Gaetan Roy, Permanent Representative of the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) to the United Nations in Geneva, represented the WEA at the 8th Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions, held from September 17–18 in Astana, Kazakhstan.
This prestigious global gathering brought together over 100 religious leaders around a single round table to engage in dialogue under the theme “Dialogue of Religions: Synergy for the Future.” Several speakers addressed the urgent need for peace and cooperation in regions marked by conflict and division.
Gaetan Roy spoke on the unique and transformative role of faith-based actors in fostering solution-oriented interventions amid the challenges of fragmented multilateralism. He quoted from the Apostle Paul’s Letter to the Romans:
“Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”
Roy emphasized that Paul’s message to the persecuted church in Rome —living under difficult societal and governmental conditions—was a call to think differently than the world and to become part of the solution that reflects God’s will.
Gaetan Roy was invited by the Government of Kazakhstan in recognition of his leadership in WEA-led initiatives for peacemaking and conflict resolution. The Congress also served as a valuable platform for conducting bilateral talks, which will be deepened with respective countries in the coming year.