev will deliver a welcoming speech. The heads of delegations from different countries are also scheduled to make responsible speeches.
The opening session of the Congress will be a plenary session on the topic "The role of leaders of world and traditional religions in the spiritual and social development of mankind in the post-pandemic period".
During the plenary session, it is planned to award the nominees of the Astana International Prize for their Contribution to Interreligious Dialogue, to present honorary medals of the Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions.
The plenary session will end around 17.00 – it is at this time that the Holy Mass of the Pope is scheduled to be held. In total, thousands of pilgrims from around the world will take part in the prayer service.
The congress will continue on September 15 with a tree planting ceremony in the Park of Peace and Reconciliation. More than 60 deciduous and coniferous trees will be planted – according to the number of heads of delegations of the VII Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions. The Conceptual Park of Peace and Harmony, which is planned to be built next year, will symbolize cooperation, friendship and unity between different faiths and nationalities in Kazakhstan. The nature and recreation park will be located along the riverbed of the Yesil River.
After the ceremony, 4 breakout sessions of the VII Congress will be held from 10.00 to 15.00.
- Section No. 1 "The role of religions in strengthening spiritual and moral values in the modern world".
- Section No. 2: "The role of education and religious education in the respectful coexistence of religions and cultures, strengthening peace and harmony."
- Section No. 3: "Contribution of religious leaders and politicians to the promotion of global interreligious dialogue and peace, countering extremism, radicalism and terrorism."
- Section No. 4: "Women’s Contribution to the Well-Being and Sustainable Development of Society and the Role of Religious Communities in Supporting Women’s Social Status."
At the end of the breakout sessions, at 15.00, the closing ceremony of the VII Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions will take place.
Within the framework of this ceremony, speeches by the heads of delegations and summing up the overall results are expected. The most important moment of the closing ceremony will be the adoption of the Final Declaration – the key document on the results of the VII Congress. The content of the Declaration will reflect the vision of the current problems of our time, possible ways to resolve them, as well as the intentions of the leaders of world religions, their appeal to the international community. It is expected that the Declaration will be distributed as an official document of the 77th session of the UN General Assembly.
Recall that , the most current news is published on the website https://religions-congress.org