16. April 2024
Youth forum of religions at the state reception
5 active members of the Baden-Württemberg Youth Forum of Religions, together with Büşra Çebi and Dr Theresa Beilschmidt (Global Ethic Foundation), accepted Minister Manfred Lucha’s invitation to the New Palace in Stuttgart and took part in the state government’s reception for the first time. The Youth Forum is part of the Councils of Religions, a project of the Global Ethic Foundation, which is funded and supported by the Ministry of Social Affairs, Health and Integration. The Iftar evening focused on meeting and networking with representatives of other youth organisations, civil society institutions and activists.
Youth forum promotes social participation
In his speech, Minister Lucha emphasised the importance of the commitment of Muslim and other civil society organisations for society. Among other things, he highlighted the Youth Forum as an example of successful civic engagement that promotes the social participation of people from marginalised groups.
Representatives from the Muslim Academy Heidelberg, the Muslim Youth Organisation, the Shalom and Salam project and the Stadtjugendring Mannheim e. V. spoke about their experiences in anti-discrimination work as part of a panel discussion. They problematised the lack of visibility of Muslim engagement and discussed the polarising effect that social media can have.
Meetings & networking
While breaking the fast together, the members of the youth forum were able to talk to political actors, such as Michael Blume, the anti-Semitism commissioner of the state of Baden-Württemberg. They also got to know youth representatives from other interfaith initiatives personally, as well as their projects and events.
This interreligious exchange enabled the Youth Forum members to look beyond their own horizons and take away numerous suggestions and impulses for their own work.
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Goals and tasks
The Youth Forum comprises around 15 to 20 people aged 16 to 26 who represent religious youth initiatives across the country. There are also representatives from the Landesjugendring and the umbrella organisation of local youth councils. In addition to facilitating dialogue and networking, the Youth Forum’s main task is to communicate the socio-political concerns of young people of faith from Baden-Württemberg to politicians and representatives of religious communities. On the one hand, this takes place at local level at the annual state congress of the councils of religions in Baden-Württemberg. In addition, it is planned that the representatives of the Youth Forum will also be given two places at the Baden-Württemberg Round Table of Religions.
Goals of the Youth Forum:
- Visualisation of topics of religious youth
- Strengthening the participation of religious minorities
- Making democracy learnable and tangible
- Making self-efficacy tangible on a socio-political level
- Thematic exchange and interreligious encounters
- Solidarity and visibility for the general public, e.g. through joint statements
- Promoting peaceful coexistence
Interfaith and society
Tel.: +49 (0)7071 400 53 - 11
e-mail: cebi@weltethos.org