PaRD’s Leadership convened in Lisbon, Portugal, from February 27 to 29, 2024, for their annual planning meeting. The event was hosted by PaRD member KAICIID.
The Steering Board of PaRD, and the Leads from all Workstreams and Taskforces gathered in Lisbon to deliberate on strategic matters and conclude the annual work plan 2024. Key topics addressed included:
- Financing of PaRD, its Secretariat & Annual Forum 2024
- PaRD’s Priority Themes in 2024
- G20 Interfaith and PaRD Annual Forum on Religion and Sustainable Development
- Mainstreaming of Gender Equality in PaRD
1. Financing of PaRD, its Secretariat & Annual Forum 2024
As highlighted during PaRD’s Annual Forum on Religion and Sustainable Development 2023 in Berlin, PaRD needs additional funding to able to operationalise its work. Funding is especially needed to finance concrete activities. The German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) remains PaRD’s main core funder. Despite major cut downs in the development cooperation sector, Dr Berthold Weig informed that BMZ could secure funding for the PaRD Secretariat in 2024 and 2025.
Basic funding of the Annual Forum for 2024, which will be co-organised by the G20 Interfaith Forum (IF20), could also be secured. However, in-kind contributions and acquiring additional funds for activities remains a priority. The PaRD Co-Chairs Nuria Isna Asyar from the Indonesian Ministry of Religious Affairs (MoRA), Andreia Henriques from the International Dialogue Centre – KAICIID, and Stefan Sengstmann from World Vision Germany, will work closely with the other members of the Leadership and PaRD’s Secretariat on securing further in-kind and financial contributions.
2. PaRD’s Priority Themes in 2024
To maximize impact, PaRD’s Leadership wishes to amplify the voices and contributions of religious actors to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) especially on crisis preparedness and response. The 2024 priority topics are framed by the concept of crisis response and preparedness and align with ongoing efforts of PaRD members. They include hunger, faith-sensitive mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS), and pandemic preparedness.
The Workstream and Taskforce Leads are currently developing project plans centred around these key themes, incorporating diverse activities to effectively address each area. Specifically, the priority themes will become subject of the newly developed Evidence Project, a purposeful sequence of formative research, reflection and strategic planning to launch in 2024. Simultaneously, the Workstreams and Taskforces will resume implementing their individual work plans. Members can expect regular updates from the PaRD Secretariat on current activities, including guidance on how they can actively participate in these endeavours.
"The PaRD Leadership Meeting is an annual tradition which reflects the inclusive nature of our partnership. A tradition, where we discuss collegially and strategically amongst the Steering Board, the Leads of the Workstreams and Taskforces our key priorities for the current year. I thank our long-standing member KAICIID for hosting this fruitful meeting in wonderful Lisbon."
3. G20 Interfaith and PaRD Annual Forum on Religion and Sustainable Development
The 2024 G20 Interfaith and PaRD Annual Forum on Religion and Sustainable Development will convene from August 19 to 22 in Brasilia, Brazil, under the theme “Leave No One Behind: The Well-Being of the Planet and Its People.” Further details about the event will soon be provided at PaRD’s website: https://www.partner-religion-development.org/pards-annual-forum/
4. Mainstreaming of Gender Equality in PaRD
As part of the gathering in Lisbon, PaRD’s Leadership engaged in a workshop on mainstreaming Gender Equality in PaRD. It covered key concepts, strategies, and tools, which seek to transform power relations to promote inclusivity, gender equality and fostering critical examination of intersectional inequalities.
The PaRD Leadership actively participated in the session and emphasised the importance of culture-sensitive approaches and contextualisation, to enable fruitful dialogue and action within PaRD and beyond. As a partnership which brings together diverse constituencies, there was recognition of the need to synergise gender equality efforts across the different areas of work and be accountable to the work going forward.
The three Leads of the Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment Workstream, Shahin Ashraf (Islamic Relief Worldwide), Dimitra Missira (KAICIID) and Kalin Owen-Padberg (Islamic Relief Worldwide) on the gender mainstreaming training:
"These discussions were meaningful as they outlined the critical elements of global language on gender in the context of communities and on gender analysis and transformation. The dialogue within PaRD continues, and we are committed to following up on and ensuring sustainability of the main outputs of the meeting through the development of joint tools. We hope that this day will be looked back on as a pivotal moment that triggered change and enabled further collaboration on women’s empowerment and gender equality throughout PaRD and its member organisations.”
Further Information
The PaRD Secretariat encourages all members to stay engaged and actively participate in the Workstreams and Taskforces. For further information and updates, please visit the following links:
- PaRD’s Governance & Leadership: Discover the structure of PaRD’s governance and meet the current members of the Steering Board.
- PaRD’s Workstreams and Taskforces: Gain insights into the various Workstreams and Taskforces within PaRD.
- PaRD Secretariat: Learn more about the team behind PaRD’s operations.
- PaRD Events Calendar: Stay updated on upcoming events that may align with your interests.
- PaRD’s Annual Forum on Religion and Sustainable Development: Visit this page for all updates regarding the 2024 G20 Interfaith and PaRD Annual Forum on Religion and Sustainable Development.
This year’s Leadership Meeting was hosted by PaRD member KAICIID. Click here for further insights into the event from KAICIID’s perspective.
