TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Indonesian government and Austria held an interfaith and intercultural dialogue in Bandung on Monday, July 8, 2024. "Only with tolerance, solidarity, and overcoming differences, will we be able to face challenges and achieve sustainable development for all," said the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Pahala Nugraha Mansury in his opening speech, as quoted from the official website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday, July 9.

Deputy Minister Pahala also expressed his hope that “the Indonesia-Austria interfaith dialogue could contribute to increasing tolerance and solidarity to face global challenges.”

The 8th Indonesia-Austria Interfaith and Intercultural Dialogue (IAIID-8 ) was held to commemorate 70 years of diplomatic relations between both countries, carrying the theme of "Navigating the Challenges in Diverse and Modern Society."

IAIID-8 was attended by more than 60 participants, from government circles, religious leaders, experts, and academics from Indonesia and Austria.

The Austrian delegation was led by Ambassador Christoph Thun-Hohenstein, the Director General for International Cultural Relations at the Austrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who conveyed the importance of building new narratives and creative solutions to answer society's challenges.

Meanwhile, Pahala Mansury conveyed three big challenges currently faced by the world. The first one is fragmentation and division, marked by geopolitical tensions between countries and lower social tolerance within society. The second problem is the demographic changes, while this was the digital transformation and gap, where a third of the world population still does not enjoy internet access.

These challenges increasingly increase gaps and disparities between countries and communities, and make it difficult to solve global problems, including climate change and achieving the SDGs.

To solve these challenges, the deputy minister suggested two approaches. The first suggestion is to mainstream the universal tolerance and solidarity values contained in all religious teachings, beliefs, and cultures.

In the context of social relations, this means respect for all religions, beliefs, and cultures. Additionally, solidarity also needs to be instilled, including in handling climate change and ensuring the achievement of the SDGs for all.

The second suggestion is to overcome hate speech and misinformation. In this case, Pahala emphasized the role of religious and community leaders is critical in encouraging and maintaining understanding between religions and cultures through dialogue.

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