The Welcoming the Stranger conference in June saw Islamic Relief team up with HIAS and the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) to bring together faith actors from 37 countries to share experiences and lessons on faith-sensitive responses to the global displacement crisis. More than 100 million people worldwide have been forced from their homes by war, violence and persecution. Local faith actors are often at the forefront of responding – yet their role is often overlooked.

The conference – named after the concept of ‘Welcoming the Stranger’ that is shared across Islam, Judaism and Christianity – highlighted how people of faith are often the first to respond when crises emerge and can play an essential role in promoting social cohesion and tackling xenophobia in the context of displacement.

Our CEO Waseem Ahmad joined a panel discussion with Rev. Anne Burghardt, General Secretary at LWF, and Mark Hetfield, President and CEO at HIAS, about working together to support refugees and build more inclusive societies. Gillian Triggs, Assistant High Commissioner for Protection at the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), opened the conference, underlining concrete commitments from UNHCR to continuing its partnership, in particular to increasing their faith literacy.

In December, Islamic Relief, HIAS and LWF joined forces again to organise an Innovation Lab titled ‘Shaping the Future, Living as Neighbours’. Held on the sidelines of the UNHCR’s High Commissioner’s Dialogue in Geneva, the event again highlighted the importance of faith perspectives in supporting responses to forced displacement.