Strengthening and Reinvigorating the Network

In 2021, after 20 years of remarkable grassroots inter-faith work for children, the Secretariat carried out a comprehensive assessment of the entire GNRC network worldwide. We evaluated all key elements of the Network, including membership, connectivity, capacity, results, significance, and impact. We took stock of the GNRC’s successes, opportunities, and challenges over the last two decades, and mapped out the steps we intend to take to further strengthen our growing and evolving Network of over 1,200 organizations and individuals worldwide.

Following recommendations from the assessment, we hope to capture a renewed commitment to reinvigorating and strengthening the Network. We also hope to provide a powerful testament through the selfless dedication of GNRC members who work together to advance the Network’s goals and improve the lives of some of the world’s most marginalized and underprivileged children amidst an unprecedented global pandemic.

Our sole mission is to build a better world for children through an interfaith approach. As we draw closer to the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals deadline, the GNRC’s focus is on delivering an even greater impact for children. The Network’s goals for 2022–2023 are to augment past achievements as we continue to mobilize the extensive experience, reach, and persuasion of GNRC members in fulfilment of the GNRC Panama Declaration, and the recommendations and ambitions presented in the 2020 assessment report.

As ever, we remain firmly 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.

– Mustafa Y. Ali, PhD, Secretary General, Global Network of Religions for Children (GNRC), and Director, Arigatou International – Nairobi