Greeting by Program Director Iqbal Akhtar on behalf of Templeton Religion Trust

International Conference on Cross-Cultural Religious Literacy Jakarta, Indonesia 10-11 July 2024

Your Excellency Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi of the Republic of Indonesia,

Excellencies,

Distinguished participants,

I bring you greetings on behalf of my colleagues at the Templeton Religion Trust.  We wish to thank our hosts, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia and the Leimena Institute for convening this gathering and inviting us to participate. We’re honored to join the Ministry of Law and Human Rights of the Republic of Indonesia and the International Center for Law and Religion Studies at Brigham Young University Law School as supporting partners in this important effort to facilitate a conversation between leaders and scholars from Southeast Asia and other parts of the world to explore novel ways of engaging religious diversity to build inclusive and cohesive societies. We congratulate the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Leimena Institute, and 30 institutional partners in the Cross-Cultural Religious Literacy program in Indonesia that has trained more than 8,000 teachers in less than three years. An astounding response that has led to this conference. True to its national motto of “Unity in Diversity”, Indonesia is once again at the forefront of this important initiative to strengthen cross-cultural interreligious dialogues and multi-faith collaboration in our increasingly fragmented world.

We share your vision of the important and essential role that educational institutions must play in promoting religious literacy and the virtues of humility, empathy, and patience – conditions that enable constructive engagement between people of all faiths, and the formation of global citizens.

Tuhan. Beri aku kekuatan Menguasai diri sendiri, kesunyian dan keserakahan. Beri aku petunjuk selalu untuk memilih jalanMu, keridoanMu. Amin

God. Give me the strength to master myself, loneliness and greed. 

Guide me in your path, to paradise. Amen.

Thank you again, and I look forward to our time together.