Tony Blair Faith Foundation announced programs to increase religious understanding for Ukraine’s next generation with the support of the Victor Pinchuk Foundation

The Tony Blair Faith Foundation and the Victor Pinchuk Foundation are happy to announce that they plan to introduce two programs in Ukraine to enrich religious literacy of high school students and the understanding of religion in a globalised world among students of higher educational institutions.

The initiatives were announced in Ukraine on June 6, 2011 by Tony Blair, Founder and Patron of the Tony Blair Faith Foundation, and former UK Prime Minister. He was talked about faith and globalization in a speech given to 300 students from all over Ukraine. Mr. Blair was visiting Ukraine upon the invitation of the Victor Pinchuk Foundation.

"Faith is vitally important to hundreds of millions of people," said Tony Blair. "The values of respect, justice and compassion that our great religions share have never been more relevant or important to bring people together to build a better world. But religious faith can also be used to divide - it can be distorted to fan the flames of hatred and extremism."

This is why understanding about and between different religions is essential in a globalized world, said Blair. "Through our work, with Ukrainian partner schools and universities, we will contribute to the emergence of a cohort of Ukrainian young people and students who are actively forging better relationships across religious and cultural divides, and critically analysing the role and influence of religion in today’s modern world. We are grateful to the Victor Pinchuk Foundation for their support, and look forward to a close cooperation with the Ukrainian government and educational system to further these aims."

Victor Pinchuk said: "I am happy to support a program focused on the next generation, the core target group of the Victor Pinchuk Foundation's work. We want to prepare them to develop the skills to bridge divides between faiths and cultures, develop a global outlook, and make diversity an asset.” He added: “I am confident that this project will contribute to further supporting the development of Ukraine as a country of true religious tolerance not only on the level of legal rules but based on true knowledge, understanding and respect for others’ faiths. Ukraine has known long periods of peaceful living together of different faiths, this is what we need to build on, foster, and share with others."

The Tony Blair Faith Foundation's international schools initiative, Face to Faith, aims to develop with Ukrainian school teachers a program to connect high school students with their peers in 17 countries via educational modules and the use of video-conferencing technology. Its Faith and Globalization initiative will work with Ukrainian higher education institutions to develop an academic discipline of studying faith in the modern world and which can be applied to business, politics and civil society.

The Tony Blair Faith Foundation was launched in May 2008. In an increasingly globalised world, religion is at the very core of life for billions of people and it cannot be ignored. The Tony Blair Faith Foundation aims to promote respect and understanding between the major religions. We empower, support and train young people to take multi-faith action against extreme poverty in over 100 countries, providing them with a positive alternative to those who try to use faith as a means to divide. We provide emerging and current leaders with the education and analysis to understand the role of religion in the modern world and we break down barriers between young people of all faiths and none by using new technology to connect them. To find out more go to www.tonyblairfaithfoundation.org

The Victor Pinchuk Foundation (www.pinchukfund.org) is an international, private, non-partisan, philanthropic foundation based in Ukraine. The Foundation was established in 2006 by businessman and public figure Victor Pinchuk. Its goal is to empower future generations to become the change makers of tomorrow. To achieve this goal, it develops a variety of projects, build partnerships in Ukraine and worldwide, and invests in three main areas:

• in people, to boost human capital,
• in society, to promote social responsibility,
• in the world, to foster a more integrated world.

The projects of the Victor Pinchuk Foundation include the network of neonatal centres Cradles of Hope, the largest private scholarship Program in Ukraine, Zavtra.UA, the centre for contemporary art PinchukArtCentre, and the international network YES (Yalta European Strategy) to support Ukraine’s European integration.

The Foundation is a member of the European Foundation Center and the Ukrainian Grant Makers Forum. It cooperates with the Clinton Global Initiative, the Brookings Institution, the Peterson Institute for International Economics and other non-governmental organisations.
www.pinchukfund.org

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