Fostering Interfaith Dialogue and Enhancing Cross-border Religious Tourism
Less than a year ago, with a joint statement, the religious communities in Albania – Catholic, Orthodox, Muslim, Evangelical, Bektashis – voiced their support to the Country’s EU accession. Freedom of religion and belief, together with the enhancement of cultural dialogue, is a long-standing priority of the European Union. As recently confirmed by the EU delegation in Geneva, the EU remains fully committed to advancing the Istanbul Process. On the other side of the Adriatic, Puglia always had as a radical, almost ancestral bond with inter-religious experiences, testified by its history, traditions and cultural sites.

As a whole, the Southern Adriatic area stands as a unique example of religious coexistence, interfaith dialogue, multicultural values, fascination for diversity and cross-contamination, with a great asset of inter-religious architectures, experiences, and events. However, the touristic appeal of the area is much less structured than in other places of inter-religious tourism, such as Jerusalem, Cordoba, Beirut, Sarajevo, Istanbul, Palermo, Kazan.

INTERFIDE-CRT is the first structured attempt to develop an operative framework for the enhancement of the touristic potential of inter-religious experiences in Albania, Italy, and Montenegro, supporting valuable cooperation between sector stakeholders and religious authorities. Thanks to a multi-actor approach, the project will have tangible outcomes under the economic standpoint, together with an enhancement of the European core values of tolerance, dialogue, and inclusion.

The action includes the InterFide Lab, working with innovative techniques and impact indicators; the InterFide Network, which will sustain and foster institutional relations with public, private and religious authorities; the INTERFIDE-CRT, a cross-border, statistically representative pilot itinerary together with a set of targeted infrastructural investments.