About the Tony Blair Faith Foundation

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Countering extremism based on an abuse of religion is crucial. There is an urgent need to replace intolerance and disrespect towards those of a different faith with respect and understanding. The world faces a choice. An open-minded approach to the world, to others, to diversity, to difference. Or the alternative closed mind, where globalisation is seen as a threat, difference as a danger and diversity as a weakness.

The scale of the challenge we face from extremism based on an abuse of religion cannot be underestimated. That is why the mission of my Faith Foundation is unwavering. We provide the practical support required to help prevent religious prejudice, conflict and extremism.

Over recent years we have witnessed deplorable acts of violence in the name of religion. Conflicts between and within religious groups in countries across the world continue to rage, claiming the lives of hundreds of thousands and displacing millions of people. Those who distort religion for these ends are prepared to fight without hesitation, kill without mercy and die without regret.

The fight back begins with combating the intractable mindset of extremist religious groups. Their resistance to the concept of different religions understanding each other and working together as a force for positive social change must be challenged. The work that my organisation does, and the work of many others, is not just about the uprooting of terrorism, but the uprooting of the thinking and philosophy behind it. There is no answer to this problem that doesn’t start, and continue, with the importance of educating our young people and exposing them to others’ views.

There is no issue that is more pressing. In the longer term, the only answer is to educate the future generation to an open-minded view of the world. The 21st Century will not face the same struggle around political ideology that dominated the 20th Century. But there is a real danger that conflict around religious ideology replaces that struggle in an equally devastating form. Our prospects for peace rely on understanding the many forces at play and confronting those which affront an open and just society. We have got to show people we have got a better idea than the extremists have – to learn from each other and live with each other. That is why my Foundation is determined to act. Please join us.

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Our practical support to help prevent religious prejudice, conflict and extremism is provided at two levels.

At the leadership level, we work with current and future leaders, providing the support to help prevent religious prejudice, conflict and extremism in the present. Working with the next generation, we ensure young people do not inherit the grudges of the past and provide them with the knowledge and skills to secure peace in the future.

To do this we focus on education and exposure.

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Working with current leaders

Religious prejudice, conflict & extremism

Exposure Education Working with the next generation

Prevent close-minded religious prejudice, conflict & extremism to secure an open-minded society

E D U C A T I O N

We provide decision makers with an analysis of the complexity of religion’s impact in the world. We empower young people with the knowledge and skills to understand religion, opening their minds to respect and not fear difference, and to resist extremist voices.

E X P O S U R E

We facilitate human connections with lasting emotional resonance by exposing people to others with different cultures and beliefs. They can learn from each other and so live with each other. We believe that demonstrating the positive role that faith can play in society is the most effective way of weakening the corrosive narrative of extremists.

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The Foundation’s work brings this model to life. We incubate an idea and provide evidence of its impact – so that governments and other organisations can replicate it at a larger scale. We work in some of the world’s toughest situations where we offer bold, practical and innovative solutions where there is real need. We are not a religious organisation. We are unaffiliated, working with all those committed to peaceful co-existence, including those of faith and none.

Practical Support W O R K I N G

Our Foundation began at a time when religion’s impact on the world was coming more sharply into focus. The pace of change brought about by rapid globalisation and its interaction with religious ideology is immense. At a global level, there is increasing recognition that there will be no lasting solution to many conflicts across the globe without understanding religion’s place within them.

The Foundation provides knowledge, analysis and perspective to help individuals understand and tackle this phenomenon. Across our programmes, we enable current and future generations to understand, be exposed to and manage

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religion’s impact in local, regional and global contexts. We particularly focus on areas of the world where conflict between religions is manifest.

Working with religious, political and civic leaders, with a particular focus on the next generation, our initiatives include: • The delivery of intensive policy courses examining religion, conflict and foreign policy to students and professionals.

• The provision of free syllabi resources to academic institutions who wish to teach aspects of faith and globalisation worldwide.

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• In-country training for religious leaders to assist them in their reconciliation efforts.

• The development of a free, online resource that will explain to a global audience how and why religion is playing a key role in conflict situations.

It will provide detailed commentaries and analyses on various conflict zones and make the case for how religious groups needs to be at the heart of conflict resolution and reconciliation.

This is a rapidly growing area of our focus. As we continue to develop our work, we welcome detailed discussions with our partners about how to maximise its impact and reach.

Practical Support W O R K I N G

Young people need help to gain knowledge and skills to resist extremist voices. They are at the forefront of a revolution in technology that continues to bring the world ever closer together. This means providing the right support needed to prevent religious and cultural prejudice, conflict and extremism – wherever it exists.

We can all now be first-hand witnesses to provocative events half way around the world. Distortion is simple and misinformation easy to spread. If we can teach our children to recognise our common bonds, the common humanity that we share with the other cultures of the world, then we can have a better idea than those who seek to distort and divide.

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Our Face to Faith schools programme helps our young people become global citizens. The programme combines education with opportunities to enable students to make the unfamiliar familiar, building mutual understanding and helping them be resolute in the face of negative influence and more open to the diversity of the world.

Designed for 12-17 year olds it connects students worldwide via a secure website where they interact in a safe and moderated space.

During facilitated videoconferences students discuss global issues from a

variety of faith and belief perspectives, in a respectful and safe way. By taking part in the programme young people learn to respect, not fear, difference and gain understanding about one and another, faith and its impact on the world.

Face to Faith is active in 20 countries across the world including some of the world’s most challenging areas – connecting more than 30,000 students.

Increasingly we are working with national and state governments to embody the values of the programme into teaching resources and curricula. Every day we are privileged to witness students around the world who are becoming at ease with the cultures, faiths and beliefs that inspire so many people across the globe.

Practical Support D E M O N S T R A T I N G

Our world is rapidly changing. We are all being brought closer together by technology and high rates of migration are transforming changing communities.

The pace of development means faiths and cultures are increasingly being thrown together.

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The many common values that different religions share can be a force for positive social change. Our Faiths Act project brings those of faith together to make a difference in communities where there is real need.

Research by the United Nations estimates that the world’s 49 least developed countries are projected to double in size from around 900 million inhabitants in 2013 to 1.8 billion in 2050. As well as the opportunities that this brings, it also means these countries will face big challenges and could be increasingly vulnerable to religious prejudice, conflict and extremism.

The international community should be forward-looking and innovative. We need cost-effective and sustainable solutions and we cannot afford to ignore existing resources or infrastructures that can help development. The social capital of faith communities is a huge untapped reserve – and bringing them to work together around a common cause shows how peace-building can be achieved for positive ends.

The Foundation is practically demonstrating that peace and collaboration is possible.

Since 2011 the Foundation has supported 504 Muslim and Christian leaders in Sierra Leone, training over 12,000 members of their congregations and

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volunteers within their communities.

Each of them is trained to deliver five key messages on malaria.

The vital messages are taken by their congregants out into their communities.

They carry out house to house visits delivering this simple but vital advice throughout the country. The real strength of this model is the legitimacy and trust the members of the congregations have in the communities where they volunteer.

They are listened to, trusted and respected. This means that the malaria prevention messages delivered through verbal advice and picture books are far more likely to be acted upon.

And it has worked. Since May 2011, 1.7 million people, over a quarter of the population of Sierra Leone, have been given malaria prevention advice thanks to this programme.

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Work With Us We are always looking for great people to work with us around the world. If you are interested in supporting or replicating the Foundation’s work or you are interested in employment we want to hear from you: info@tonyblairfaithfoundation.org

Support Our Work Our work is dependent on the continued generous support of our funders. We are grateful to the funding partners and donors past and present whose generosity has made our work possible. If you are interested in donating contact: donations@tonyblairfaithfoundation.org

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www.tonyblairfaithfoundation.org

The Tony Blair Faith Foundation is governed by a Board of Trustees, and managed day to day by our Chief Executive. The Rt Hon Tony Blair is the Founder and Patron of the Tony Blair Faith Foundation, and assists in our development and achievements. The Tony Blair Faith Foundation is registered with the Charity Commission of England and Wales with the number 1123243. We are a company limited by guarantee and registered in England and Wales with company number 06198959. Our registered office is 66 Lincoln’s Inn Fields, London, WC2A 3LH. The Tony Blair Faith Foundation US has been determined by the IRS to be a publicly-supported 501 (c) 3 organisation which can receive tax-deductible contributions from US donors. As an independent US tax-exempt organisation, TBFF US shares the goals of, and provides support to, the Tony Blair Faith Foundation based in London.