SA MEDIA AND RELIGIOUS LEADERS UNITE FOR PEACE

SABC, HWPL, and Turquoise Harmony Institute host a dialogue for “Our Common Humanity”

Johannesburg, South Africa ─ On the morning of March 23, SABC Religion TV in partnership with Heavenly Culture World Peace Restoration of Light (HWPL) and Turquoise Harmony Institute hosted a media forum at the Radisson Blu Hotel Sandton. Under the theme “Our Common Humanity”, the objective of the dialogue was to afford a platform for South African media and religious leaders to share ideas together on critical social issues in South Africa – and the role which media and the religious community could play together in order promote a more peaceful society.

Speakers included Reverend Gift Moreana from the South African Council of Churches (SACC), Prof. Pitika Ntuli, an expert in African religion, Dr. Mathole Motshekga from the National Interfaith Council of South Africa (NICSA), and Ms. Amani Frense who is the chairperson of the Institute for the Advancement of Journalism. The facilitators were from SABC TV and HWPL.

Exploring the portrayal of religious diversity through the media, Ms. Frense stated that that “commonality, tolerance and spirituality is a challenging space to create as media. The religious programming on SABC is more seen as social, cultural and current affairs but the news also perhaps needs to give a stronger voice to what is happening out there. I think the news in general has to have the courage to amplify the voice whether to speak out against the ills in society.

Prof Pitika Ntuli also shared that, “there is one God and many faiths. We do not understand the nature of God, if we did we would not love division so much.” He also added that the nature of life is love, happiness and peace.

In the event, SABC Religion TV, HWPL, and Turquoise Harmony Institute introduced their programs which encourage and promote religious harmony and the progress of our common humanity.

SABC Religion TV showed its diverse religious and spiritual programmes, many of which have received international recognition. Turquoise Harmony Institute showcased their programmes which foster relations among different faith and cultural traditions to contribute to the well-being of humanity.  HWPL highlighted one of its global peace projects – the World Alliance of Religions’ Peace (WARP) Office – where various religious leaders gather every month to compare and contrast scripture with the view to find the lasting solution for peace.  Within one year HWPL has established 115 offices in 61 countries across the global village.