Keynote – DICID 9th Doha Conference of Interfaith Dialogue

During the past days I had the honor to offer the keynote address opening the thematic part of the 9th Doha Conference of Interfaith Dialogue organized by the Doha International Centre for Interfaith Dialogue (DICID) and sponsored by the Qatar Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It has been an event that I have been waiting to happen for a long time partly because it consisted of my first keynote address, troche partly because of the interesting and complex theme of interfaith dialogue and social media and partly because my participation in this even is a direct result of my EUPRERA award obtained this year.

Although I have attempted to livestream and record the speech, technology has failed me this time. The livestreaming was transmitted and recorded with no sound and as of now I have only the video tape of the official film from the conference.

However, leaving the technology challenges aside, I am happy that my talk resonated with the audience and managed to intuitively address many of the points that the speakers that followed addressed in their presentations.  I have attempted to make 3 points:

1. that technolgy, and social media included, are not inherently good or bad
2. that online and on social media representatives of opposing movements coexist
3. that success (as in communication and engagement) relies on strategy, vision, transparency, authenticity but mostly on having clear goals, plenty of practice and accepting a relativist view of communication and truth.