About IFAPA

Working for Inter-Religious understanding, through a continuous process of genuine inter-faith encounter, discussion, and consultation, in order to promote respect for each other’s religious traditions, and refrain from denigrating them.

These commitments are based upon the religious traditions from which we come. They are solemn commitments to help us implement the Johannesburg Plan of the Action. We intend to fulfill them. We pray that our hearts, our minds and bodies will be strengthened to this task, and that our work will be blesses with success. We pray that those who follow us, our children and communities, will learn and benefit from these humble efforts of ours to eliminate the culture of violence, hatred and prejudice from our societies and to embrace the gift of peace for all in our continent.   

IFAPA in brief

The Inter-Faith Action for Peace in Africa (IFAPA), is a process initiated by the Lutheran World Federation with the aim of bringing religious communities across the continent of Africa to cooperate and work together to promote peace in the continent. It involves the seven distinguishable faith traditions in Africa: Islam, Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism, the Bahai Faith and the African Traditional religion.

The initiative materialized in the convening of the first continent-wide Inter-Faith Peace Summit in Africa held in Johannesburg, South Africa, from 14 to 19 October 2002. The Summit gathered over a hundred religious leaders from across the continent and from the whole spectrum of faith traditions represented in Africa. It was the first continent-wide gathering of religious leaders focusing on the challenge of interfaith dialogue and cooperation for peace in this conflict-afflicted continent. But the major outcome of the Summit was without doubt the Plan of Action that was produced and which mandates among other things the establishment of a Continuation Committee which was given the task of working on the follow-up process to the Summit.

Among the achievements in the follow-up process we can cite:

• The convening of sub-regional summits in Southern Africa, West Africa and East, Central and the Horn of Africa regions.
• The organization of interfaith delegations to conflict affected countries (Liberia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, South and North Sudan and Togo) to promote peace.
• A delegation also visited Mauritania to further affirm the viability of inter-religious dialogue and co-operation.
  The organization of an exchange visit between landmine victims and survivors from Ethiopia, South Sudan and Uganda.
• An IFAPA team participated in the recently held legislative elections in Togo as monitors. This is based on recommendations contained in the “Kopanong Manifesto” adopted at the Second Inter-Faith Peace in Africa held in Johannesburg, South Africa, on 18 to 25 April 2005.
• Inauguration of a Water Project in rural Rwanda on 19 March 2008. This water project is a joint collaboration between IFAPA and Nestlé SA and is a fulfilment of our vision in IFAPA to work with the private sector in our quest for Africa’s development. It is indeed a concrete example of inter-religious cooperation and other sectors like the business sector.
• Women Capacity-building Workshop for East Africa Region and Launch of A “Mother’s Cry for A Healthy Africa” Campaign
• In the context of the implementation of the Mother’s cry for Healthy Africa Campaign IFAPA held a capacity-building workshop on peace-building and interfaith relations for women from the Eastern Africa region in Nairobi, Kenya, on 9th – 13th June 2008 This was a response to the IFAPA 2005 Johannesburg women’s Pre-Summit which gave rise to A Mother’s Cry Campaign and as a result of the outcome of IFAPA Interfaith delegations to troubled areas on the continent, where it was clear that although women bear the brunt of war and civil unrest, most of them do not get to participate in peace processes including conflict prevention and resolution.
  Together with the workshop, there was the launch of the IFAPA’s A Mother’s Campaign for a Healthy Africa. This was launched at continental level in South Africa in 2005, but has not reached the grass-root

Two years after the first summit the religious communities of Africa met again in Johannesburg, from 18 to 25 April 2005 to assess our work in the context of the implementation of the Plan of Action Johannesburg 1 and to draw a new Plan of Action for the coming three years.

250 religious leaders and international observers took part in the second summit. Perhaps the major highlight of the second assembly of the African religious communities was the convening of a pre-summit dedicated to the ‘Mothers and Daughters of Africa’ that provided a large forum for the women of Africa to claim the important but often under-acknowledged role that women play in our societies. It was also an opportunity for the women of the continent to voice their suffering.

The Summit itself adopted a document called: ‘Kopanong Manifesto’. This document mandates among other things the creation of an Inter-Faith Action for Peace in Africa (IFAPA) Commission. In this regard the ‘Kopanong Manifesto’ states:

IFAPA Commission :

A flexible structure for assisting us to undertake or fulfill these commitments will be necessary. We propose the establishment of a representative commission that would function as a forum for our respective religious communities and inter- faith networks for the pursuit of these goals. While respecting the autonomy of various religious communities and existing inter-faith networks, such a commission should be a tool for our common action and a vehicle for further enhancing inter-faith action for peace in Africa.

In the light of the recommendations of the “Kopanong Manifesto” the IFAPA Commission was inaugurated at its opening meeting on 19 June 2006 in Kigali, Rwanda, by H.E. Paul Kagame, President of the Republic of Rwanda, in the presence, in the presence of almost the whole Cabinet, the President of the Senate, the President of the Chamber of Deputies, the President of the Supreme Court, and many other representatives of the Government of Rwanda, as well as members of the diplomatic corps. The openness and support of President Kagame and his Government were strong indicators of their commitment to engaging with religious leaders and inter-faith initiatives in the continuing search for sustainable peace in Rwanda, in the Great Lakes region and in the whole African continent. Their Excellencies Mrs Gertrude Mongella, President of the Pan-African Parliament, and Mr Patrick Mazimpaka, Vice-Chair of the African Union Commission, also attended the Commission’s inauguration, and delivered messages assuring IFAPA of the cooperation of these important regional governance structures and institutions.
The IFAPA Commission meeting in Kigali also marked the formation of the IFAPA Women Desk to coordinate the involvement of women in IFAPA processes as captured under ‘A Mother’s Cry for a Healthy Africa Campaign.’ The Campaign was initiated by the women Pre-Summit of 2005 and thereafter approved by the Summit. In Kigali, the Commission approved the work of the Women Desk as well as that of the IFAPA Women Desk Nordic Coordinator to form links and expand the campaign beyond the African continent. Since then both desks have been in operation and a number of activities have been carried out and you will receive the two reports – one from the Coordination desk in Nairobi and the other from the Nordic desk. Chief among these activities is the IFAPA women delegation to the Nordic countries (Sweden, Norway, Finland) and Switzerland to promote the Campaign in these countries.

The IFAPA Commission is composed of 30 members – 5 Commissioners representing each of the 5 regions of the continent and 5 International Commissioners.
According to the IFAPA Constitution, the IFAPA Commission is scheduled to meet once a year in ordinary session.

The Second IFAPA Commission Meeting was held on 27TH – 29TH AUGUST, 2007 in
Tripoli, Libya
The meeting was hosted by the World Islamic Call Society. The official opening was by the Deputy Prime Minister of Libya, Dr. Abdul Hafidh Alzitni with the Secretary General of the World Islamic Call Society, Dr. Muhammad Ahmad Shareef in attendance. Present at the occasion also were diplomats who represented different countries including America, Canada, Mauritius and Uganda.
3 Parliamentarians from 3 National African Parliaments we ere also invited to the meeting. The purpose of inviting Parliamentarians was given as: an opportunity to see how Parliament can be an institution for peace-making given that this is the field IFAPA is interested in.

The Third Meeting of the Commission was held in Entebbe, Uganda, on 10-13 November 2008. The inter-religious community of Uganda – which has formally registered IFAPA in Uganda – agreed to host and organize this meeting of the IFAPA Commission. The Commission extensively deliberated on a range of situations and issues impacting on peace on the continent, and envisioned and scoped out the role of religion in addressing these situations and issues. In that meeting the Commission decided:

1.That the Third IFAPA Summit will be held on 4-8 June 2009, and that the host country will be Uganda.
2.That the IFAPA Youth pre-summit should take place in Uganda on 1-3 June 2009.

The Inter-Faith Action for Peace in Africa (IFAPA) is facilitated by the Lutheran World Federation.