The World Faiths Development Dialogue at Ten

Featuring: Thomas Banchoff

June 8, 2011

Ten years ago the World Faiths Development Dialogue (WFDD) took up a new challenge: connecting the worlds of religion and economic and social development. It has since emerged as a major forum for leaders from the faith and policy communities to develop joint approaches to global policy challenges including poverty, education, and healthcare.
Ten years ago the World Faiths Development Dialogue (WFDD) took up a new challenge: connecting the worlds of religion and economic and social development. It has since emerged as a major forum for leaders from the faith and policy communities to develop joint approaches to global policy challenges including poverty, education, and healthcare.

A joint initiative of World Bank President Jim Wolfensohn and Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey, the WFDD was formally established as an NGO in 2000, in the United Kingdom, then in the US in 2005. The WFDD's founding executive director, Katherine Marshall, moved the organization with her to Georgetown when she joined the Berkley Center as a visiting professor and senior fellow in 2006.

Since then, WFDD and Berkley have joined forces on several multi-year projects, including a series of meetings around the world convening stakeholders from faith communities, NGOs, governments, and international organizations, and in-depth explorations of key issue areas, including HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis. Both projects have received support from the Henry Luce Foundation. WFDD also has important partnerships with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (on agriculture) and the US Institute of Peace (on women and peacebuilding), and has spearheaded a series of in-depth interviews with faith-inspired development practitioners around the world.

During a recent Center event commemorating the WFDD's first ten years, former Archbishop of Canterbury Lord Carey extolled its pioneering work. Given the magnitude of policy challenges at the intersection of religion and development, that work will remain critical into the future.

-- Tom Banchoff

To learn more about the work of the World Faiths Development Dialogue:

- WFDD webpage
- Lord Carey marks the 10th anniversary of WFDD
- Katherine Marshall homepage
- Berkley Center program on Religion and Global Development
The World Faiths Development Dialogue at Ten
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