Faith and Globalisation Initiative

On 1st August, students from the Tony Blair Faith Foundation's Faith and Globalisation Initiative, including Durham University, came together for the first time in Singapore to discuss the role of faith in the modern world. The students were joined by Tony Blair, who has been teaching sessions of the Faith and Globalisation course at Yale University over the last three years, to discuss specific elements of the syllabus and to examine different perspectives of religion and its place in today's world.

The initiative is a global network of leading research universities committed to exploring the complex interrelationship of faith and globalisation. It seeks to provide current and future leaders with the tools and analysis to examine the important role religion plays in the modern world.

Students from seven leading research universities -including Durham- came together to learn from each others' respective world views. The conference provided an opportunity for a genuine and in-depth exchange of ideas across different continents, faiths and nationalities.

For some of the students this trip was the first time they had stepped out of their home countries and been exposed to different cultures and religions.

After the conference Tom Thorp (Trevelyan) said: "I've really enjoyed my time here in such a diverse country as Singapore. I've had great fun expanding my horizons, meeting students from around the world and hearing their different perspectives."