Organization:United Religions Initiative
United Religions Initiative | |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | The Presidio in San Francisco, California, United States |
| Membership | +250,000 people |
| Leaders | |
• Global Council Chair | Eric Roux |
• Founder | William E. Swing |
• Executive Director | Karen Volker |
| Establishment | |
• United Religions Initiative Charter | 26 June 2000 |
Website www.uri.org | |
The United Religions Initiative (URI) is a global grassroots interfaith network.
It has local and global initiatives through more than 1100 member groups and organizations, called Cooperation Circles,[1] to engage in community action such as conflict resolution and reconciliation, environmental sustainability, education, women's and youth programs, and advocacy for human rights.[2]
The organization was founded by William E. Swing, along with David Cooperrider and Diana Whitney.[3] The URI founding Charter was signed by more than 200 people present, and hundreds more joining over the Internet, at a ceremony in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, US, on June 26, 2000.[4]
URI also holds consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).[5]
Activities
Before the formal charter signing in 2000, URI supporters around the world participated together in a project called "72 Hours for Peace", in which more than 250 local organizations united in projects promoting peace and justice during the turn of the millennium.[6]
Examples of global and member initiatives documented in the public record:
- The Acholi Religious Leaders Peace Initiative has played a key role in promoting peace in war-torn northern Uganda.[7] The Ugandan groups are also participants in the Northern Uganda Social Action Fund supported by the World Bank.[8]
On December 9, 2025, URI signed a Memorandum of Understanding with The International Dialogue Centre – KAICIID to "to formalize their long-standing collaboration and scale up joint efforts in interreligious and intercultural dialogue across the globe.[9]
References
- ↑ Cooperation Circles, United Religions Initiative
- ↑ "United Religions Initiative Charter". http://www.uri.org/about_uri/charter.
- ↑ Cooperrider, David L. and Diana Kaplin Whitney, Appreciative inquiry: a positive revolution in change, page 31, Berret-Koehler Publishers Inc., 2005
- ↑ Dyer, Ervin (June 28, 2000). "Charter Signed for Religious Coalitions". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1129&dat=20000627&id=nVYNAAAAIBAJ&sjid=MG8DAAAAIBAJ&pg=4478,4862332.
- ↑ "URI and the UN | URI". https://www.uri.org/what-we-do/global-program/uri-and-un.
- ↑ Talcott, Sarah, Building the Interfaith Youth Movement: Beyond Dialogue to Action, p78, ed. by Eboo Patel and Patrice Brodeur, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc., 2006
- ↑ Religion News Service, January 8, 2008, Jason Kane, Ugandan Religious Leaders Set Aside Rivalries in Pursuit of Peace "Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life". http://pewforum.org/news/display.php?NewsID=14725.
- ↑ Marshall, Katherine and Lucy Keough, Mind, Heart, and Soul in the Fight Against Poverty, The World Bank, 2004 pp232-233
- ↑ "KAICIID and United Religions Initiative Sign MoU to Advance Global Cooperation on Interreligious Dialogue". December 9, 2025. https://www.kaiciid.org/stories/news/kaiciid-and-united-religions-initiative-sign-mou-advance-global-cooperation.
External links
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