Keeping the Faith: A Multi-Faith Dialogue on Spirituality and International Development

Organized by the Canadian Christian Relief and Development Association, this two-day conference focused on helping Canadian faith-based organizations examine the intersection of faith and development and use their knowledge to improve their outreach and service provision. Speeches from Georgetown University professor and former World Bank official Katherine Marshall and Dr. Ray Vander Zaag of Canadian Mennonite University kicked off the conference. The first panel discussion that followed provided an overview of religion and development, while the subsequent three panels discussed how a faith perspective affects development efforts involving gender equity, peacebuilding, and environment. Throughout the conference, participants were also challenged to develop more effective ways of engaging the Canadian public in support of their development work.