Berlin, 10 – 11 October 2024. Participation of IAO delegation to the Berlin Ministerial Conference on the Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Religious Freedom

Following an official invitation, a delegation of the IAO headed by its Secretary General Dr. Maximos Charakopoulos, with the participation of the Member of the House of Representatives of Cyprus, Mr. Ilias Myrianthous, and the IAO advisor Dr. Kostas Mygdalis, participated in the Ministerial Conference on International Religious Freedom on the topic: “The Implications of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on Religious Freedom.” During the visit, the members of the delegation had important meetings with representatives of institutions and government officials of various states active in the field of interreligious and intercultural dialogue.

The members of the IAO delegation had a meeting at the headquarters of the Adenauer Foundation, where they were welcomed by the Deputy Director of Analysis and Consulting and Director of Social Cohesion, Dr. Andreas Jacobs, and the person responsible for Western and Southern Europe in the Department of European and International Cooperation, Ms. Loretta von Plettenberg. During the discussion the IAO Secretary General pointed out that “the phenomenon of religion may have been underestimated for many decades by politics. However, the war in Ukraine, and what we experience during last year in the Middle East, highlight how important the influence of religion is on geopolitics. Also, the conversion of Hagia Sophia into a mosque by the Erdogan government is a prime example of the instrumentalization of religion. Moreover, it is no coincidence that the Turkish president is inaugurating the largest mosque in the Balkans in Tirana, in an attempt to increase Turkish influence in Albania.

The EU cannot remain uninvolved in these developments, shedding its identity elements, but it must highlight its cultural values together with its positive agenda for the development and well-being of all the peoples of Europe.” The IAO delegation was accompanied to the meeting by the H.G Bishop Emmanuel of Christoupolis.

The Adenauer Foundation is connected to the Christian Democratic Party of Germany (CDU) and bears the name of the first chancellor of West Germany, Konrad Adenauer, one of the pioneers of the United Europe. The foundation promotes the values of democracy, freedom, social justice and economic stability, nurturing dialogue and education on political and social issues.

On the sidelines of the works of the Ministerial Conference on International Religious Freedom the IAO delegation, had interesting working meetings with the President of the International Alliance on Religious Freedom or Belief (IRFBA), Dr. Robert Rehak, the Federal Government Commissioner for Freedom of Religion or Belief Mr. Frank Schwabe, the Director of the Office for International Religious Freedom of the US State Department, Mr. Daniel Nadal, the Special Envoy for the Promotion of Religious Freedom or Belief outside EU Mr. Frans van Daele, the Director of the International Network of Parliamentarians for Freedom of Religion or Belief (IPPFoRB) Ms. Fernanda San Martin Carrasco and the Hungarian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs for the Aid to Persecuted Christians, Mr. Tristan Azbej.