| Dear Friends and Supporters I hope you are not too badly affected by the extreme temperatures which many of us have been experiencing. While these are unprecedented levels in the UK, I am sure many of us will have endured this heat in Israel/Palestine. This does remind us, however, of the importance of water management and subsequent distribution in the region. We have been busy with our programmes, especially preparing exciting new ones outlined below. We have also noted that more inter faith organisations and concerned individuals are starting to try and come to grips with this difficult issue. We would modestly point out that we are extremely experienced in this field, but it is important to cooperate and pool resources with partner organisations who have their own specialisations, and we are grateful to them to be able to do this with our new projects. See below for further details. from the FODIP team  Last week FODIP co-Chair Jane Clements was invited to meet the United States Ambassador-at-Large for Religious Freedom, Rashad Hussain, at a meeting in Westminster co-hosted by Afzal Khan MP and FODIP Trustee Muddassar Ahmed, Founder and President of the Concordia Forum (pictured, from left to right). The Ambassador travels and researches globally mapping and addressing issues of religious freedom, and relating to the United States’ foreign policy. Jane naturally asked him about matters in the Holy Land and how he discusses these with domestic groups. Not surprisingly, he replied that it was necessary to explicitly avoid the difficult issues initially and that it was more a trust-building process – something we know a great deal about at FODIP. He did however, mention that his office has recently been approached by Christians concerned about access to holy places.  We are delighted to announce that we will shortly be launching our new training programme for Christian clergy and laity, addressing how to have the conversations on Palestine/Israel on both inter faith and intra faith levels. This project is supported by MB Reckitt Trust and we will be closely involving partner organisations in its delivery – so watch this space!  Our programme for young people – Tough Options Moving Forward – will be visiting our partners (Corrymeela) in Northern Ireland at the end of August. It is still possible to sign up or find out more if you are a young person between about 18-25. See our website https://www.fodip.org.uk/tough-options-moving-forward or contact Martha, the project manager: martha@fodip.org.uk This project is supported by the National Lottery’s Community Fund.   FODIP’s Programme Director Sadia Akram and co-Chair Rabbi Warren Elf delivered a workshop for Year 8 and Year 9 girls, at Manchester Islamic Grammar School for Girls. They spent the morning engaged in an interactive session learning, hearing and sharing the different perceptions and narratives from the region. If you would like more information on FODIP’s Schools Programme please contact Sadia Akram for more information. OTHER NEWS:Women’s Sports Programme continues, we are pleased to welcome women to join the group which runs weekly at a venue in North Manchester. If you would like more information you can contact send a message on 07967091429 FODIP staff are also excited to share that they are planning their next Study Tour to the region. We anticipate this to last between 7 – 10days and take place in Feb- March 2023. If you are interested in joining us, please let us know by emailing admin@fodip.org.uk  And finally – Congratulations to one of our partner organisations, Talk Matters, on their second anniversary. You can see something of their work, including a message from FODIP co-Chair Jane Clements here:https://talkmatters.info/updates/2nd-birthday-celebration-videos/ Thank you for your continuing support From the FODIP Team |
   www.fodip.org.ukOur mailing address is: Manchester Multifaith Centre Unit 18, The Wesley Centre Royce Road Manchester M15 5BP 07967 091429 admin@fodip.org.uk Registered Charity no. 1139005 |
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