Having had the privilege to serve as a Human Fraternity fellow, I can sense a profound expansion of my intellectual horizons, particularly in understanding both the theory and practice of interfaith dialogue. Before the Human Fraternity Fellows Program began, I spent considerable time ruminating over the Document on Human Fraternity—dissecting its language, internal logic, and ethical imperatives, while reflecting on how its lessons might be applied within my own community. Yet, when I revisited the document on my flight back from Jakarta to my home city, its words struck me anew. Passages I had once considered familiar unfolded in different registers of meaning, revealing layers of pedagogy and insight that had previously escaped me. This re-reading was an intellectual exercise and also a recognition of how lived experience and dialogue can transform one’s interpretive lens.
The five Zoom sessions that framed the fellowship deepened this intellectual engagement, equipping me with conceptual tools to navigate notions of vulnerability, conflict, and disagreement in ways that felt both rigorous and humane. The dialogue workshops were particularly impactful and pushed us to think about dialogue not as the erasure of difference, but as a process that honors the tensions, disagreements, and even discomfort that accompany genuine encounter.
Jakarta, however, was where theory crystallized into practice. The structure of the fellowship, morning workshops focused on skill-building followed by afternoon field visits, provided a tangible model of how reflection and action can be paired to generate meaningful change. This holistic approach was, for me, the greatest source of value. Rather than reducing interfaith dialogue to the oft-invoked but shallow notion of “mere coexistence,” the fellowship invited us to zoom out, to interrogate contextual variables, and to actively design models of engagement where the flourishing of every individual, across lines of faith, ethnicity, and identity, was prioritized.
Equally enriching was the time spent with students from local universities such as Muhammadiyah and Sanata Dharma. Sharing meals, exchanging perspectives, and accompanying them on visits grounded our discussions in the lived realities of Indonesian youth. These interactions illuminated the issues that animate their generation, as well as the innovative steps they are taking to address them. I was especially inspired to learn about the work of Sanata Dharma students in Papua, tackling the challenges of climate displacement, and Muhammadiyah’s institutional commitment to a non-discrimination policy in its medical facilities. These examples embodied the ways in which interfaith values translate into tangible commitments to justice, equity, and care.
This grassroots perspective formed the bedrock upon which we built more high-level conversations with diplomats, policymakers, and religious leaders. Dialogues with representatives of Nahdlatul Ulama, the Indonesian Red Cross, and H.E. Quraish Shihab offered us a panoramic view of how local practices of solidarity and fraternity resonate within national and international arenas. The fellowship’s culminating diplomatic reception further expanded my vantage point, situating our interfaith inclinations within a truly global context.
