By Harshita Jain
YOUNG GENERATION
Religions for Peace: Generations in Dialogue
Harshita is a senior at Rutgers University studying Biomedical Engineering and Business Administration, and is passionate about service and social innovation, as well as Jainism and Jain education. She has previously served on the YJA Daytime Convention Committee (2020) and YJA Executive Board as Director of Education (2019-21). Harshita is currently involved with the YJA PR Convention Committee (2022), and serves on the Jain Academic Bowl (JAB) admin team and the Rutgers University Jain Association as co-President. She loves traveling, running, and taking photos in her free time. You can reach Harshita with questions, feedback, and Jainism learnings at harshita.jain@yja.org.
hotels. We drove through the hills of Switzerland, a few small towns in Austria, and into southern Germany all within an hour. After putting our things down at our hotel, we caught a ride to the Inselhalle, or “island hall,” where we checked in for the conference and had lunch. The weather was beautiful, and I spent the remainder of the afternoon walking around Lindau, seeing the Bavaria Lion and lighthouse, and having fruit sorbet in town.
The pilot’s voice came in through the flight’s announcement system. As I put my seatbelt on and pulled out the book I brought to read on the upcoming journey, it hit me - I really was about to embark on my first solo international trip. A few months prior, I had been invited to attend the Conference of the World Council of Religious Leaders on Faith and Diplomacy: Generations in Dialogue. An interfaith conference organized by Religions for Peace (RFP), an entity affiliated with the United Nations, and the Religion and Foreign Policy Department of the German Federal Foreign Office, this annual event brings together faith leaders and diplomatic officials in a space meant to foster open discussion and collaboration with regards to interreligious affairs. I would be attending as a youth participant on behalf of Jainism and the Young Jains of America organization (YJA). After landing, a shuttle bus took me and a few other passengers who came in on the same flight to our
After an introductory address early the next morning by RFP Secretary General Professor Azza Karam, the four-day conference officially began. Sessions ranged from keynote addresses to panel debates, and from focused roundtable discussions to lightning talks by young changemakers. Below are a few programming highlights. Day 1: Faith, Diplomacy and Public Health
COVID-19 and its global effects, as well as the role of faith and diplomatic actors in combating misinformation and promoting positive public health practices, were discussed on this day.
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