Religie en Ontwikkeling

On line DOCUMENTATION CENTRE with all recent publications about religion and development

[location Oikos]
P.O. Box 19170
3501 DD UTRECHT
(Netherlands) +31 (0)30 236 1500 kenniscentrum
@religie-en-ontwikkeling.nl

The participants of the Knowledge Centre Religion and Development are:

Cordaid, a development organisation with a Catholic tradition, whose work is dedicated to the poorest and marginalised in 40 developing countries.
ICCO, an inter-church organisation for development whose mission is to work towards a world where poverty and injustice are no longer present.
Islamic University Rotterdam, an organisation for Islamic education for life-long learners.
Oikos, an ecumenical organisation which supports activities in the Netherlands that contribute to world-wide, just and sustainable development.
Seva Network Foundation, an international organisation for development co-operation which is inspired by Hindu values.

Antenna for Religion and Development

Religion forms an integral part of the day-to-day life of over four billion people in the world. Nevertheless, in international relations the importance of religion is regularly underestimated. Moreover, te role of religion within people's lives is seldom sufficiently taken into account in development projects which are designed in the secularised West. Religion influences the way people deal with misfortune, such as poverty and disease. It also plays a role in issues such as environmental pollution, integration, conflict and peace.

This lack of knowledge about the role of religion in people’s lives can have far-reaching consequences for the practice of development co-operation, improvement of human rights, and civil society building. A well-developed antenna for the deepest motivations of people in other cultures, is of utmost importance. The Knowledge Centre Religion & Development aims to provide knowledge in this field, explore it, and make it accessible. Through a unique combination of academic knowledge and practical experience, the Knowledge Centre finds itself at the crossroad of religion and development. Its purpose is to serve staff-members of development organisations, politicians, policy makers, and journalists with information and stimulus for reflection.

Mission

The Knowledge Centre seeks to put into practice the vision that religion is an important factor for sustainable development, international co-operation and civil society building. To reach that aim, the Knowledge Centre makes products and services available to development organisations and their partner-organisations, migrant organisations, academic institutes, media and political organisations. The Knowledge Centre is impartial with regard to specific religious traditions. It works on the basis of the imput of various religious traditions and philosophies as well as contributions from different academic disciplines in the Netherlands and abroad.

The aims of the Knowledge Centre are:

To stimulate broad reflection on the meaning of religion for sustainable development.
To develop and offer methodologies for the preparation, implementation and evalution of policies with a greater focus on religion.
To build coalitions between non-gouvernmental organisations and religious organisations for sustainable development, international co-operation and civil society building.
To deliver a well-informed contribution to the public and political debate about the role and meaning of religion in the public domain.