The purpose of 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 is cooperative in structure, formed of self-organizing groups—cooperative circles—that are locally rooted and globally connected. There are over 200 such groups worldwide.
To mark the new millennium, over one million people in over 160 projects in 42 countries took part in the "72 Hours Project of interfaith peace building."
Activities included:
• A 1500-mile multi-faith peace march across the length of Pakistan.
• An interfaith service in war-torn Ethiopia.
• 72-hour prayer vigils in Hungary, Bosnia, and Slovenia, with messages of peace sent to Muslims and Orthodox representatives in Bosnia.
• A project called "Rio: Put That Gun Down!" in 600 slums in Rio de Janeiro.
• A multi-faith prayer vigil at San Quentin Prison on the edge of San Francisco Bay.
URI holds an annual conference. For further information, visit their Web site at www.uri.org.
