Fatema Hallal Works Hand in Hand With Global Peace Activists To Achieve Peacebuilding

After her participation in 10th World Assembly of Religions for Peace late August 2019 where she was selected to represent the MENA region at the International Youth Committee IYC, Fatima Hallal, an LAU MEPI TLG student in Gender Studies, got another golden opportunity beyond her wildest dreams: She was invited to participate in the Religions for Peace’s (RfP) Extraordinary Session entitled: Multi-religious and Multi-stakeholder Partnership for Peace and Development in New York City between December 11 and December 15, 2019.

Bringing together 200 religious leaders on a national, regional and global levels in addition to governmental entities, multinational agencies, foundations, and international faith-based organizations, the aim of the session was to forge new partnerships in response to existing and emerging challenges to peace and development, and to set an action plan that will frame the intended endeavors toward peacebuilding in the short run.

Committed to a firm belief in the importance of instilling gender equality as a prerequisite for building peaceful communities, Hallal took part in the session entitled : “Advancing Multi-stakeholder Partnership to Overcome Gender-based Violence” along with the peace activist Ela Gandhi, the granddaughter of Mahatma Gandhi, and Professor Wolfgang Schürer Chairman of Peace Dialogue of the World Religions and Civil Society Foundation. In her speech, Hallal focused on domestic violence and the pivotal role that religious leaders can play to combat domestic violence.

Moreover, together with the International Youth committee members, Hallal set an actionable plan with the aim to foster RfP Strategic Plan 2020-2025 which main objective is to advance sustainable human development, peace and security, and human rights.

Consequently, Hallal received great feedback on her role from Religions for Peace Secretary-General and the participating audience.

Hallal attributes this growth opportunity in large part to the TL program, and she is grateful for the continuous support and encouragement of the LAU TL administration team helping her to broaden her horizons.