STRENGTHENING DIVERSITY. The Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity (OPAPRU), in collaboration with the Ateneo de Davao University (AdDU)’s Madaris Volunteer Program (MVP), hold an online ‘brown bag’ session on Wednesday (March 13, 2022) in support to the “Document on Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together.” Pope Francis and Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Ahmad Al-Tayyeb signed on Feb. 4, 2019 in Abu Dhabi the Document on Human Fraternity to highlight the "need for a sense of fraternity amongst all men and women of goodwill" worldwide. (Photo courtesy of OPAPRU)
MANILA – The Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity (OPAPRU) continues to integrate peace efforts into the “Document on Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together.”
In a social media post on Thursday, the OPAPRU said it has partnered with Ateneo de Davao University (AdDU)’s Madaris Volunteer Program (MVP) to effectively promote intercultural and interreligious dialogue through a virtual “brown bag” session.
The OPAPRU aims to further boost its collaboration with its academic partner institutions and other peace partners to be able to effectively communicate the “Document on Human Fraternity,” which was signed by Pope Francis and Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Ahmad Al-Tayyeb in Abu Dhabi on Feb. 4, 2019.
OPAPRU said the online "brown bag" session aims to promote and integrate the principles of the Human Fraternity Document into the peace-building initiatives of various learning institutions and its other peace partners.
OPAPRU Undersecretary Isidro Purisima said the document will serve as guidance to sustain the gains of the peace process in the country.
“As the Document on Human Fraternity teaches us, we need to love, support, and help one another regardless of race, culture, or religion. All of us can make a difference in our own little way,” he said.
In support of the document, Purisima said OPAPRU is committed to continuing championing the principles of all peace-building activities implemented throughout the country.
Meanwhile, AdDU Theology Department chairperson Dr. Roawie Quimba cited the importance of the document in creating a greater sense of fraternity amongst all men and women of goodwill who are invited “to promote justice and peace, guaranteeing human rights and religious freedom.”
He added that women and youth also have a significant role in promoting a culture of peace and understanding.
Further, OPAPRU’s Social Healing and Peace-building Unit head, Dir. Vanessa Pallarco, said the implementation of the document can further intensify the existing efforts to promote peace education as the core peace-building strategy in social cohesion integration into the communities.
“The rollout of the Human Fraternity Document is part of the agency’s intensifying efforts in incorporating the document in its endeavors to create viable spaces for increased dialogue through peace education at different levels,” she said.
Pallarco said the OPAPRU is eyeing to replicate these efforts with other academic institutions.
The OPAPRU and AdDU forged a memorandum of agreement in November 2021 and February 2022, to concretize the partnership for the rollout of the Human Fraternity Document, which is now being done among peace partners in the academic sector in Mindanao. (PNA)
