Prof. Amor,
Ladies and Gentlemen.

In addition to welcoming you all to the 31st IARF Congress it is a special privilege to be able to welcome Prof. Abdelfattah Amor, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Religious Intolerance. We are happy to have you here with us and we look forward to your keynote address on current religious freedom issues.

The first and only time an IARF Congress came to Central Europe was in 1927 in Prague- the ninth Congress since the founding of IARF in 1900.
Thereafter Congresses were held in W-Europe (13); N-America (5) and only since 1984 three in Asia. These figures are illustrative of the history of IARF.
So coming back to Central Europe is long overdue and we are grateful to be able to come together this time in Budapest. Last year we established our European Coordination in this city, inspired by the further integration of Europe and the extension of the European Union in an eastward direction.

People who attended earlier Congresses will find familiar and new items in the programme.
Familiar will be the morning devotions, with a teaching element added, and the Circle Groups in a more prominent place in the timetable. But this Congress will be significantly different as a result of the Strategic Plan 2001-2007, adopted in March last year by the International Council. It is designed to inform and train ourselves and to reach out to a new and wider constituency. Several presentations and lectures will provide background and information.
But the main thrust of this Congress will come from the programmes we are going to develop.
First a series of lectures will provide the necessary input. Then the best part of Thursday is set aside for workshops, resulting in programmes that can be inplemented after the Congress.
The harvest from the workshops will be garnered by the Regional Coordinators and presented at the Regional meetings on Friday. By setting priorities and accepting certain programmes per region, participants will be able to own the items selected and enter into commitments for their implementation. Programmes thus created and adopted will be our "core-business" for the next four years.

The number of inter-religious institutions has grown considerably over the last 10-15 years. Many are modern, well-financed organizations using the media effectively. We realized that in modernizing ourselves we should avoid competition or duplication. Instead we chose to be specializing in programmes intrinsically about religious freedom. Thus IARF works with and for groups from different religions or beliefs and communities suffering from religious persecution or discrimination. We are a small organization and need to govern our limited resources.carefully in order to achieve a reputation of quality and integrity. We are fortunate to have a competent and dedicated staff in our Secretariat in Oxford, supported by the Regional Coordinators, U.N. representatives and the Council. Only when our programmes are seen to be making a contribution to freedom of religion or belief will we be able to continue to draw support for our work.

Meeting in Europe entails a focus on this part of the world. What are the experiences of people who lost their religious freedom and what happened when it was regained? The book by dr. Karel Blei will help us taking a look at the religious history of Europe.
Looking forward: where are the current pan-European trends and institutions leading us?
Out of our responsibility what contribution can we make?

Our basic reason for coming together here in Budapest is our committment to freedom. of religion or belief. Article 18 of the U.N. Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted in 1948, states: "Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion".
Religion or belief is an essential element in the makeup of everyone, making religious freedom a precious human right.
Seven years earlier, in 1941, Franklin Roosevelt defined four freedoms as essential for humanity: freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom from want and from fear. The Four Freedoms Award was given to Nelson Mandela last month, in Middelburg in the Netherlands, where the Roosevelt family originates from.
It is not surprising at all to find freedom of religion in the top four.

Working for religious freedom requires mutual understanding, respect and the promotion of harmony, or at least "tolerance", between communities or individuals of different religions or beliefs as formulated in our Statement of Purpose. Our future "Voluntary Code of Conduct" is aiming to make a contribution in that respect.
The term "at least tolerance" could be understood as being the minimum demand in our dealings with others. Tolerance, defined as bearing with actions or viewpoints you do not share, would indeed be a minimum. But tolerance, not out of fear for diversity, but out of curiosity could also be a positive attitude. What can we learn from each other? What can we share?
I find an example of this positive tolerance in the Admonitions of King Stephen, the first king of Hungary, to his son Imre, some one thousand years ago. Western newcomers, bringing christianity to Hungary caused the King to write : "Weak and foolish is the country that is uniform in languages and customs. Therefore, my Son, I enjoin you to receive guests with goodwill and to do them honour, so that they may reside more gladly with you than elsewhere".

I wish you all a good dose of curiosity about the viewpoints, customs and traditions of the people you are going to meet and work with in this Congress. It is my hope that with mutual understanding and respect we will be able to lay a foundation for the work of IARF in the years to come.
Together we can make this Congress a symbol of hope, a tool for the benefit of those who suffer from persecution, discrimination or denial of their freedom of religion or belief.