Bishop Gennady of Kaskelen Participates in the Conference “The Global Majority and Traditional Values”

On December 2-3, 2024, the 30th Annual Conference of the International Foundation for the Spiritual Unity of Nations (IFSUN), titled “The Global Majority and Traditional Values,” was held in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates.

The event brought together representatives from 24 countries across Europe, Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and the United States, including parliamentarians, religious leaders, political and public figures, diplomats, scholars, and journalists.

The main goal of the forum was to address pressing issues related to the formation and promotion of spiritual and moral narratives centered around traditional values, uniting the countries of the Global South.

With the blessing of the Head of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan, Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan, the forum was attended online by Bishop Gennady of Kaskelen, the Chancellor of the Metropolis of Kazakhstan. His Grace delivered a report on the topic: “The Interaction of Traditional Religions and the Challenges of Modern Secularism.”

Messages of greeting to the organizers and participants of the 30th Anniversary International Conference of IFSUN were received from His Holiness Patriarch Porfirije of Serbia, His Holiness Patriarch Daniel of Bulgaria, His Beatitude Metropolitan Rastislav, Primate of the Autocephalous Orthodox Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia, Metropolitan Anthony of Volokolamsk, Chairman of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate, Metropolitan Konstantin of Zaraisk, Patriarchal Exarch of Africa, Metropolitan Vincent of Tashkent and Uzbekistan, Head of the Central Asian Metropolis of the Moscow Patriarchate, Metropolitan Nestor of Korsun and Western Europe, Patriarchal Exarch of Western Europe, and others.

The keynote address was delivered by Professor Vladimir A. Alekseev, Doctor of Philosophy and President of the International Foundation for the Spiritual Unity of Nations.

The conference addressed key topics such as preserving traditional values in the context of globalization, developing measures to strengthen and promote traditional family structures and family values in the modern world, and safeguarding the cultural and spiritual sovereignty of the countries of the Global South.

The conference concluded with the adoption of a final document.