en

Pen Pals Project by United Religions Initiative

OPPORTUNITY.DETAILS OPPORTUNITY.DESCRIPTION

Deadline: ongoing
Open to: young people from 12 to 21 years old from anywhere across the globe

Description

The purpose of the United Religions Initiative (URI) is to promote enduring, daily interfaith cooperation, to end religiously motivated violence and to create cultures of peace, justice and healing for the Earth and all living beings. URI envisions a world at peace, sustained by engaged and interconnected communities committed to respect for diversity, nonviolent resolution of conflict and social, political, economic and environmental justice.

URI is a global grassroots interfaith network that cultivates peace and justice by engaging people to bridge religious and cultural differences and work together for the good of their communities and the world. They implement their mission through local and global initiatives that build the capacity of our more than 600 member groups and organizations to engage in community action such as conflict resolution and reconciliation, environmental sustainability, education, women’s and youth programs, and advocacy for human rights.

URI’s Pen Pals Project facilitates cross-cultural exchange among young people through letters, email and social media, comparing students’ visions for peace in their communities and sharing on themes such as challenges they are facing in their respective regions, cross cultural experiences, peace work, interfaith understanding, their relationship to the environment, gender based violence, indigenous traditions and others. The purpose is to foster friendship and greater cross-cultural understanding and respect between young people from diverse faith, ethnic and cultural backgrounds.

This project is part of URI’s Talking Back to Hate Campaign, an initiative to counteract hate speech, discrimination and bullying through education, advocacy and positive actions.

Eligibility

Young people from 12 to 21 years old from anywhere across the globe.

Cost

There is no participation fee.

Application

 To participate in the project, fill out the online form so that URI can connect you with a pen pal in a different region. Information shared in that form will be kept completely confidential, only shared with the organizers and the pen pal they pair you with.

For further information please visit the official website.