Dr Josef Boehle is the Director of the Charter for Forgiveness and Reconciliation. He is Research Fellow in Globalisation, Religion and Politics at the Department of Theology and Religion, University of Birmingham, U.K., and Principal Investigator of the Religion and Peacebuilding in International Relations Research Project. From 2005-2010 he was a member of a UK Government (DFID) sponsored Research Consortium on 'Religions and Development'. For over 20 years he has worked with international interreligious organisations and helped to organise major conferences, seminars, symposia and summits addressing interreligious and intercultural issues, including a Symposium at UNESCO headquarters in Paris on 'Unity in Diversity. Ethical and Spiritual Visions for the World' in November 2000 and the Civil Society Hearing of the High-level Dialogue on Interreligious and Intercultural Understanding and Cooperation for Peace of the United Nations General Assembly in October 2007. From 2004 - 2010 he was the Coordinator of the UNESCO Chair in Interfaith Studies at the University of Birmingham. His work and research seeks to make a contribution towards improved relations between diverse cultures, religions and civilisations and to present relevant responses to today’s search for a fairer and more peaceful world community. Issues around religion and politics, globalisation, interreligious understanding and cooperation, peacebuilding, reconciliation and forgiveness are central to his scholarly work. He is working on projects with a wide variety of NGOs and international organisations.