To mark the "International Golden Rule Day", the Dialogue & Alliance interfaith circle held its monthly meeting or "36th Scriptural Sharing" on Sunday 7 April 2024 on the theme: "Living according to the Golden Rule".
Mr Dorian GRAVRAND led the main meeting at the Espace Barrault in Paris. People from nearly fifteen countries followed also by videoconference.
We began by reading several of the sacred texts on the Golden Rule, which is found in almost all the major religions and cultures: "Treat others as you would like to be treated" or "Don't do to others what you wouldn't want done to you".
As the first speaker, we were honoured to receive a message in English from His Excellency, Ambassador Mussie HAILU, father of this International Golden Rule Day. The French translation of his speech was read to us by Mr Mohamed ABDOURAHMAN, coordinator of URI-Horn of Africa, based in Djibouti. (Click here to view the text in English and French.)
As a short cultural break, we then watched a video in which the American painter Norman ROCKELL explained his mosaic "The Golden Rule", which was donated to the Conference Building at the UN headquarters in New York.
The second speaker brought a Muslim perspective. Ms Amal BELHOUT BLEL is a native of Tunisia and a key figure in local life in Saint-Nazaire, near Nantes. A writer and reporter for "Koul-Al Arab" magazine in Paris, she is a UPF Ambassador for Peace and Founder/Entrepreneur of ÉdiT-UNIS.
The third reading gave a more African perspective. Ms Vanessa MAVILA, of Congolese origin, explained very well how her Eboko Foundation puts the Golden Rule into practice. In 2023, she has achieved a major feat: holding a high-level international conference in Château-Thierry. She explained very well how the Golden Rule could be applied at higher levels, such as city diplomacy.
The meeting concluded with a question-and-answer session, moderated by Dr Laurent LADOUCE, and some remarks by Mr Jean-François MOULINET, coordinator of the Dialogue & Alliance circle, and a song by world-renowned reggae musicians Pato BANTON and Antoinette ROOTSDAWTAH dedicated to Golden Rule Day.