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Euroasian Jewish News
Third Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional religions to be held under UN auspices on 1-2 July, 2009, in Astana
06.04.2009
 The Third Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional religions will take place under the aegis of the UN on 1-2 July, 2009, in Astana.
The choice of place for this important forum was not random. First of all, the capitol of Kazakhstan was one of the first who made a successful attempt to use the spiritual and moral potential of the world religions to solve international conflicts, act against global threats, overcome xenophobia and intolerance.
Second, the young capitol of this country, located on an intersection of the biggest and most ancient civilizations in the world and being a kind of bridge between the East and the West, has rapidly joined the number of the world's most famous capitols.
And, third, Astana, being unique in its appearance and architecture, has become the calling card and one of the main brands of Kazakhstan. Today, the political, administrative, cultural center of the country is the symbol and result of the Kazakhstan reforms, an engine for all spheres of the state's activity.
On the world map, the capitol of Kazakhstan is also recognizable as the center of inter-confessional dialogue, a global forum, where the initiative of the President Nursultan Nazarbayev for the convocation of the Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions is being realized. Here, in Astana, the first sources of the long due talks about the fate of the world and the role of religion in its preservation and consolidation came into being. The 1st Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions, which took place in the capitol of Kazakhstan in 2003, became a benchmark for the process of constructive dialogue for religions and civilizations, for basically creating a new world order, where people of various confessions will be able to live in peace and harmony.
It is notable that for the first time in history, the person who proposed the notion of holding the Congress was not a religious leader, but the leader of the secular state – the President Nursultan Nazarbayev.
Nearly all world spiritual leaders upheld the idea of the President of Kazakhstan. Leaders of many states and governments, as well as many influential politicians, also supported the idea. The first Congress had about 30 delegations from various European, Asian, Near-East, and American countries. The delegations represented Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Buddism, Hinduism, Taoism, and Shinto.
It is a testament to the universal acceptance and trust towards the new initiative of Kazakhstan that greetings towards the Congress were send by leaders from the USA, Russia, France, Italy, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Poland, Germany, and by leaders of international organizations.
Today, Kazakhstan is home to representatives of approximately 130 nationalities and 46 religions. Inter-ethnic and inter-confessional concord became the base on which the country has realized cardinal large-scale changes, which have provided it with successes in the political, economical, and social spheres.
At the same time, Kazakhstan has shown itself to the world as a country which openly demonstrates its own model of social and interfaith accord and unity, its own vision of solution for these problems on a global scale.
The second Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions took place in September, 2006, in the new, specially built for the occasion Peace and Accord Palace. 43 delegations from 20 countries of the world, as well as representatives of many international organizations came together there. Over 160 delegates represented all of the traditional religions of the world. Representatives of the UN, OSCE, UNESCO were present as honored guests.
The Congress adopted a joint declaration, which called for representatives of all cultures and ethnic groups to bar conflicts based on cultural and religious differences. This document reflected the global need for peaceful dialogue and constructive co-work between religions, and the replacement of the "ideology of opposition" with "a culture of peace."
On the 1-2 July, 2009, the III Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions will take place. There will be 5 sections on the Congress - "Moral Values," "Peace and Safety," "Environment ans Harmony," "True Dialogue and Cooperation," "Advancement of Justice."
Also, it is planned to created an International Center of Cultures and Religion under the aegis of the forum. According to the opinions of international experts, the problematic, sometimes dramatic, and yet sincere dialogue between the East and the West, the mediation of Kazakhstan is becoming invaluable. The country is the accepted leader of the Central Asian region, an active participant in many international organizations, where its word gained much weight. At the same time it is a secular state, in which Muslims make up the bulk of the population, however, all of the other nations and religions have equal rights and support to them. There is no place here for international and religious conflicts, because the principle of tolerance, nonviolence, non-prejudice, and conscious refusal to invade the sacred spaces of others have become the norm of everyday life. Astana, which is a shining example of the triumph of the strategically accurate and deeply thought through policy of the President Nursultan Nazarbayev, has become a center for attracting new ideas, courageous innovations, and ambitious projects, has become a center for the dialogue of civilizations.
The Euro-Asian Jewish Congress was part of the beginnings of the inter-confessional Conferences of Peace and Accord and the Congresses of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions in Kazakhstan.
Photo: President of Kazakshtan Nursultan Nazarbayed and President of the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress Alexander Mashkevich at the Conference of Peace and Accord
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