His Excellency Sheikh Nahyan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Cabinet Member and the Minister of State for Tolerance delivered the opening remarks at the two-day Tolerance in the UAE workshop organized by the NYU Abu Dhabi Institute on Monday, November 13 at the University’s campus on Saadiyat Island.

In his opening remarks, HE Sheikh Nahyan said, “This conference provides an excellent opportunity for us to reflect upon the journey of the United Arab Emirates, one of the most ethnically and religiously diverse countries in the world, but, at the same time, one of the most peaceful, harmonious and prosperous places on earth.  Although the UAE is a young country, it nevertheless has an impressive history of tolerance. Tolerance is the joint responsibility of all the country’s population and conferences like this help remind us of our united purpose in promoting tolerance. I congratulate NYU Abu Dhabi for holding this important conference that will provide new insights into the UAE’s contributions to peace, harmony and prosperity.”

The goal of the workshop aims at examining the gap between a body of academic scholarship that considers tolerance historically; and the lived experience of religious groups for whom normative aspirations for tolerance have facilitated their social and spiritual existence in the UAE. A group of experts and specialists in the field of tolerance in the UAE has attended the workshop sessions, including HE Dr. Hamad Al Sheikh Ahmed Al Shaibani, Managing Director of International Institute for Tolerance, HE Ahmad Khalfan Al Mansouri as Secretary General of the ‘Mohammad Bin Rashid Tolerance Award’ and Khalifa Al Suwaidi, Head of Operations at International Institute for Tolerance.

Five panel discussions are scheduled over two days during which academicians and leading figures of the Muslim, Christian, Jewish, Sikh and Bahai communities of the UAE will address the gathering.