The report back by the small groups and the plenary discussions are synthesized below under three interconnected groupings, followed by a conclusion of Next Steps:

Community Building

Faith groups can facilitate community within their geographical areas by promoting;
o An environment of kindness, respect for each other, and hope for the future so that we can all work together and support;
o Devotional meetings for prayers and bringing people together;
o Help those subject to climate anxiety and grief through mutual support and involvement in positive activities;
o Reach out to non-faith groups and civil society organisations so as to build inclusive communities;
o Involvement by all age groups, especially youth for intergenerational collaboration and service;
o A focus on working together and instilling a spirit of service to take practical action to resolve environmental challenges facing the community.

Education

In order to build communities, there is a need for education and capacity building:
o Spiritual education for all, those practising a religion and those that value spirituality;
o Capacity building on what is climate change, its causes, impacts and actions for mitigation;
o Capacity building on adaptation and building resilience;
o Capacity building on working together as different faith communities;
o Education for children (through our school systems and informal education) on climate change and sustainable lifestyles;
o Training on building trust, action planning and implementation.

Networking

Promote a whole-of-community approach to:
o Work with both local governments to ensure a cohesive and inclusive approach to interfaith activities on climate change and building resilience;
o Ensure that mana whenua are fully involved from the beginning in planning and carrying out activities;
o Energise faith groups to work with each other on activities related to climate change and building resilience;
o Coordinate all stakeholders at the local level to lobby national Government for long-term and cohesive policies on climate change and economic development.

Conclusion: Next Steps

Form a working group to build on the results of this workshop and bring together representatives from different faith groups to:
o identify specific activities on climate change mitigation and adaptation that build community resilience;
o work in partnership with local government, civil society organisations, and mana whenua to carry out these activities in local communities so as to build trust and social cohesion in these communities.

Take-away message from workshop: “The world is a village and we are all custodians.”