The International Day of Human Fraternity, established by the United Nations in 2020, is celebrated worldwide on 4 February.

On February 4, 2019, Pope Francis and the Great Imam Al – Azhar, Ahmed Al – Tayyeb, signed at Abu Dhabi the historic Document of Human Fraternity for worldwide peace and common coexistence. From that event, in the world and over the years, different initiatives to underline the necessity and urgency for peace and dialogue amongst the people, looking at the different religious faiths not as obstacles, but as an opportunity to intensify the collaboration and a common look of good on the world, were triggered. Never is that insight more prophetic than today.

One of these initiatives was the institution, in the year 2020, by the United Nations of the International Day of Human Fraternity, that each year is celebrated on the anniversary of its signature, the 4th of February. The Zayed Award for Human Fraternity, an annual independent and international recognition, awards the people or entities who set an example worldwide, working selflessly and tirelessly to bridge divisions and create a true human bond, often at a great personal sacrifice.

“It is true that the religions do not have the political force to impose peace, but transforming man from within, inviting him to detach himself from evil, guides him towards a peaceful attitude. The religions thus have a decisive responsibility in the coexistence of the people: their dialogue weaves a peaceful web, rejects temptations to tear the civil fabric apart, and frees us from instrumentalizing religious differences for political ends”. (Pope Francis’s video message on occasion of the third International Day of Human Fraternity, 2023)

On this occasion, we want to present to you the story of Mama Shamsa, winner of the Zayed 2023 award.

You can find the full article in Italian in the magazine Mondo e Missione:

Mama Shamsa e i suoi mille “figli”