Berkley Center

After three days of encounter and debate, participants of the G20 Interfaith Forum came together on the forum’s final day to share insights, acknowledge challenges, and plan next steps as they depart Cape Town and return to their communities.

The day began with fishbowl sessions covering the forum’s five areas of focus: food, education, debt and global governance, disaster preparedness, and vulnerable communities. Participants offered recommendations for G20 leaders based on their own expertise and insights gained at the forum. At the fishbowl session on food, participants highlighted the value of local-level interventions to bolster food security, including community gardening, the vital role religious communities can play in countering the weaponization of food in conflict, and the question of sustainability in the agricultural sector, including the need to make farming a more appealing option for young people. Contributions were noted and will shape the IF20’s recommendations to the G20. 

Next, participants came together for the forum’s first ever elder-youth exchange, a session that paired young and older leaders in a lighting round discussion of four key topics: education, social media, climate change, and the nature of leadership. The conversation shed light on differing perspectives and approaches regarding these issues, while also showcasing common ground among generations. 

Prof. Luka David Mosoma, former deputy vice chancellor of the University of South Africa, introduced the closing plenary by reinforcing the message with which he had opened the conference on Monday: the need to constantly remember those who are suffering in the world. Dr. Liliya Khasanova, executive director of A Common Word Among the Youth (ACWAY), shared insights from the Youth Interfaith Forum (YIF20) held on Sunday and highlighted the engagement of ACWAY fellows as youth voices throughout the IF20. Bishop Sithembele Anton Sipuka, president of the South African Council of Churches (SACC), called on participants to transform their experience at the conference into concrete, impactful action. He stressed the importance of holding one another to account, for the poor and vulnerable in our communities are already doing so. “The children of the global south, the poor of this world, the marginalized of every nation, are not waiting for our next conference,” he said. “They are waiting for our conversion. From talkers to doers. From advocates to agents. From religious leaders to radical servants.” 

Echoing Bishop Sipuka’s call to action, Katherine Marshall, vice president of the G20 Interfaith Forum Association, emphasized the need to move away from the paradigm of NATO: “no action, talk only.” Rather, participants should strive to embody the spirit of an alternative acronym, ADVANCE: accountability, determination, vision, action, now, compassion, and empowerment. 

With these closing words, participants said their farewells and thanked the local and international organizing teams, without whose tireless efforts and close collaboration this forum could not have taken place. Key insights and recommendations from the conference will now be shared with G20 leaders, but the real impact of the conversations held and friendships formed at this conference will be measured on the ground.