The International Partnership on Religion and Development (PaRD) invites its members to the Annual Forum and General Assembly of Members (GAM) in Stellenbosch, South Africa. The meeting’s agenda reflects both PaRD’s mission of working towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the 2030 Agenda and issues pertinent to the African region, including a focus on Vaccine Inequity, Food Security and Poverty Reduction, Climate Action, and Localising Aid.
The conference, scheduled for 8-11 November 2021, in hybrid format, is hosted by the German-based PaRD, together with its partners from South Africa, the Cape Development and Dialogue Centre Trust (CDDC Trust), and it’s subsidiary, the National Religious Association for Social Development (NRASD). PaRD members are made up of representatives of governments, intergovernmental entities, civil society, religious and faith-based actors, and academia.
The current health, social, and climate crisis require global solutions and cooperation. Multi-stakeholder partnerships – like PaRD – have proven through the pandemic to be well suited for identifying pathways for achieving sustainable and resilient recovery. At GAM, high-level speakers from around the world will gather during the four-day conference in an environment that fosters dialogue and collaboration between religious actors and policymakers.
In addition to the approval of PaRD’s strategic plan for 2022-26, the results of online elections for the co-chairs and the steering group will be made public.
The meeting is an opportunity to share good practices, policy recommendations and further develop ideas on how to address critical challenges in the post-COVID-19 era, like Climate Action. Speakers from the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26), held simultaneously in Glasgow, Scotland, are planned to provid updates to conference participants.
Initially planned for 2020, the meeting in South Africa was postponed due to COVID-19. In cooperation with PaRD member Humboldt University and the associated Research Programme on Religious Communities and Sustainable Development, the Annual Forum and GAM 2020 was held in Berlin, Germany.
The International Partnership on Religion and Sustainable Development (PaRD) convenes governments, intergovernmental entities, civil society, especially religious and faith-based actors, and academia in a safe space for dialogue, learning, and collaboration to inform policy and practices in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the 2030 Agenda.
As a dynamic global multi-stakeholder partnership, PaRD currently focuses on health (incl. vaccines) and well-being (incl. food security), gender equality, sustaining peace, and environmental protection. It fosters networking, the exchange of knowledge, good practices, lessons learned, policy informing, and capacity strengthening on a long-term basis at equal levels.
The PaRD Secretariat is based in Eschborn, Germany, hosted by the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ).
