On December 20, 2022, Bulat Sarsenbayev, Chairman of the Board of the N.Nazarbayev Center for the Development of Interfaith and Intercivilizational Dialogue, met with the famous British actor and director Jeremy Gilley.
J. Gilley is the founder of the annual Global Ceasefire Day and the non-profit project "Peace One Day". Thanks to his project, the war in Afghanistan was stopped for 1 day, and September 21 was adopted by the UN General Assembly in 2001 as the International Day of Peace.
During the meeting, B. Sarsenbayev, as the Commissioner for promoting the goals and objectives of the Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions, introduced D. Gilly to the unique Kazakh model of peaceful coexistence, building a tolerant society and interfaith dialogue. During the conversation, special attention was paid to the initiative of Kazakhstan – the Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions, which was held in September this year in Astana, as a unique dialogue platform for strengthening the principles of harmony and tolerance, mutual understanding and cooperation both within the country and in the international arena.
B. Sarsenbayev noted that following the results of the VII Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions, a Declaration was adopted in which the participants of the VII Congress appealed to world leaders to stop conflicts and bloodshed in all corners of the planet. The document signed by the participants of the VII Congress – spiritual leaders of world and traditional religions, politicians, heads of international organizations, reflects the vision of current problems of our time, possible ways to resolve them, as well as the intentions of leaders of world religions and their appeal to the international community, which is the basic principles of continuity of Kazakhstan's peace-loving policy.
Following the meeting, the parties agreed on further cooperation in the interfaith sphere and the holding of the annual day of peace on September 21.
