Press Release – Wednesday 13 November 2024
Press contacts: Jill Stevens, jill@interfaithscotland.org. Maureen Sier, maureen@interfaithscotland.org, 07429328632
Dundee City Council welcomed over 100 representatives from Scotland’s faith and belief communities to a national conference in the city on Tuesday.
The National Interfaith Conference, co-hosted with Interfaith Scotland, marked the 20th anniversary of Scottish Interfaith Week, an annual festival celebrating the nation’s religious and cultural diversity.
The conference also marked the first anniversary of Dundee City Council’s faith covenant. Dundee became the first council in Scotland to sign such a document during last year’s festival.
Cllr Mark Flynn, leader of Dundee City Council said, “A year on from the signing of the Faith Covenant, I am proud that Dundee is hosting this event. A great amount of work goes on to reach out to every part of our city and bring together faith leaders to discuss both common ground and challenging issues.
“Dundee is a multi-cultural city with over 145,000 people from different backgrounds, ethnicities and cultures. That is something to celebrate. We are a city the utilises the voices and experiences of those of all faiths, and none, to drive forward change and make a difference to the lives of those in need.
“This Interfaith Week I am reminded more than ever of how our shared values unite us and how we must work together towards improving the lives of all of our citizens.”
Lord Provost Bill Campbell and Scottish Minister of Equalities Kaukab Stewart opened the conference in Dundee City Chambers with remarks about the importance of community cohesion and safety.
Charandeep Singh, Deputy Chief Executive at the Scottish Chambers of Commerce, talked about the power of serving others in his keynote address. Singh is the founding member of The Sikh Food Bank, established during the early years of Covid-19, for which he received a British Empire Medal in the Queen’s New Year Honours List 2021.
Dundee’s local interfaith group revealed a grand tapestry at the conference created by people of different faiths and beliefs. Organisations such as Amina Muslim Women’s Resource Centre organised workshops throughout the year to craft parts of the tapestry with local community members.
Delegates engaged in workshops about tackling hate crime in Scotland, generations working together for community cohesion, engaging young people in interfaith dialogue, and supporting the needs of faith communities.
Scottish Interfaith Week continues to be managed by Interfaith Scotland and around 70 events are held each year across the whole of Scotland. This year’s festival will run until Monday 18 November and the events programme can be viewed on the festival’s website.
Editor’s Note
Photos available on Interfaith Scotland’s Google Drive, please email jill@interfaithscotland.org for the link.
Interfaith Scotland is the national interfaith organisation for Scotland. Interfaith Scotland works to ensure good relations between the diverse religion and belief communities of Scotland and also to share good practice in interfaith dialogue, education, engagement and training nationally and internationally. interfaithscotland.org
Scottish Interfaith Week is a festival held in Scotland every November to celebrate the nation’s religious and cultural diversity. This year’s festival will be held from Monday 11 November to Monday 18 November. scottishinterfaithweek.org
Dundee City Council signed a faith covenant in 2023. Download the Faith Covenant (interfaithscotland.org).
Keynote speaker Charandeep Singh is the Deputy Chief Executive at the Scottish Chambers of Commerce, Advisor to the Principal of the University of Strathclyde, Board Member at City of Glasgow College and Chair of national charity Sikhs in Scotland. Charandeep is the founding member of The Sikh Food Bank, an award winning charity. He received a British Empire Medal in the Queen’s New Years Honours List 2021 and was awarded the inaugural Pride of Scotland Award and Man of the Year Award for Services to Charity. Charandeep also served as the Secretary and Board Member of The Glasgow Gurdwara from 2013 – 2020, the youngest individual to serve in this position in any Gurdwara in Europe.
