UNESCO Chair

In 2003, the UNESCO Chair on Religious Pluralism and Peace was awarded by the Alma Mater Studiorum – University of Bologna to Giuseppe Alberigo, Secretary of FSCIRE: it was the first UNESCO Chair granted to the city of Bologna.
Its primary goal is to foster and deepen dialogue among faiths and cultures through the training of young scholars. Thanks to its library, archives, and activities in research, publishing, and video documentation, FSCIRE makes its resources available in the belief that peace for future generations can only be built on historical research and open dialogue.

The activities of the Chair began on 13 September 2006 with a lecture by Raimon Panikkar, one of the most important theologians of religions of the twentieth century, who had been connected with the Bologna institute since 1962.

On 1st October 2009, the Chair was held by Alberto Melloni, who in 2007 had succeeded Giuseppe Alberigo as Secretary of FSCIRE.

In October 2012, the Chair was assigned to Pier Cesare Bori, professor of moral philosophy and human rights at the University of Bologna and researcher at FSCIRE.

Since January 2013, the Chair has once again been held by Alberto Melloni.

Since January 2024, the UNESCO Chair on Religious Pluralism and Peace has been transferred to Sapienza University of Rome. The activities and initiatives of the Chair continue to be carried out with the support of FSCIRE (executive partner), and the Chairholder remains Alberto Melloni.

FSCIRE provides the Chair with all the necessary logistical, organizational, and scientific support; the Chair’s activities are funded through donations as well as public and private grants.

The UNESCO Chair supports, sponsors and participate in numerous initiatives of FSCIRE, and its contribution is actively involved in the annual planning across various fields.
For instance, the Chair supports the PluReS Master’s program, refresher courses for teachers, numerous events within the framework of the European Academy of Religion, as well as international conferences, workshops, and exhibitions.

The Chair provides resources both intellectually, by engaging leading figures committed in different ways to advancing religious pluralism, and socially, by integrating FSCIRE’s activities into the international network of UNESCO Chairs.

Networks

The Chair is part of the UNITWIN/UNESCO Network of Chairs on Interreligious Dialogue for Intercultural Understanding, and collaborates with the UNESCO Chair of the Moscow Institute of Open Education and the Royal Institute for Interfaith Studies in Jordan.
It is also a member of the CONIUS network of Italian UNESCO Chairs.

It promoted the inclusion of UNESCO Chairs within the activities of Expo 2020 Dubai and the International Forum of UNESCO Chairs on the Future of Higher Education (Dubai, 2022).
It also promoted the IF20 – G20 Interfaith Forum (Bologna, 2021), which gathered around 800 participants from 43 countries.

At the national level, the Chair has taken part in the establishment of RECUI, the network of UNESCO Chairs, and the Italian National Commission for UNESCO. It is a member of the Commission for Institutional Relations.

The Chair also contributes actively to the project that led to the creation of:

• “G. La Pira” Library on the history and doctrines of Islam in Palermo
• “A. Luzzatto” Library on the history and doctrines of Judaism in Venice

Currently, there are 830 active UNESCO and UNITWIN Chairs in 110 countries.
The UNITWIN/UNESCO Chairs Programme, launched in 1992, fosters international interuniversity cooperation and networking to strengthen institutional capacities through knowledge sharing and collaborative work.

Activities

Lectures

The Chair invites theologians and historians, eminent spiritual masters, and religious leaders to deliver plenary lectures or masterclasses on the themes of pluralism, cooperation, and respect for diversity, with a view to fostering a society of peace.

The Chair has had the honor of hosting Timothy Radcliffe, Master of the Dominican Order; Raimon Panikkar, theologian of religions; Yan Li Ren, member of the Beijing Academy of Sciences; Valerio Onida, lawyer and professor, former President of the Italian Constitutional Court; Cardinal Roger Etchegaray, and Romano Prodi, professor and former President of the European Commission.

Promoted activities for the historical study of religions and cultures

The Chair supports the use of the historical perspective for the study of religion and cultures through a range of activities, including master’s programs, conferences, seminars, and the publication of essays on the history of religions.
In doing so, the Chair aims to contribute to raising awareness of the importance of intercultural and interreligious dialogue among both the public and scholars, and to strengthen dialogue between different religions and cultures.

Academic Research

The Chair encourages research in the religious pluralism and peace field, and on topics such as Jewish-Christian dialogue in the 20th century, the history of voluntary martyrdom, the hermeneutics of sacred texts, the relations between China and Christianity, and Islamic philosophy and theology, while focusing particularly on supporting young scholars and researchers.

The Chair has actively contributed to promoting dialogue on the roots and consequences of the Russia-Ukraine war and has supported the active involvement of all Churches as key actors in the peace process.
It also has organized events such as: 

• “Le Chiese e la Guerra” (The Churches and the War), conference in Bologna, 2022; 
• “Le armi della diplomazia” (The weapons of Diplomacy), seminar in Rome, 2023;
• “Pacem in Terris” (Peace on Earth), seminar in the Ara Pacis, Rome, 2023; 
• “Guerra Anno I” (War, Year I), symposium in Bologna, 2023.

Study visits

The Chair promotes academic study visits and academic exchanges between Bologna and China, the Arab world, the USA, Russia, Australia, Africa and Latin America. All those interested in applying are encouraged to send inquiries about the exchanges to: unescochair_rpp@fscire.it

Contacts

Chair holder
Alberto Melloni
unescochair_rpp@fscire.it

Marianna Napolitano
napolitano@fscire.it

Valentina Bottanelli
​bottanelli@fscire.it