WHAT: The 2025 G20 Interfaith Forum – ” Faith in Action: Focus on Vulnerable Communities”
WHEN: August 10-14, 2025
WHERE: Westin Hotel, Lower Long Street Cape Town 8000, Cape Town, South Africa
DESCRIPTION: The G20 Interfaith Forum (IF20) will hold its major 2025 Forum event from August 10-14 in Cape Town, South Africa. The gathering will bring together diverse stakeholders, from religious and spiritual traditions, other civil society organizations, government representatives, multilateral entities, and academia. The Cape Town event is inspired by South Africa’s G20 theme, “Solidarity, Equality, Sustainability“, and the overarching African philosophy of Ubuntu with are integral to South Africa’s approach to its G20 Presidency. Like South Africa, the G20 Interfaith Forum recognizes that neither individuals nor nations can thrive in isolation and that global priorities should ensure that no one is left behind. Reversing the stalled progress toward the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is essential, and demands paradigm shifts in ways to address overlapping and mutually reinforcing crises. The IF20’s key 2025 priorities align with the priority areas of the G20 Summit, that will be held on 22-23 November 2025 in Gauteng, South Africa.
The IF20’s mandate is to contribute to a more just world and a sustainable future by drawing on and enriching the multifaceted ideas, experiences, activities, and contributions of diverse actors inspired by faith across the world. The Cape Town Forum will foster practical approaches to challenges ranging from social polarization and economic and social inequality to the general challenges of finding sustainable solutions to proliferating operational problems facing communities. The gathering offers the opportunity to harness the transformative potential of religious beliefs and the work of faith-inspired actors to advance global sustainable development agendas (and specifically the United Nations SDGs). It provides a platform where diverse religious and related communities can identify shared priorities and mobilize solutions with a reach from global to local levels. The hope is to serve as a catalyst for policy change amongst G20 countries, especially where there is openness to strategic cooperation among state and religious actors. By harnessing the collective wisdom, resources, and networks of diverse stakeholders, especially religious actors and 2 traditional communities, the Forum aims to inspire concrete actions towards achieving the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs. We aim to foster a more just, equitable, and sustainable world by focusing on advocacy efforts and actions that build on the rich experience of countless communities at local, national, and international levels. The IF20 thus draws on the work of what it sees as a true global “network of networks” grounded in shared humanity and working for the common good.