Paths : an interfaith understanding initiative

• Main Authors: Leong, Mark Zhiwei, Loh, Han Le, Loh, Melanie Shi Qin, Teo, Wan En
• Other Authors: Ferdinand de Bakker
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2015
• Subjects: DRNTU::Social sciences::Communication
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/63405
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Paths is an interfaith initiative spearheaded by four final year students from the Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information at Nanyang Technological University. The campaign aims to achieve interreligious respect and understanding in university students – aged 19 to 25 – by inculcating in them an interest to know about different religions. Singapore is a religiously diverse nation that has witnessed increasing religiosity in recent years. As a result, religious harmony between different religious groups becomes increasingly important. However, although the future of interfaith harmony is dependent on the youth, there are not many interfaith programmes targeted at them. Therefore, the Paths initiative was conceptualised. Employing storytelling as a main strategy, the campaign reached out to the target audience using a mixture of online and offline methods, including social media, school roadshows and a flagship event. The Paths campaign was effective in increasing the interest of the target audience in knowing about other religions. The participants of this campaign were also more inclined to find out about other religions on their own. This campaign provides a model for which future interfaith events for youth can be based on. This report details the literature review and formative research that formed the basis for the conceptualisation of the campaign. The campaign’s communication strategies and tactics will also be presented, along with the evaluation of the campaign’s overall success and effectiveness. Limitations and challenges of the campaign, as well as recommendations for future interfaith initiatives are also discussed.