We are committed to sharing our interfaith expertise internationally and to learning from innovative interfaith dialogue programmes from around the world.
Since the inception of our SAFE (Scotland Abroad Faith Exchange) programme we have engaged with and undertaken joint projects with organisations in Australia, Finland, France, Germany, Ghana, Ireland, New Zealand, Portugal, Romania, Rwanda, Samoa, Slovenia, Ukraine, and USA.
Pre-Covid all the learning exchanges were in person and post-Covid there has been a number of exchanges that remain in-person and some that have moved online.
Upcoming learning exchanges (2025)
Arizona to Scotland: Interfaith Climate Action
A group of interfaith climate activists from Arizona, USA, will join Interfaith Scotland in June 2025 to explore ways to engage faith communities in climate action.
We are committed to learning about interfaith engagement with the climate crisis.
Recent exchanges (2024)
In 2024 we engaged in learning exchanges in Samoa, New Zealand and Germany.
Samoa: Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting
We were invited to co-organise two interfaith services for the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in Samoa in October 2024.
Both of these services took place at the Baha’i House of Worship in Tiapapata, Samoa and were attended by over 300 local and international visitors.
As representatives of Interfaith Scotland, we also attended the Commonwealth Women’s Forum, and shared a letter of support from Iona to Samoa.
New Zealand: Religious Diversity Centre and Auckland Interfaith Council
As part of a learning exchange that we established in 2018, we revisited interfaith organisations in New Zealand in October 2024.
This follow-up engagement involved meeting Auckland Interfaith Council and discussing a potential online twinning project with Aberdeen Interfaith Group. The two groups have since met in February 2025.
In 2018 the Director of Interfaith Scotland was invited by the Religious Diversity Centre to speak at the New Zealand Parliament in Wellington about Scotland’s innovative interfaith programmes. In preparation for the engagement we visited many local interfaith groups in New Zealand and attended a number of public meetings.
The New Zealand Parliamentarians were impressed with the work of Interfaith Scotland and with their own local interfaith groups voluntary engagement but did not take the additional step of funding interfaith organisations in New Zealand, believing they did not have the same problems as in Europe.
In the aftermath of the Christchurch massacre this approach is being reconsidered.
Germany: Berlin Metropolitan Regions Project
We travelled to Berlin in July 2024 to take part in the Berlin Metropolitan Regions Project.
The project was led by the Berlin Senate Department for Culture and Social Cohesion, and Religions for Peace Europe.
We were joined by interfaith practitioners from Beirut, Rome, Sarajevo, Berlin and Stockholm.
Over three days we discussed issues of mutual concern, including engaging young people in interreligious dialogue, addressing faith-based discrimination, developing formats and tools for interreligious dialogue, securing safe spaces for religious and worldview communities, and creating urban spaces for thriving inter-religious encounter.
We shared about Interfaith Scotland’s projects and events, particularly Scottish Interfaith Week, and about the amazing work done by faith communities and interfaith groups across Scotland.
Past exchanges
Here are a collection of photos from some of our past exchanges, including in New Zealand, Ghana, Finland and Rwanda.
