We live in a deeply divided world—divided by ideologies, religions, cultures, geography, and many other factors. Often, people have little exposure to worlds beyond their own. For those who grow up in environments with little diversity, it’s easy to go through life without ever meeting or meaningfully engaging with someone from a different background. In other cases, people may hold conservative views that discourage such interactions, fearing that contact with others might challenge their beliefs. But I’ve come to believe that the opposite is true.
To truly advance human fraternity, young people must allow themselves to encounter and learn from difference. We need to expose ourselves to cultures, faiths, and perspectives beyond our own. This can happen in many ways. Traveling is one powerful way, but not only to popular tourist destinations. We should also explore the places where daily life unfolds, talk to people who live there, and ask questions about their communities, values, and beliefs. Those conversations can be just as transformative as any classroom lesson.
Exposure doesn’t have to mean physical travel, though. We can broaden our understanding through reading, watching films and documentaries, or engaging with art from other cultures. Academic learning is valuable, but empathy is where true understanding begins. And to empathize, we first need to see the world through someone else’s eyes.
I once read a quote at the Louvre Abu Dhabi by André Malraux that said, “Art is the shortest path from man to man.” That line has stayed with me. Art, whether literature, film, or music, has a unique power to connect people across distance, culture, and belief. It helps us understand one another’s joys, struggles, and hopes. In that way, art becomes more than expression; it becomes a bridge. And through those bridges, we begin to build the human fraternity our world so desperately needs.
One last suggestion is for colleges, schools, and universities to teach human fraternity as a course. The Document on Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together signed by Pope Francis of the Catholic Church and Sheikh Ahmed el-Tayeb, Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, could be used as the foundation of the syllabus. But I think the main focus of such a course should be dialogue and conversation, so students can understand different perspectives. Visits to religious sites should also be part of the course, and perhaps students could earn credit for volunteering in humanitarian events. A whole syllabus could be created for this course, and I think it would be so beneficial.
There are a lot of ways that we can advance in human fraternity. And It’s also easier now to do it with technology and globalization. We could easily know whats happening worldwide. People engage, talk, and even protest through social media. This is already a big step in today’s world.
