Religion Matters! Bridge Builders between Disruption and Hope

Tuesday, 24^th February 2026, 6:00 to 7:30 pm CET, followed by light refreshments

GIZ representation office (GIZ-Repräsentanz), Reichpietschufer 20, 10785 Berlin, Germany

Our world is undergoing profound disruptions: facts, institutions, the separation of powers, and development cooperation are increasingly being questioned. Democracies, human rights, and open societies are under pressure. Artificial intelligence is rapidly transforming our everyday lives. In the face of these complex challenges, existential questions, ethics, and value-based discourse are gaining importance. Against this backdrop, religion plays a significant role: eight out of ten people worldwide identify with a religion. Especially in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, religious actors are key pillars of civil society.

The event Religion Matters! brings together distinguished guests from politics, civil society, and international cooperation. Speakers include:

• Thomas Rachel, Member of the German parliament, Federal Government Commissioner for Freedom of Religion or Belief

• Thorsten Schäfer-Gümbel, Chair of the Management Board of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH

• Prof. Dr. Kamaruddin Amin, State Secretary at the Indonesian Ministry of Religious Affairs

• Maria Lucia Uribe, Director of Arigatou International Geneva

• Dr. Esben Lunde Larsen, former Danish Minister for Education and Science as well as Environment, Agriculture, and Food, Senior One Health Specialist, Pandemic Fund, World Bank

• Moderator: Khushwant Singh, Head of Secretariat of the International Partnership on Religion and Sustainable Development (PaRD, GIZ)

Together with selected local representatives from different religious communities, the panelists will demonstrate how religion and religious actors are acting as bridge builders for peace, human rights, environmental protection, and sustainable development. They will also discuss how these contributions can be harnessed more strategically to address global challenges. The discussion will focus on how social cohesion, human rights – including freedom of religion or belief – and prosperity can be strengthened in times of shrinking civic space, enabling people to live with dignity and hope.

The event is aimed at church-based, religious, and other civil society actors, foundations, implementing agencies, members of the Bundestag, embassies, and ministries. Simultaneous interpretation German/English will be provided.