Over 680 young people between the ages of 20-27 have applied to participate in Tony Blair Faith Foundation’s Faiths Act Fellowship this year.
The program is in its second year, and chooses 30 young people from Canada, India, the U.K. and the U.S. who are motivated by their faith to assist vulnerable people. Those who are selected are then paired with someone of another faith to work together in local communities to tackle global poverty. Part of their mandate is to attempt to unite the various different local religious communities to raise funds and awareness of these problems.
Forty-one percent of this year’s applicants to the interfaith youth leadership program were Christians, while Muslims (17%) and Hindus (18%) made up the second and third highest faith groups that applied.
“The idea that young people are not motivated by faith to help others – or that faith only inspires conflict – is simply wrong,” stated the British ex-Prime Minister Tony Blair, founder and patron of the Tony Blair Faith Foundation.
“The number of applicants clearly shows the enthusiasm there is among today’s young people to demonstrate how faith can be a force for good in society,” said Blair. “It can build understanding and provide unity and strength to counter those who see faith as a source of division and discrimination.
“As the first ever World Interfaith Harmony Week approaches I remain an optimist about the future, when I see the commitment of this generation to deliver real change.”
The U.N. World Interfaith Harmony Week will take place the first week of February.
This year, the particular focus of Blair’s program is on eradicating deaths from malaria.