BANGKOK, June 8, 2002: Religious leaders from all major faiths will assemble in the Thai capital next week to shape a program of community initiatives aimed at solving some of the world’s pressing problems. The agenda for this summit has already singled out three broad global themes that demand the attention of heads of faiths: conflict resolution, poverty alleviation and combating environmental degradation. They also expect the first of many pilot projects to work with the United Nations and governments to come out of the religious confab. “We are going to launch a process here,” says Bawa Jain, who was the secretary general of the UN-backed Millennium World Peace Summit of Religious and Spiritual Leaders in August 2000. For Jain, the link with the United Nations is key to this religious mission. “Religious leaders feel that the UN is the only neutral platform to confront major social challenges,” he explains. The Bangkok meet is expected to underscore a greater need for religious leaders to step up their efforts in solving the more earthly problems than harping on religious differences. “We are not in the inter-faith business,” asserts Jain. “Religious leaders can play a role in Asia to address social challenges.”
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