LONDON - 19 February 2007 - 390 words
British Library hosts interfaith day for young Londoners
Tomorrow, 20 February, the British Library will host an interfaith event for young Londoners aged between 16 19 years old. Many Catholic and other church school and youth groups will be taking part. The day provides an opportunity to participate in a number of discussions and workshops.
Believing in London has been organised in collaboration with Diversity and Dialogue at the Citizenship Foundation, with the hope of getting young Londoners to engage in discussions about their views and feelings about religion, faith and belief.
Discussion sessions will be held on 'Faith & Identity'; 'Freedom of Expression'; 'Faith in International Development;' 'Faith & Science'; and 'Growing Up in Multi-Faith London'. Shami Chakrabarti, Director of Liberty, chairs a discussion panel which offers the chance to put questions to young people of different faiths.
Participants will have the chance to learn new skills and to express themselves through arts, music, media and drama. 'Conflict & Change' is an introductory workshop on understanding and mediating conflict in diverse societies, looking at the causes of conflict and issues around growing up in London. The 'Young Journalists' workshop uses examples of press and media to examine the representation and portrayal of faiths through language.
The day also includes workshops in the Library's exhibition galleries and an introduction to the Library's programmes and collections.
There will be an opportunity for participants to record their views on faith and religion via a camera set up in a 'diary room'. These recordings will be compiled and made available online to schools across the country. It is hoped that some of the discussions may also be included in the British Library's new exhibition, Sacred, which opens on 27 April. This groundbreaking exhibition brings together some of the world's most important and beautiful religious texts for the first time. Rare examples of Jewish, Christian and Muslim sacred texts from the Library's collections will be presented alongside treasures on loan from other institutions in a unique and compelling modern context. Sacred marks the first time that sacred texts from these three faiths will have been displayed and explored together, side by side, in a major UK exhibition.
Roger Walshe, the British Library's Head of Learning, said: "This is a great opportunity for young people to come together at the British Library to express their views on a number of important issues relating to the role of religion, faith and belief in the world today. Our forthcoming exhibition, Sacred, will be bringing together some of the world's most important and beautiful sacred texts and will have an inspiring programme of activities for schools and young people. In advance of Sacred, this is a chance for young people to ensure their views and voices are heard in the exhibition and shared with people throughout the country. We are very pleased to be working with Diversity and Dialogue to achieve this aim."
The free event takes place from 10am 17.15pm. Lunch and refreshments will be provided.
For more information see: http://www.diversityanddialogue.org.uk/
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