ComUnitySpirit – Religions and cultures in dialogue

The mission of the project ComUnitySpirit is to encourage interfaith and intercultural dialogue in our community and create a common identity, while respecting cultural and religious diversity in accordance with European values. The project ComUnitySpirit – religions and cultures in dialogue is looking at the collective, positive energy inherent in religions and cultures represented in Austria and encourages interfaith and intercultural dialogue between members of the community in Graz and beyond.
As the community we live in is characterized by secularism, the aim of encouraging communal life as well as the peaceful coexistence of religions and cultures by analysing similarities and different potentials of the religious groups is of great importance. The dialogue network creates ideas in intense work meetings and comprises local religious groups and their representatives, dialogue groups as well as experts that are guests and participants in the Interfaith Conference. In this context the project ComUnitySpirit takes on the role of an agency for the Interfaith Council for the City of Graz and serves as a coordinating office promoting, extending and intensifying interfaith and intercultural dialogue.
We would like to thank the Diocese of Graz-Seckau, the City of Graz and the Federal Ministry for Europe, Integration and Foreign Affairs for continuously supporting and funding ComUnitySpirit as well as for many years of successful cooperation.

Being located at the Afro-Asian Institute Graz, an institution that represents a very open-minded and tolerant as well as reflective approach to diversity, enables ComUnitySpirit to deal openly with the subject matter. The backbone of the dialogue platform are the Interfaith Conference, long-term experience, internationality, gathering interfaith and intercultural contacts as well as a long-standing and continuous effort to promote intercultural and interfaith dialogue.
The role of the Afro-Asian Institute Graz as an institution of the Diocese of Graz-Seckau with an independent profile in realising projects is the perfect way to use existing structures and make connections to other religious and cultural institutions as well as to institutions of the City of Graz.