Young Christians keen to engage with other faiths

The youth leadership programme brings together 30 people between the ages of 20 and 27 from the UK, US, Canada and India who are motivated by their faith to work together to help vulnerable people.

This year saw 687 young people from different faiths vying for places, with 41% of them coming from Christians. Thirty-six per cent of UK applicants were Christians.

The foundation said the figure demonstrated the extent to which young Christians were engaged with religion and making a choice to live out their faith in a positive way.

Muslims and Hindus made up the second and third highest faith group demographic, accounting for 17% and 18% of the total applications respectively.

The foundation’s founder Tony Blair said: “Too often we hear about the negative aspects of faith but these figures clearly show that there is a groundswell of young people who want to turn the tide against religious tensions and build bridges of understanding.

“I look forward to seeing these young people lead their communities in interfaith action. As the first ever World Interfaith Harmony Week approaches I am confident in the potential for this generation to affect real change.”

The successful applicants will work together for one year towards advancing the Millennium Development Goals with a particular focus on eradicating deaths from malaria.