Lisbon – May 2024. The Hon Consul General of Tonga in Portugal, Mr Anthony Bailey, accepting an invitation from HE Dr Zuhair Alharthi, Secretary General of KAICIID – the International Dialogue Centre – to attend and speak at its inaugural Global Dialogue Forum which took place in Lisbon from 15 and 16 May 2024.
This promient institution works to foster understanding between the followers of all faiths and none. During the conference participants explored the transformative power of dialogue in addressing some of the world’s most pressing challenges. These included climate change, the continuation of human rights abuses, women rights and the highest number of violent conflicts in the world today since the Second World War.
The two-day forum marked a significant milestone in KAICIID’s decade-long mission to harness dialogue as a catalyst for global change and peacebuilding. It successfully convened more than 150 participants including high-level religious leaders, current and former Heads of State, UN leaders and representatives from civil society and youth delegates.
Established by the late King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, it is today a joint initiative of the governments of Saudi Arabia, the Holy See, Spain and Austria and is now globally headquartered in Portugal.
Over two days the conference heard addresses from tremendous speakers from across the world including the Ecumenical Patriarch, His All Holiness Bartholomew I, the Imam of the Grand Mosque of Makkah, Sheikh Salih bin Abdullah al-Humaid, former presidents HE François Hollande of France and HE Heinz Fischer of Austria, the Mayor of Lisbon Carlos Moedas, former Italian prime minister HE Matteo Renzi and former South African and Mozambican first lady HE Graça Machel Mandela.
Other leading figures came from Portugal, Italy, Vatican City, Nigeria, Azerbaijan, Spain, EU, UK, Egypt, Thailand, the United States, Poland among others.
The Hon Consul General Anthony Bailey, who has a long track record in inter-christian and inter-religious dialogue, was pleased to represent the Kingdom of Tonga at this forum and receive a gold medallion in recognition for his contribution of faith in the South Pacific.
For more information about the conference and this inter-governmental organisation please visit www.kaiciid.org
