BUREAU FOR DEVELOPMENT, DEMOCRACY, AND INNOVATION

LOCAL, FAITH, AND TRANSFORMATIVE PARTNERSHIPS HUB

Center for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships

OCTOBER 2022

Friends and colleagues,

Please find this month’s message from USAID’s Center for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships here.

ADAM NICHOLAS PHILLIPS

Director, Center for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships

USAID

Commemorating International Religious Freedom Day

The ability to worship and practice one’s faith, or no faith at all, in the public square is a fundamental right and matter of human dignity. Faith communities have long been at the forefront of humanitarian and development efforts, often serving as important partners with and alongside USAID. The contributions of these faith-inspired communities and organizations is a manifestation of freedom of religion or belief – the ability for people of all faiths, or no particular faith, to live out their faith in meaningful ways to promote the common good. 

International Religious Freedom Day, commemorated every year on October 27, marks the anniversary of the bipartisan International Religious Freedom Act. Signed into law in 1998, the legislation elevated the protection and promotion of religious freedom as a key priority in U.S. foreign policy. 

On October 27th, 2022 Administrator Samantha Power commemorated International Religious Freedom Day and reaffirmed USAID’s commitment to supporting other governments in safeguarding religious freedom, while leading the global community in condemning religious freedom violations. Administrator Power also noted that faith communities are some of USAID’s most critical partners in providing assistance to religious and ethnic minorities and advancing peaceful, pluralistic societies.

Focus on the Field:

Religious Leaders in Côte d’Ivoire Work Together to Promote Peace and Tolerance

Interfaith roundtable participants with USAID Deputy Administrator Isobel Coleman. From left to right: Most Reverend Theodore Djoua, Imam Bachir Ouattara, Deputy Administrator Coleman, Father Emmanuel Zabsonré, and Pastor David Silué.

During her visit to Côte d’Ivoire, USAID Deputy Administrator Isobel Coleman convened an interfaith roundtable to hear firsthand how religious leaders are working to prevent violent extremism in the North and promote religious tolerance and peace throughout the country. In Côte d’Ivoire, interfaith leaders and their organizations have played an instrumental role in shifting public opinion and behavior and promoting reconciliation, social cohesion, and peace throughout the various crises the country has experienced since 1990. 

81 percent of Côte d’Ivoire’s population identifies with a religion. Approximately 43 percent of the population is Muslim and around 34 percent of the population is Christian. The other four percent of the religious population adheres to indigenous and other faith-based beliefs. Although Muslims and Christians reside throughout the country, Côte d’Ivoire’s northern regions are predominantly Muslim and southern regions are primarily Christian. Côte d’Ivoire’s constitution recognizes freedom of religious belief and worship and prohibits religious discrimination. In this deeply religious country, faith leaders are highly influential in society. 

Against this backdrop, Deputy Administrator Coleman met with religious leaders from Muslim, Catholic, Evangelical, and Methodist communities. Throughout the discussion, the leaders reiterated their belief and commitment to freedom of religion and recognized the threat of religious and political extremism across all religious groups.

The religious leaders described efforts to address the threat of extremism in their respective communities. An influential Muslim group, for example, sends representatives to mosques in northern Côte d’Ivoire to facilitate both medical treatment and conversations on the peaceful values of Islam. Evangelical leaders, under the Evangelical Federation of Côte d’Ivoire, are working with the Ministry of Interior to prosecute cases of hate speech and extremism more effectively in the public square. And together, the Evangelical, Catholic, and Muslim communities have created the Alliance of Religions for Peace in Côte d’Ivoire to advocate for social cohesion and a peaceful political process amid the country’s history of political tension and fraught transfers of power. 

The faith leaders set a strong example for interfaith dialogue, peacebuilding, and collaboration throughout the country. USAID remains committed to consulting and partnering with communities of faith to advance shared humanitarian relief and development goals in Côte d’Ivoire and around the world.

USAID Delegation Meets with Government and Civil Society Leaders in Iraq, Reinforces Support for Religious and Ethnic Minorities

While in Erbil, Director Phillips met with Patriarch Mar Awa III, leader of the Assyrian Church of the East.

Earlier this month Director Phillips traveled to Iraq as part of a senior delegation from USAID, the first official visit since 2019. The U.S. Government is working to expand partnerships on economic growth, climate, good governance, and the post-ISIS transition from humanitarian and stabilization assistance, and USAID is a key component of this effort. Traveling to Baghdad and Erbil, the delegation met with USAID implementing partners, bilateral and multilateral donors, community and faith leaders, and Iraqi government counterparts. The delegation engaged on key issues including economic development, internally displaced persons, climate resilience, social cohesion, locally-led development and religious & ethnic minority programming.

Throughout the trip, the delegation reinforced USAID’s support for religious and ethnic minorities. A substantial number of religious and ethnic minority populations have not returned to their communities of origin due to security concerns. It’s estimated that Iraq has lost 90 percent of its Christian population since 2003, with an estimated 150,000 remaining in-country. Despite this sobering figure, the delegation was inspired by the new and historic Yazidi Women Survivors Law, which establishes reparations for women and men alike who suffered at the hands of ISIS. On September 7 of this year, the Iraqi government opened an online portal intended to aid survivors in applying for reparations. Survivors will be able to electronically upload supporting documents without having to travel back to the sites of violence, and disbursements are expected to begin by the end of the calendar year. 

The delegation also met with Christian leaders who are working with USAID to save and digitize ancient manuscripts and with partners in the Nineveh Plains implementing community development programming. The delegation was moved by the many Iraqi women and young people working tirelessly to create a more prosperous and inclusive society.

Building Bridges with Faith-Based Organizations and Networks with a Global Reach

Deputy Director Amanda Vigneaud attended the Accord Network's OneAccord Conference.

The Center for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships works to build bridges between USAID and faith-based and community partners. During October, the team participated in several engagements to provide faith leaders and their organizations with resources and guidance for partnering with the Agency.

Deputy Director Amanda Vigneaud attended the Accord Network’s OneAccord Conference, an annual gathering for Christian nonprofit organizations working in international development and humanitarian relief. Leading a workshop titled “Building Bridges in Development: Advancing Faith-Based and Community Engagement at USAID”, Deputy Director Vigneuad provided an overview of USAID’s approach to strategic religious engagement followed by an interactive discussion on both perceived and real barriers for partnering with USAID. The session included a tutorial on navigating WorkwithUSAID.org, a helpful resource for faith-based and community organizations interested in working with the Agency.

Faith and Philanthropy Summit Spotlights Role of Faith-Based Organizations in Addressing Global Challenges

Attendees of the inaugural Faith and Philanthropy Summit.

Director Phillips traveled to Rome to attend the inaugural Faith and Philanthropy Summit at the Vatican. The event was hosted by the Galileo Foundation in partnership with the Global Compact on Education, the World Congress of Muslim Philanthropists, the Jewish Funders Network, the Lilly School of Philanthropy at Indiana University, and UBS AG. The Summit brought together 145 of the world’s leading philanthropists and faith leaders from five faith traditions with the aim of inspiring new philanthropic partnerships to tackle some of the world’s most pressing challenges in the areas of education, global health, and sustainability. The Human Family Fund, a new interfaith humanitarian fund, was launched at the Summit by the Galileo Foundation and UBS. The fund will support faith-based organizations working on issues including human trafficking, climate, and education. 

ANNOUNCEMENTS

PARTNER WITH THE LFT HUB

The Center for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships is part of the Local, Faith, and Transformative Partnerships (LFT) Hub. 

The LFT Hub focuses on strengthening USAID’s ability to partner with non-traditional and diverse actors including local, faith-based, and community organizations; schools and hospitals; minority-serving institutions; foundations; diaspora communities; cooperatives; and volunteer organizations. Learn more about how LFT is harnessing the power of partnerships through the following:

• American Schools and Hospitals Abroad (ASHA)
• Limited Excess Property Program (LEPP)
• Locally Led Development Initiatives (LLDI)
• New Partnerships Initiative (NPI)