Bridging Beliefs: Promoting Peace, Democracy and Inclusion through Interfaith Dialogue in Europe

A clear picture emerged. Vienna has no shortage of good initiatives. Schools are creating spaces for people to come together. Religious communities and public institutions have built working relationships over many years. Youth and civil society organisations are bringing people together across religious and social divides. What is often lacking is continuity. Successful work can depend on a small number of committed individuals, unpaid labour, short funding cycles, or relationships that have to be rebuilt when staff change.

Participants discussed a format for interfaith dialogue, a more robust school-based exchange programme involving greater youth participation, and the possibility of establishing a more regular city-wide framework for interfaith cooperation. The topic of religious literacy also recurred throughout the day: public institutions need the knowledge and confidence to engage seriously with religious life, whilst religious communities need the ability to work effectively with public institutions and communicate beyond their own constituencies.

The closing discussion centred on what happens after an event such as this. Participants were clear that the work should not be put on hold until the next meeting, only to start again from scratch. The relationships and proposals developed during the workshop should be taken forward through smaller working groups, ongoing dialogue with stakeholders, and the next stages of Bridging Beliefs. Better coordination can in itself make a difference: sometimes the missing piece is not another project, but knowing what already exists and bringing the right people together.

The workshop also demonstrated why Vienna can be of significance beyond Austria. The city is home to established religious communities, public institutions with decades of experience in working with diversity, active schools and universities, and a strong network of civil society and youth organisations. Participants suggested that Vienna could show other European cities what sustained cooperation between public institutions and religious communities can look like in practice. The opportunity now is to link these strengths more deliberately and ensure that successful initiatives have sufficient continuity to be of benefit beyond the city itself.

About the project

Bridging Beliefs: Advancing Peace, Democracy and Inclusion through Interfaith Dialogue in Europe (Bridging Beliefs) is a European project that brings together local authorities, religious communities, civil society organisations and citizens across European cities. Through capacity-building, local workshops, consultations and dialogue events, the project works to strengthen democratic participation, inclusion and sustainable cooperation across religious and ideological differences.

The Muslim Jewish Leadership Council (MJLC) is one of the project partners and leads the project’s work on Muslim-Jewish dialogue. ALDA – the European Association for Local Democracy – coordinates the project.

Project: Bridging Beliefs: Promoting Peace, Democracy and Inclusion through Interfaith Dialogue in Europe
Project number: 101249742
Programmes: Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values (CERV)
Project period: 1 January 2026–31 December 2027
Project coordinator: ALDA – European Association for Local Democracy
Project contact: Sara Afendi, Project Manager, ALDA
Email: sara@aldaintranet.org

Project partners

ALDA – European Association for Local Democracy; European Buddhist Union; Equal Society; Local Democracy Agency Mostar; Regional Foundation for Local Development Zamah; Centre for Cultural Dialogue – CKD; Muslim Jewish Leadership Council; COREIS – Italian Islamic Religious Community; Municipality of Centar, Skopje; with the Academy for Interreligious Studies as an associated project participant. The Grant Agreement identifies ALDA as the coordinator and MJLC as one of the participating organisations.

Funded by the European Union. The views and opinions expressed are, however, those of the author(s) alone and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or CERV. Neither the European Union nor the funding body can be held responsible for them.