Of Mr Hannington Wako

He is a well-known face in URI after years of volunteer ship and attesting great leadership for URI in Africa’s Great Lakes Region. The man needs little introduction……here is a brief of Mr. Hannington Wako and what URI means to him….

Hannington Wako is the Young Leaders Program (YLP) Associate for Africa. He is responsible for coordinating the Youth Ambassadors Program in the Great Lakes region which includes Kenya, Uganda, South Sudan and Rwanda.

He is in charge of organizing and leading the Young Leaders Program and offering other logistical assistance for other Leadership Training meetings in Africa, whilst managing to provide key administrative and logistical support to the United Religions Initiative Africa Youth Network.

He also serves as the worldview mission Focal point in Uganda. Hannington also doubles as the Youth programs officer for URI Great lakes office situated in   Kampala. Hannington holds a degree in social sciences with economics and is currently pursuing his Master’s in Business Administration in strategic Management with the Cyprus Institute of Marketing.

Hannington is a very bubbly young Ugandan who is a creative problem solver with the unique ability to anticipate possible problems and find their unique solutions. He is a great team player and more of a servant leader. He believes that a group can better achieve their goals by uniting together for a joint common venture.

He is a surprisingly good at multitasking and is easily adaptable to changes that frequent ever day living. It is hardly surprising that Mr. Wako is very dependable and is very people oriented.

He is quite the sportsman as his hobbies include playing and coaching a football team in his local village, playing cricket, volleyball and swimming.

He also has a keen interest in cooking and singing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

URI Preamble and Purpose

Preamble

We, people of diverse religions, spiritual expressions and indigenous traditions throughout the world, hereby establish the United Religions Initiative to promote enduring, daily interfaith cooperation, to end religiously motivated violence and to create cultures of peace, justice and healing for the Earth and all living beings.

We respect the uniqueness of each tradition, and differences of practice or belief.

We value voices that respect others, and believe that sharing our values and wisdom can lead us to act for the good of all.

We believe that our religious, spiritual lives, rather than dividing us, guide us to build community and respect for one another.

Therefore, as interdependent people rooted in our traditions, we now unite for the benefit of our Earth community.

We unite to build cultures of peace and justice.

We unite to heal and protect the Earth.

We unite to build safe places for conflict resolution, healing and reconciliation.

We unite to support freedom of religion and spiritual expression, and the rights of all individuals and peoples as set forth in international law.

We unite in responsible cooperative action to bring the wisdom and values of our religions, spiritual expressions and indigenous traditions to bear on the economic, environmental, political and social challenges facing our Earth community.

We unite to provide a global opportunity for participation by all people, especially by those whose voices are not often heard.

We unite to celebrate the joy of blessings and the light of wisdom in both movement and stillness.

We unite to use our combined resources only for nonviolent, compassionate action, to awaken to our deepest truths, and to manifest love and justice among all life in our Earth community.

Purpose

The purpose of the United Religions Initiative is to promote enduring, daily interfaith cooperation, to end religiously motivated violence and to create cultures of peace, justice and healing for the Earth and all living beings.

URI Principles

Principles

1.   The URI is a bridge-building organization, not a religion.

2.   We respect the sacred wisdom of each religion, spiritual expression and indigenous tradition.

3.   We respect the differences among religions, spiritual expressions and indigenous traditions.

4.   We encourage our members to deepen their roots in their own tradition.

5.   We listen and speak with respect to deepen mutual understanding and trust.

6.   We give and receive hospitality.

7.   We seek and welcome the gift of diversity and model practices that do not discriminate.

8.   We practice equitable participation of women and men in all aspects of the URI.

9.   We practice healing and reconciliation to resolve conflict without resorting to violence.

10.                We act from sound ecological practices to protect and preserve the Earth for both present and future generations.

11.                We seek and offer cooperation with other interfaith efforts.

12.                We welcome as members all individuals, organizations and associations who subscribe to the Preamble, Purpose and Principles.

13.                We have the authority to make decisions at the most local level that includes all the relevant and affected parties.

14.                We have the right to organize in any manner, at any scale, in any area, and around any issue or activity which is relevant to and consistent with the Preamble, Purpose and Principles.

15.                Our deliberations and decisions shall be made at every level by bodies and methods that fairly represent the diversity of affected interests and are not dominated by any.

16.                We (each part of the URI) shall relinquish only such autonomy and resources as are essential to the pursuit of the Preamble, Purpose and Principles.

17.                We have the responsibility to develop financial and other resources to meet the needs of our part, and to share financial and other resources to help meet the needs of other parts.

18.                We maintain the highest standards of integrity and ethical conduct, prudent use of resources, and fair and accurate disclosure of information.

19.                We are committed to organizational learning and adaptation.

20.                We honor the richness and diversity of all languages and the right and responsibility of participants to translate and interpret the Charter, Articles, Bylaws and related documents in accordance with the Preamble, Purpose and Principles, and the spirit of the United Religions Initiative.

21.                Members of the URI shall not be coerced to participate in any ritual or be proselytized.

 

 

A sneak peak into the world of URI

The idea for URI came to California Episcopal Bishop William Swing in 1993, after an invitation by the United Nations to host a large interfaith service in San Francisco, marking the 50th anniversary of the signing of the UN Charter. He asked himself, “If the nations of the world are working together for peace through the UN, then where are the world’s religions?”

Through dozens of meetings with world religious leaders, he discovered a thread of competition, a focus on expanding individual denominations, and little institutional commitment to building bridges. But in those at the grassroots of the world’s religions, he found a deep desire for cooperation and peace. From this inspiration, the vision for URI took shape: a supported network connecting people across religions and cultures in the service of peace and justice.

Bishop Swing hired a small staff in San Francisco, led by Executive Director Charles Gibbs. In partnership with Professor David Cooperrider from Social Innovations in Global Management at Case Western University and Dee Hock, developer of VISA and the Chaordic Alliance, they launched a four-year organizational design process that included meetings among hundreds of stakeholders of diverse religions, cultures and disciplines all over the world. What emerged was a group of committed founders who formed the heart of URI’s global community, and a highly regarded, inclusive Charter that provides a unique, grassroots-based structure and a set of principles for action on behalf of the common good. With the signing of this Charter, the global URI organization was born on June 26, 2000.

You are warmly invited to participate in the life of URI and become part of this extraordinary force for peace and justice around the world.

Welcome!