About the GNRC
About the GNRC
The Global Network of Religions for Children (GNRC) is a global interfaith network of organizations and individuals dedicated to securing the rights and well-being of children everywhere. GNRC members are volunteers and come from all the world’s major religions and many other spiritual traditions. GNRC members are committed to creating a world where every girl and boy can grow up safe and sound — a world where every child has the chance to shine.
The GNRC was inaugurated in May 2000 by the late Rev. Takeyasu Miyamoto, then-President of Arigatou International, when he invited religious leaders from around the world to Tokyo, advocating for greater interfaith cooperation for children. This was the first global forum of the GNRC.
Every four or five years since then, GNRC global forums have brought together GNRC members, religious and civil society leaders, and children and young people to advance the work of the network. The GNRC Secretariat is operated by Arigatou International – Nairobi, which provides technical assistance to GNRC members, promotes their activities, and coordinates their efforts to build a better world for children.
Core Values and Guiding Principles of the GNRC
- Interfaith, Intercultural, and Intergenerational
- Idealistic, Visionary, and Hopeful
- Inclusive, Compassionate and Caring
- Inspiring and Empowering
- Cooperative, Responsible and driven by the spirit of Volunteerism
Objectives of the GNRC
- Mobilize GNRC members and non-members to make uniquely faith-based contributions to create a better environment for children by engaging in prayer, mutual enlightenment, dialogue, and cooperation among people of different faiths, including children, at local, national, regional, and global levels.
- Engage adults and children through interfaith cooperation with, and for children in interreligious dialogue to create a better environment for children in a diverse and globalized world.
- Increase action by members and non-members to build a global movement for children to promote significant changes in the environment facing children, working in cooperation with international organizations, academics, the business community, and people from all walks of life around the world.
- Promote children’s rights as defined by official documents, including the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
- Support members and others in their work with and for children, to build a peaceful world where they can grow up with sound physical, psychological, and spiritual health.
