Last night the Faiths Act Fellows attended a small reception with the Board of Directors and the staff of the Interfaith Youth Core here in Chicago. It was a nice opportunity for the board to meet with the staff who run their programs and the Fellows who will be out for the next eight months doing the on-the-ground work.
A few Fellows were chosen to share reflections about our time in various Africa countries. During these presentations, we were joined by the former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and founder of the Tony Blair Faith Foundation, the Right Honorable Tony Blair. The presentations continued. In time, we broke the day’s fast with dates and the reciting of the adhan by Karem Issa, a Faiths Act Fellow.
After a few more Fellow reflections and a word by Eboo Patel, the Executive Director, we invited Mr. Blair to address us. He did this most eloquently. It was a good feeling to be “hanging out” with the guy who’s responsible for my current occupation. The Fellowship is a partnership between his foundation and the Interfaith Youth Core, and as the Fellows head out to promote interfaith cooperation to end malaria deaths, we know that Tony will be watching.
His speech meant a lot to us, not simply because he praised our dedication and passion, but because he expressed his humility towards the Fellows. For me especially, having such an important public figure tell me that he’s humbled and inspired by the work that I’ve already done and the work that I will do over the coming months is a very special feeling. I was humbled by his admission of humility.
The Fellows had a number of opportunities to talk with Mr. Blair over the evening – he was FULL of questions about us, about the program, and about our thoughts for the future. We posed for a group photo with him and after a few more photo opps, he was gone. We were told a number of months ago that we would eventually meet Mr. Blair, and we’ve already been on a conference call with him, but having the face-to-face meeting with the whole staff and Board was a real treat.
The Fellowship exists because of Tony Blair’s vision and the Interfaith Youth Core’s expertise in mobilizing and empowering youth. We are embarking on a big journey, the thirty of us, and as we’re building hubs of interfaith cooperation in cities across the US, UK, and Canada, we’re going to have to keep that vision in mind.
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