Focus on common grounds, not on differences

The Madinat Jumeirah Conference and Events Centre was packed with a visibly distinguished crowd as people dressed in attires representing different faiths and cultures came together to attend the second edition of the World Tolerance Summit.

Held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, the summit was based on the theme 'Tolerance in Multiculturalism: Achieving the Social, Economic and Humane Benefits of a Tolerant World'.

A microcosm of society - women, youth, educators, employees, students, artists, government officials, entrepreneurs - took part in the conference to share their insights on building a tolerant society in a series of panel discussions, exhibition and workshops that examined ways to spread a culture of tolerance in the society.

The first panel discussion saw experts discussing the social Impact of tolerance on today's youth and how can tolerance be the means to achieving peace, respect diversity and combat racism.

Sultan Al Mutawa Al Dhaheri, executive director - Community Engagement and Sports Sector, Department of Community Development - Abu Dhabi, said: "Tolerance is part of the UAE fabric as our country was founded on the very foundation of tolerance. We have several initiatives focusing on tolerance. For example, sports plays a big role in introducing tolerance among people as it brings people together and share their love for the sport. We are also building more places of worship for people of different faiths to assure them that they are a vital part of our community and that they deserve to get all their rights."

Experts also focused on the importance of building a peace strategy which is through permanent dialogue and by constant checks on tolerance levels of people through different initiatives or even digital tolerance tests.

Hubertus Hoffmann, president and founder of The Global Tolerance Initiative, Germany, said: "We need to look not where we are different but what we have in common. It is easy for intolerance to take over, which is why we need to have a plan to prevent fire and have a fire-safe fabric which is by inducing tolerance among people."

saman@khaleejtimes.com