Preliminary Program and more Information here:

Preliminary Program as of Oct 6, 2023

 

Contact Details

Office of the Special Envoy for Holocaust, Interfaith Dialogue and Freedom of Religion

Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic, Loretánská Str. 6, 118 00 Praha 1

E-mail: da@mzv.cz, Tel.: +420 224 183 251

Mrs. Petra Kaplanová, Coordinator and Administrative Support

Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic, Loretánská Str. 6, 118 00 Praha 1

Ambassador Robert Řehák, Special Envoy for Holocaust, Interfaith Dialogue and Freedom of Religion

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Addresses of the Venues

Czernin Palace, Loretánské náměstí 5, Prague 1

Trauttmansdorff Palace, Loretánská 6, Prague 1

Charles University in Prague, Ovocný trh 560/5, Prague 1

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The International Religious Freedom or Belief Alliance is a network of like-minded countries fully committed to advancing freedom of religion or belief around the world. Alliance members must fully commit to the Declaration of Principles. The Declaration is grounded in Article 18 of the Universal Declaration for Human Rights, which states everyone has freedom to believe or not believe, to change faith, to meet alone for prayer or corporately for worship. The Alliance is predicated on the idea more must be done to protect members of religious minority groups and combat discrimination and persecution based on religion or belief. The Alliance brings together senior government representatives to discuss actions their nations can take together to promote respect for freedom of religion or belief and protect members of religious minority groups worldwide. Currently 37 countries have joined the Alliance: Albania, Armenia, Austria, Australia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Cameroon, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, The Democratic Republic of Congo, Denmark, Estonia, The Gambia, Georgia, Greece, Hungary, Israel, Kosovo, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Slovakia, Slovenia, Togo, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, and the United States. There are also five IRFBA friends: Canada, Guyana, Japan, South Korea, and Sweden. There are three IRFBA observers: Sovereign Order of Malta, Taiwan, and the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief.

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In cooperation with

The Institute of International Relations Prague (IIR) is an independent public research institution that conducts excellent academic research in the larger field of international relations. It is established by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic.

IRF Secretariat is an international non-governmental organization that was established to lead the way to better religious freedom outcomes by institutionalizing a new approach centered on cooperative engagement (that respects/protects each other’s human dignity and liberty of conscience) and coordination of actions across the “bottom up” of civil society sectors and the “top down” networks of governments to increase impact. It convenes the IRF Roundtable in Washington, DC, and is currently building a global infrastructure to serve the religious freedom movement. This includes convening a global series of events that catalyze the establishment of regional secretariats, which will create and coordinate new regional, national, and local roundtables.

Czech Bishops’ Conference, established by the Apostolic See, is an official assembly of bishops of the Czech Republic who jointly exercise certain pastoral functions for the Christian faithful of their territory in order to promote the greater good which the Church offers to humanity, especially through forms and programs of the apostolate fittingly adapted to the circumstances of time and place, according to the norm of law.

The Ecumenical Council of Churches in the Czech Republic is an organization uniting 16 Christian churches and the Federation of Jewish Communities in the Czech Republic. Together with the Czech Bishops’ Conference, it is an important representative of the interests of Christians in relation to the state. It coordinates the clerical service in the army, police, prison service, hospitals, and strives to work on a growing ecumenical understanding as well as on practical cooperation between Christians of different faiths.

The Federation of Jewish Communities in the Czech Republic serves as an umbrella organization for Jewish Communities and other Jewish institutions in the country. Currently there are ten official Jewish Communities in Bohemia and Moravia. There is a number of various Jewish “secular” organizations which fall under the auspices of the Federation, e.g. Terezín Initiative, gathering of Czech Holocaust survivors, Union of Jewish Youth, sporting club Hakoach, etc.

The Institute for Christian-Democratic Politics is a think tank founded in 2016. Its goal is to present the values on which European civilization has grown by contemporary means and to bring the current perspectives of Christian-democratic politics into the public debate. The institute aims to be an important platform for middle-right partners.

The Red Wednesday is a campaign with the motto “Make a stand for faith and freedom”. It aims at promoting faith and tolerance within society and encouraging solidarity with victims of persecution. Its attribute is red light – a symbol of the blood of those who suffer for the faith and a symbol of hope in the darkness.