Coalition of Faith-Based Organizations in Vienna, Austria (UN Office Vienna)
Written by: Lilly Gundacker
An Extraordinary General Assembly of the Coalition of Faith-Based Organizations (CFBO) in Austria was held in Vienna on September 28, 2021. First established two years ago, with the support of King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz International Centre for Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue (KAICIID), the executive was extended to include various faith-based communities (www.coalitionfbo.eu). The focus is to become active in Austria in cooperation with the UN in Vienna, with the UNODC (www.unodc.org), especially in areas of law, justice, and prevention.
Dr. Elmar Kuhn, Member of the steering committee of CFBOs (https://coalitionfbo.org/) gave an introductory address and report quoting H.E. Madeleine Albright and H.E. Ban Ki Moon, stating: “Vienna is a capital city where world religions come together.” The Deputy Director of the Cultural Office of the Government of Austria, Dr. Stephan Leitner, said that while Austria is a secular state, as Hans Kueng once said, there is no peace without religious peace and thus the government is grateful for the participation of various faiths.
Dr. Michael Platzer, co-chair ofCFBOs, read a congratulatory address by Dr. Thomas Walsh, co-chair of CFBO and chair UPF USA. Mr. Gerhard Weissgrab, President of the Buddists in Austria stressed the way of the middle and the need for a constant search. Džemal Šibljaković, Director of Islamic Prison Counselling, referred to migration, faith and social media. Bishop Dr. Heinz Lederleitner, Archbishop of the Old Catholic Church stressed the need for values based education.
Dr. Mutasahra from the Koran School stated we need to fight corruption in all religions. A representative of the Syrian Orthodox Church, the first Oriental church in Europe, also spoke to the importance of grassroots religions.
The UN representative from the Civil Society Unit, Mr. Anders Ansen, said they were delighted to see that the CFBO work is expanding. It is appreciated by UNODC. The upcoming conference of State Parties in Egypt, 13 Dec 2021, with over 194 non-government members who are not ECOSOC have registered. ECOSOC members can register until 26 November. UNODC Civil Society office welcomes Stakeholder engagement, particularly faith-based organizations, and believes in this bottom up approach.
Dr. Michael Platzer suggested we should use the UN Days to study together with the UN. CFBOs had 25 webinars in the last year. Mr. Thomas Stelzer, from International Anticorruption Academy (IACA) said they are ethics based and overlap with CFBOs. Corruption is a structural impediment to the Sustainable Development Goals and a cross-cutting issue of the SDGs. Remittances of foreign workers sending money home is much more than official development assistance.
Dr. Afsar Rathor, LIOS-SOIL Organization, Vienna, referred to the significance of ecology and sustainability as a religious responsibility. He said: “The archbishop, and the Imman already said: the two conflict parties have not understood each other’s faith, trying to prove which faith is better. The media also plays a role. Religions have the same values: love. Without tolerance, no religious freedom, no freedom of thought, no freedom of conscience.”
Dr. Titus Leber, filmmaker and multimedia artist, captures images and film of world heritage spiritual sites and publishes them digitally. He has focused mainly on Buddhist sites, including temples in Indonesia and in the Kingdom of Thailand. However, his new initiative is to promote Africa’s unknown cultural heritage. We should not forget South American religions, he said. He suggested a new subject of psycho ecology through media and video games. Spiritual pollution is just as much a problem as the physical environmental pollution.
Ms. Andrea Jakob and Ms. Ilse Ensfelner, management consultant, were also voted unanimously into the executive. Mr. Peter Haider referred to the World Interfaith Harmony Week focusing on the love of neighbours and embracing monotheistic religions and others. With the support of KAICIID, UPF together with partner organizations as ACUNS, IFEMES, WFWP and others, the Interfaith Harmony Week was held at the UN each year, the first week of February, providing a platform for all religious groups, in 2019 with CFBOs with 150-200 participants.
