United Religions

WITH A PURPOSE OF PROMOTING PEACE, JUSTICE AND HEALING, URI'S NETWORK HAS GROWN TO OVER 1,100 MEMBER GROUPS IN OVER 110 COUNTRIES. THESE GROUPS, CALLED COOPERATION CIRCLES (CCS), ARE COMPRISED OF PEOPLE REPRESENTING AT LEAST THREE DIFFERENT RELIGIONS, TRADITIONS OR BELIEFS WILLING TO ENGAGE IN INTERFAITH DIALOGUE AND COLLABORATE ON HUMANITARIAN EFFORTS IN THEIR COMMUNITY. UTILIZING THIS DUAL STRATEGY APPROACH, URI COOPERATION CIRCLES PARTICIPATE IN TOPICS INCLUDING INTERFAITH DIALOGUE, CARE FOR INDIVIDUALS IN NEED, EDUCATING CHILDREN, PREVENTING VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN, IMPROVING THE ENVIRONMENT, RESOLVING CONFLICTS, AND NEGOTIATING PEACE AMONG MANY OTHER LOCAL AND GLOBAL KEY ISSUES.

GLOBAL NETWORK DEVELOPMENT: IN 21 YEARS, URI HAS GROWN FROM 83 FOUNDING MEMBER ORGANIZATIONS, CALLED COOPERATION CIRCLES (CCS), TO OVER 1,100 MEMBER GROUPS IN OVER 110 COUNTRIES. URI'S UNIQUE GLOBAL NETWORK OF GRASSROOTS CCS CALLS FORTH LOCALLY-INITIATED ACTIONS BY SELF-SUPPORTING GROUPS AND ORGANIZATIONS. CCS CAN BE SMALL GROUPS ORGANIZING FOR THE FIRST TIME, OR WELL-ESTABLISHED ORGANIZATIONS. EVERY CC MUST HAVE AT LEAST SEVEN MEMBERS, AND MUST REPRESENT AT LEAST THREE DIFFERENT RELIGIONS, SPIRITUAL EXPRESSIONS OR INDIGENOUS TRADITIONS.URI'S ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE INCLUDES EIGHT REGIONS WHICH ARE STAFFED BY 18 REGIONAL COORDINATORS WHO SERVE CCS THROUGH PROGRAMMATIC APPROACHES, SUPERVISE REGIONAL TEAM MEMBERS, COORDINATE REGIONAL LEADERSHIP TEAMS AND MORE. THE PRIMARY WORK OF THE REGIONAL BASES IS TO PROVIDE DIRECT COMMUNICATION WITH AND NETWORK SUPPORT FOR CCS. NETWORK BENEFITS INCLUDE: HELPING CCS BUILD CAPACITY, RAISING VISIBILITY FOR CC WORK, ASSISTING CCS IN CREATING PARTNERSHIPS, CONNECTING WITH LOCAL OFFICIALS, ORGANIZING LOCAL AND REGIONAL GATHERINGS AND TRAININGS, AND INSPIRING THE DEVELOPMENT OF NEW CCS. CCS ARE INSPIRED AND SUSTAINED IN THEIR WORK BY ACTIVE PARTICIPATION IN URI'S VITAL NETWORK WITH OTHER CCS WITH WHOM THEY GENERATE CONNECTION, COMMUNICATION, CO-MENTORING AND SHARED LEARNING. URI'S GLOBAL SUPPORT OFFICE, WHICH IS BASED IN SAN FRANCISCO, PROVIDES ACCOUNTABILITY, TRAINING AND CONSULTATION FOR REGIONAL COORDINATORS, AND REGIONAL TEAM MEMBERS. URI'S GLOBAL SUPPORT OFFICE OVERSEES THE OPERATIONS OF THE URI NETWORK, ENERGIZING THE NETWORK BY SUPPORTING REGIONAL LEADERSHIP TEAMS, CREATING A FLOW OF QUALITY INFORMATION, MAINTAINING A CC MEMBER DATABASE, MANAGING FINANCE, PUBLICIZING CC IMPACT WORLDWIDE, ENGAGING IN FUNDRAISING, AND PROVIDING FOCUSED RESOURCE SUPPORT AND TRAINING IN AREAS SUCH AS CONFLICT TRANSFORMATION, THE ENVIRONMENT, WOMEN'S EMPOWERMENT, AND YOUTH LEADERSHIP. THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, CHAIR OF THE URI GLOBAL COUNCIL AND URI'S PRESIDENT, WORKING ON BEHALF OF AN ELECTED 30 MEMBER GLOBAL COUNCIL, LEAD THE URI NETWORK AND ARE SUPPORTED BY 15 GLOBAL SUPPORT STAFF.

THE GLOBAL COUNCIL IS URI'S GOVERNING BOARD OF TRUSTEES. THREE GLOBAL COUNCIL TRUSTEES ARE ELECTED BY URI'S MEMBER CCS FROM EACH OF EIGHT REGIONS OF THE WORLD. THE GLOBAL COUNCIL CAN APPOINT AT-LARGE TRUSTEES TO ENSURE GENDER, FAITH AND EXPERIENCE DIVERSITY. THE GLOBAL COUNCIL'S PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES INCLUDE BEING THE GOVERNING BODY OF URI; CARRYING OUT URI'S MISSION AND PURPOSE; SELECTING, SUPPORTING AND EVALUATING THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR; ENSURING EFFECTIVE PLANNING AND ADEQUATE FINANCIAL RESOURCES; PROTECTING THE ORGANIZATION'S ASSETS AND PROVIDING FINANCIAL OVERSIGHT; AND ENSURING LEGAL AND ETHICAL INTEGRITY. WITH TRUSTEES FROM 22 COUNTRIES REPRESENTING DIVERSE RELIGIOUS AND INDIGENOUS TRADITIONS, THE GLOBAL COUNCIL BRINGS ITS GRASSROOTS EXPERIENCE TO URI'S ONGOING STRATEGIC PLANNING, NETWORK DEVELOPMENT AND GLOBAL ENGAGEMENT AND SERVES TO INCREASE URI'S PRESENCE ALL OVER THE WORLD. THE GLOBAL COUNCIL TYPICALLY MEETS ONCE A YEAR IN PERSON, AND THREE TIMES A YEAR BY VIDEO CONFERENCE CALL. IN BETWEEN THESE MEETINGS, THE GLOBAL COUNCIL OPERATES THROUGH WORKING COMMITTEES THAT ACTIVELY PARTICIPATE VIA EMAIL AND ZOOM MEETINGS. MEMBERS OF THE GLOBAL COUNCIL ALSO REPRESENT REGIONS, AND SIT ON REGIONAL LEADERSHIP TEAMS THAT PLAN AND IMPLEMENT REGIONAL STRATEGIES TO BUILD NETWORK BENEFITS TO MEMBER CCS AND DEVELOP COLLECTIVE GLOBAL CAMPAIGNS, SUCH AS MOBILIZING CCS AROUND THE WORLD TO PARTICIPATE IN THE INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PEACE ON SEPTEMBER 21.

COMMUNICATIONS: URI'S INTERNATIONAL NETWORK RELIES ON A ROBUST COMMUNICATION SYSTEM. URI'S GLOBAL WEBSITE, URI.ORG, IS DESIGNED TO MAGNIFY URI'S IMPACT, HIGHLIGHT CC SUCCESSES, CONNECT CCS, PROVIDE RESOURCE INFORMATION TO CCS, AND ENCOURAGE GLOBAL CAMPAIGNS FOR COLLECTIVE GLOBAL ACTION AND MORE. ADDITIONALLY, URI PRODUCES AN ANNUAL IMPACT REPORT, AS WELL AS OTHER PRINT, ONLINE AND MULTIMEDIA COLLATERAL FOR THE NETWORK. IN THE DIGITAL MEDIA DOMAIN, URI IS ENHANCED BY ENGAGING AUDIENCES ON FACEBOOK, TWITTER, INSTAGRAM, LINKEDIN, AND YOUTUBE. GIVEN FAST-PACED TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE, URI'S COMMUNICATIONS TEAM STUDIES NEW SYSTEMS, MAKES RECOMMENDATIONS TO URI, AND RECENTLY LAUNCHED AN UPDATED WEBSITE.

EDUCATION AND OUTREACH: TO STRENGTHEN THE EFFECTIVENESS OF CCS TO ACCOMPLISH THEIR GOALS, EXCHANGES OF VARIOUS KINDS OF EXPERTISE TAKE PLACE AMONG CC MEMBERS. URI PROVIDES TRAINING TO HELP CCS EFFECTIVELY TAKE PART IN A GLOBAL NETWORK OF SUPPORT AND PROVIDES CCS WITH IN-DEPTH INTERVIEWS THAT DEEPEN UNDERSTANDING OF THEIR IMPACT AND POTENTIAL. URI DESIGNS LOCAL, NATIONAL AND REGIONAL GATHERINGS FOR CCS TO MEET FACE-TO-FACE TO SHARE RESOURCES, RECEIVE TRAINING, AND GIVE AND RECEIVE MUTUAL SUPPORT. URI COLLABORATES WITH MEMBER GROUPS WORLDWIDE TO ASSESS THE IMPACT OF BELONGING TO THE URI NETWORK AS BOTH CONTRIBUTORS TO THE NETWORK AND RECEIVERS OF BENEFITS.FOCUSED RESOURCE SUPPORT: URI PROVIDES TARGETED RESOURCES TO SUPPORT THE GLOBAL CC NETWORK IN THE AREAS OF: CONFLICT RESOLUTION, INDIGENOUS RIGHTS, WOMEN'S EMPOWERMENT, ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES AND YOUTH LEADERSHIP. CCS, AS WELL AS INDIVIDUALS AND ORGANIZATIONS WITH SPECIFIC EXPERTISE AND RESOURCES IN THESE AREAS, PROVIDE AN EFFECTIVE CHANNEL OF COMMUNICATION, CREATIVE RESOURCING AND EDUCATION TO STRENGTHEN CC CAPACITY. URI PLANS TO EXPAND FOCUSED TRAINING AND SUPPORT IN THE AREAS OF CONFLICT RESOLUTION, ENVIRONMENT, ETC.URI'S WEBSITE INCLUDES AN INTERFAITH TEACHERS' CURRICULUM FOR ELEMENTARY AND MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS, AS WELL AS AN EXTENSIVE RESOURCE SECTION. IN ADDITION TO EDUCATIONAL SUPPORT, CC MEMBERS, STAFF AND THE GLOBAL COUNCIL ENGAGE IN STRATEGIC NETWORKING, BOTH TO SHARE URI'S WORK AND TO PROMOTE NEW PARTNERSHIPS TO SUPPORT THE DEVELOPMENT OF THAT WORK. EXTENSIVE WORK IS UNDERWAY IN SEVERAL REGIONS TO INCREASE PARTNERSHIPS BETWEEN CCS, OTHER NGOS, GOVERNMENT AND CIVIC GROUPS TO STRENGTHEN NETWORK SUPPORT AND RESOURCE SHARING. URI ACTIVELY WORKS WITH SEVERAL UNITED NATIONS AGENCIES AND OTHER LIKE-MINED NON-PROFITS TO BUILD EFFECTIVE PARTNERSHIPS BETWEEN UN DEVELOPMENT GOALS AND THE WORK OF CCS THROUGHOUT THE WORLD. URI NOW HAS FORMAL MOUS (MEMORANDUMS OF UNDERSTANDING) WITH THE OFFICE OF GENOCIDE PREVENTION AT THE UNITED NATIONS, UNFPA (THE UNITED NATIONS POPULATION FUND), WEA (WOMEN'S EARTH ALLIANCE), LAUNCHING LEADERS, THE WORLD TOLERANCE SUMMIT, AND UNITY EARTH. URI HOSTED AN ACCELERATE PEACE CONFERENCE HELD ON JUNE 26 AND 27, 2019 AT THE HOOVER INSTITUTION ON THE STANFORD UNIVERSITY CAMPUS IN CALIFORNIA, USA. IT BROUGHT TOGETHER PEACEBUILDERS FROM AROUND THE WORLD TO DISCUSS CHALLENGES TO PEACE, BOTH IN THEIR LOCAL COMMUNITIES AND ON AN INTERNATIONAL LEVEL, AND ALSO TO DISCUSS ACTION-ORIENTED SOLUTIONS TO BENEFIT ALL OF HUMANITY. A COMPLETE SET OF THE CONFERENCE VIDEOS ARE ON THE URI WEBSITE.