Conference report 'Transformando el desarrollo. Explorando enfoques al desarrollo desde diferentes perspectivas religiosas' (dr. Louke van Wensveen, April 2008)

01 April 2008Download (1.4 MB)

This report (in Spanish) presents an analysis and process narrative of the conference 'Transforming development. Exploring approaches to development from religious perspectives' in Soesterberg, the Netherlands, October 2007, organized by the Knowledge Centre Religion and Development.

Two years after the successful conference 'Religion. A source for human rights and development' in September 2005, also in Soesterberg, a selected group of almost one hundred representatives of faith-based and faith-inspired organizations across the globe, together with policy makers and academics, gathered again. They elaborated on the main outcomings of the first Soesterberg conference, which stressed the need to deepen our understanding concerning the positive contribution of religion to human rights and development, and recommended to develop appropriate strategies. The participants at the second Soesterberg conference attempted to formulate what these notions mean in the practice of development cooperation.

The participants, who generally appeared to be favourably disposed towards considering religion a central aspect of the good life and of development, brought to the attention the often concealed immaterial dimensions of development. Moreover, they managed to think of concrete steps how to integrate this into development thinking and development actions.

We hope that this report will be a stimulus for further reflection on the importance of an integral view on development.

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