Asian Journal- The Filipino-American Community Newspaper

WE often hear people say how they want "world peace." However, every nation has its culture and beliefs that usually clash with another. For one, religion or "faith" holds a strong bearing to a people, which is why it is important to arrive on a common ground in spite of religious differences.

Ambassador Hilario G. Davide, Jr., the Philippine Permanent Representative to the United Nations, believes that it essential for the UN to take further steps to promote religious and cultural understanding through an interfaith dialogue and the mass media. An interfaith dialogue refers to cooperative and positve interaction between people of different religious traditions and spiritual or humanistic beliefs.

Last year, the UN General Assembly concluded a two-day conference on interfaith dialogue with a call for member states to promote respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms for all—including religious beliefs. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said that it "brought together people who might not have a chance to interact."

Effective information dissemination is crucial to any peacekeeping goal. Throughout the world there are local, regional and international interfaith initiatives; many are formally or informally linked and constitute larger networks or federations.

Hope is still alive—and in this case, we are hoping for world peace. And we can only achieve this if we continue to open the doors of communication and understanding. (AJPress)