Background
The Bank responded to a request from both the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE) and the Moroccan government to host an event on June 19. The Bank was invited largely to offer technical expertise on climate change strategy, but also because of our long-standing commitment to development faith partnerships. What made this event unusual was the effort to address underlying issues of West/Muslim work tensions generally and Christian/Muslim more specifically by means of a dialogue about an issues of patent common concern, climate change. The key personality involved in promoting this dialogue process has been Rev. Richard Cizik, a prominent leader in the US evangelical movement who has passionately espoused the cause of global warming. The Moroccan ambassador to the US was also intimately involved, as was Michael Kirtley who heads an NGO called Friendship Caravan. The two day dialogue (one at the Bank, the other on Capitol Hill and Mount Vernon) was meticulously planned.
Meetings at the World Bank
On Thursday, June 19, 2008, delegations from the Kingdom of Morocco and the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE) met at the World Bank for a day-long discussion centering on the topic of "Creation Care," or religiously-inspired care for the environment. The meetings represented a continuation of an engagement between a significant segment of the US evangelical community and Moroccan leaders, The NAE delegation was led by President Leith Anderson and Vice President for Governmental Affairs Richard Cizik, both well known for their involvement in climate change activism. The Moroccan delegation, led by Ambassador Aziz Mekouar, included several prominent Moroccan academics and government figures who have been involved in environmental work.
The morning session featured presentations from the World Bank's climate change experts. Warren Evans, Director of the Environment Department, welcomed the dialogue and noted the vital importance of this constituency. Speaking about the contrasting strategies of mitigation (halting the causes of climate change) and adaptation (helping those affected by climate change to cope), he highlighted the fact that the World Bank has come to view climate change as a crucially important development issue. The Bank's goal is to help developing countries, which are the most vulnerable and least resilient to environmental changes, to foster economic growth while adapting to negative impacts. Richard Damania and Michele de Nevers further detailed the evidence on climate change and the Bank's response in their presentations, while Luis Constantino specifically addressed how the MENA region will be affected.
Each member of the Moroccan team of six gave presentations, covering a range of topics, some at the opening dinner on June 18 and some during the event itself. Asma El Kasmi of Al-Akhawayn University spoke about the average Moroccan's perception of climate change and how it is influenced by the global media. She also described a project that she had led dealing with women and water use in a Berber village. Youssef Enadifi of Holcim Morocco spoke about his company's work in promoting the creation of M'goun Geopark, which they hope will achieve the international UNESCO Geopark label for protecting natural and cultural heritage. Over lunch, Asma Chaabi, mayor of Essaouira and the first female mayor elected in Morocco, spoke about women's leadership issues.
The lunch discussion was also noteworthy for its exploration of issues of religious freedom as it affects particularly Moroccan Muslims and evangelical Christians. Rick Love, currently in the Reconciliation Program at the Yale Center for Faith and Culture, gave a presentation addressing the "ethics of dawa and evangelism" and the importance of interfaith dialogue.
The afternoon session took the form of an open discussion between the two delegations around a series of pre-planned questions. Three main themes emerged from the conversation. First, many delegates emphasized the importance of interfaith dialogue, even in the face of criticism from others (such as more conservative members of the Evangelical or Muslim communities) who oppose such initiatives. Although neither side was willing to speak on behalf of their entire faith, they agreed that their coming together was important in promoting understanding between their constituencies. Second, the importance of changing people's negative views – on climate change and on interfaith dialogue – and how to go about it were discussed. Third, the delegates touched on future projects and areas of cooperation, including a possible meeting at Al-Akhawayn University in Ifrane, Morocco and possible collaboration on a television project. Several people emphasized the need to take advantage of the power of the media and of youth voices among both constituencies.
Next Steps
A premise of the meetings was that they would not be confined to talk and follow up is expected. Its form is yet to be defined but is likely to include some media and communication efforts as well as continuing meetings, the next most likely in Morocco, to include a larger group of stakeholders.
