The Festival of Spirituality and Peace will feature some 300 activities in 200 events across 15 venues between 6 – 29 August. There will be top-quality speakers, conversations, performances, film, food, exhibitions, family activities, workshops, art, culture and more. The Festival is now in its eleventh year.
The background to the Festival
The Festival web site states:
In August 2001, St John’s Episcopal Church, Princes Street, Edinburgh organised the first Festival of Spirituality as a contribution to the festival scene in Edinburgh in August. The intention was to affirm human creativity and the prophetic insight of much that goes on in the Edinburgh festivals – and to add a faith based perspective on topical issues. The first programme was modest – a series of lunch time conversations and evening hours for contemplation/meditation called Sacred Space.
One month later, in September 2001, events took place which moved the role of faith in our world to centre stage, for the worst of reasons. It is surely no coincidence that, since then, this festival has grown as we seek to comprehend the forces at work and how, in the shadow of violence, we can redouble our efforts to work for peace.
Therefore from 2005, working with Edinburgh Inter-Faith Association and others, the Festival of Spirituality and Peace (FoSP) was established in its present form: interfaith, multigenre, topical, participative. It quickly established itself as an important part of the Edinburgh scene becoming a festival in its own right in 2007.
Ethos:
FoSP is committed to the principles of creativity, inclusivity and dialogue and to modelling the dynamics of peacemaking: to sponsor the kind of conversations and encounters which need to happen in the wider world if there is to be peace and respect for all – and to garner wisdom wherever it is to be found. Therefore our programme will create opportunities for engagement for those who seek constructively to address the issues of our time, to promote dialogue and to build community in diversity.
We draw participants and visitors from all over Scotland and beyond and are slowly developing our capacity to take events outside Edinburgh and into grassroots communities.
Themes:
Each year we choose a broad theme on which to focus:
2001:
2002:
2003: Living in a Dangerous World
2004: A World of Difference
2005: Tomorrow’s World
2006: Longing and Belonging: Identity Today
2007: Power and Freedom: Breaking the Chains
2008: Be The Change: Wellbeing of People and Planet
2009: The Call of Home
2010: The Golden Rule: Can We Live By It?
2011: Faith, Hope and …. REALITY
Our audiences have grown from a few hundred in the early days to in excess of 20,000 now. Such an increase shows that there is a clear role for such a festival. Our 2011 programme will be our biggest yet with over 200 events (and over 300 performances) across all genres, in venues around and beyond Edinburgh.