Brother Armin Luistro, Secretary of Education and Tony Blair, Patron of the TBFF met in Manila to sign the Memorandum of Understanding that will bring two of the Foundation’s leading education programmes to Filipino schools and universities.
The new agreement between the Government of the Philippines and the TBFF will:
- Promote religious literacy in the Philippines through the implementation of the Foundation’s Face to Faith programme. This will give young people the opportunity to learn key skills needed for dialogue and engagement between students of different faith and cultural traditions
- Help the Faith Foundation and the Department of Education work together to plan the sustainable implementation of Face to Faith in Philippine public schools
- Provide students and teachers with the opportunity to learn from their peers around the world to understand global perspectives on faith and key 21st century issues
Commenting on the partnership, Secretary of Education, Brother Armin Luistro, said: “We thank the Tony Blair Faith Foundation for the opportunity for peace to take root in the hearts and minds of Filipino teachers and students by developing their skills at peace-building and engagement across different faiths. Thus, we see the Face to Faith programme as a chance to enlighten our minds and set it free from ignorance and prejudice. I believe education can be a good starting point to bring about a culture of peace in a world that is continuously being buffeted by religious and social intolerance.”
Speaking at the signing ceremony, Tony Blair, Founder and Patron of the Tony Blair Faith Foundation, said: Our Face to Faith programme will provide the next generation of Filipino leaders with the opportunity to learn essential communication skills while also gaining greater understanding of interfaith dialogue and the role of religion in the modern world. We will also begin work with the Commission for Higher Education, the Office of the Peace Process and a consortium of universities in our Faith & Globalisation Initiative, which gives university students from around the world the opportunity to learn more about religion’s complex relationship with the forces of globalisation.”
The Faith & Globalisation Initiative is a network of leading universities on every continent which undertakes academic teaching and research to develop a deeper understanding of the relationship between faith and globalisation. The results help emerging leaders understand how faith motivates people, and analyses the impact of religion on the modern world.
