International Forum on interfaith and transcultural peacebuilding

On the one hand, reconciliation can be understood as an inner process, linked to finding one's identity and reconciliation with individual experiences and imprints. Coming to terms with oneself and one's own pain requires courage and often time and energy.

Reconciliation also describes processes in relationships in which two or more people move towards each other again through encounters and dialog after conflicts and injuries. Engaging with other people's pain and exposing oneself to honest feedback is both rewarding and challenging.

Reconciliation can also be seen as a necessity in relation to conflict parties at a societal level and between states and can include coming to terms with historical events or cultural influences. In addition to the current armed conflicts, polarized disputes and conflicts over resources, in which issues such as climate change or migration are emotionally charging and hardening the fronts, are also currently moving us. Apart from contractual agreements, legal judgments and ceasefire agreements that end or limit an armed conflict - is a process of reconciliation also necessary to achieve peace in the long term? Is reconciliation as an inner attitude helpful or even possible at the level of structures and societies?

In each case, reconciliation touches on one's own identity and therefore affects various aspects of human coexistence in society, politics and religion.

The International Forum for Interreligious and Transcultural Peacebuilding seeks to clarify and understand the step of reconciliation within a peace process, at all levels mentioned.

We exchange views on the necessary conditions for a reconciliation process to take place, share successful examples of interventions and approaches that can be promising on the path to reconciliation.

In addition to models of therapeutic support and coaching in expression and communication, the importance of spirituality, religion and theological approaches and the role of religious institutions and organizations are also discussed. Faith-Based organizations, as well as aspects of jurisprudence, economics and politics. An attempt to shed light in a diverse and holistic way on how the process of reconciliation can be dared and succeed. We hope that a forum in an international learning community will provide inspiring and new perspectives on reconciliation processes worldwide.