G20 Interfaith Forum links faith leaders to action on trafficking, hunger and homelessness

Faith leaders, policymakers and practitioners at the G20 Interfaith Forum in Salt Lake City tackled trafficking, mental health, hunger and other crises in 13 sessions, then joined a homelessness service project. The forum paired policy discussions with hands-on work to show how faith communities can help address urgent social needs.

Why it matters: - The G20 Interfaith Forum put faith communities in the middle of real-world problem solving on trafficking, food insecurity, mental health, homelessness and other urgent issues. - The forum linked policy discussions to direct service, showing how religious networks can move from dialogue to action. - The sessions also fed into broader G20 conversations on human rights, health, education and social protection.

What happened: - Faith leaders, policymakers and practitioners met at the G20 Interfaith Forum in Salt Lake City on Friday afternoon for 13 concurrent “Faith in Action” sessions. - After the sessions, participants joined a service project organized by the Turtle Shelter Project to prepare pouches for warming vests for people experiencing homelessness. - Volunteers and students worked alongside participants of many faiths on the project.

The details: - In the anti-trafficking session, panelists said prevention starts with education and strong families, and noted that much trafficking happens within families. - The session also pointed to forthcoming ISO 37200, an international standard meant to help organizations prevent, identify, mitigate, remediate and report trafficking and forced labor risks. - The forum renewed its call for G20 nations to fund and coordinate efforts against trafficking and forced labor, which it estimates generate $356 billion a year. - Katie Boller Gosewisch of the Alliance to End Human Trafficking said prevention can start as early as preschool age. - In the mental health session, University of Utah Health CEO Dr. Bob Carter said healing requires both science and faith and urged religious leaders to learn to recognize signs of mental illness in their communities. - Dr. Elizabeta Kitanovic of IF20-Europe said faith communities can reduce isolation, but guilt-based responses to mental illness can worsen harm. - Dr. Diana Rayes of Georgetown University’s Initiative on Faith, Trust, and Health said faith leaders have become better equipped in recent years to recognize symptoms early on. - In the hunger session, Ambassador (Rabbi) David Saperstein urged investment in girls’ education as a long-term anti-poverty tool. - Luisa Banchoff of the World Faiths Development Dialogue said feeding the hungry is a duty shared by all major world traditions. - Rev. Dr. David Beckmann, president emeritus of Bread for the World, said ending hunger in the United States is achievable. - A clubfoot session highlighted one of the most treatable causes of childhood disability. - Panelists estimated that 175,000 children are born with clubfoot each year, and nearly all can be treated without surgery using the Ponseti Method of casting and bracing. - Representatives from Shriners Hospitals for Children, CURE India, Clubfoot Solutions, Rotary International and the Ponseti International Association discussed expanding access to the treatment worldwide. - Dr. Monica Nogueira of the Ponseti International Association said the treatment can help people avoid disability. - A session on the Abrahamic family followed Thursday’s signing of the Jewish–Muslim Declaration of Fraternity in Faith. - Jewish, Christian and Muslim participants studied texts on love of God and love of humanity from the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament, the Talmud, the Quran and the Hadith. - Rabbi Dr. Aharon Ariel Lavi of the Jerusalem Interfaith Center said people with a strong identity are more likely to communicate with those of different faiths. - Other afternoon sessions addressed pandemic preparedness, freedom of religion or belief, gender-based violence, education, social cohesion, evaluation of faith-based programs and lessons from G20 interfaith work in South Africa. - Pandemic-preparedness panelists from The Pandemic Fund at the World Bank, UNICEF and Islamic Relief Worldwide focused on faith groups’ trust and grassroots reach for early warning, misinformation response and emergency care. - Freedom of religion or belief speakers, including Katrina Lantos Swett of the Lantos Foundation and Eric Rassbach of the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, said religious freedom supports peace, development and protection for marginalized groups. - Gender-based violence leaders from United Religions Initiative, the Utah Coalition Against Sexual Assault, Women20 USA and the Seventh Generation Fund for Indigenous Peoples called for prevention, culture change and survivor-centered faith responses. - Education leaders from BYU-Pathway Worldwide and the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists discussed pathways from education to jobs, with a focus on Africa. - A Common Word Among the Youth fellows discussed how to move young people from interfaith dialogue to community action. - Educators from Indonesia’s Leimena Institute, Arigatou International and American University, along with multiculturalism expert Dr. Ravan Hasanov, shared strategies for ethics education and cross-cultural religious literacy. - Researchers from Brigham Young University and its Ballard Center for Social Impact presented tools to help faith-based organizations measure impact. - Panelists also reflected on how ubuntu, or “I am, because we are,” shaped South Africa’s 2025 G20 presidency. - The Turtle Shelter Project had distributed more than 6,000 vests as of August 2025.

Between the lines: - The forum is trying to move faith engagement beyond symbolic dialogue and into measurable social action. - Several sessions focused on prevention, early intervention and systems-building, suggesting an emphasis on long-term solutions rather than one-time aid. - The mix of global policy topics and local volunteer work showed how the forum is connecting international agendas to community-level needs.

What's next: - G20 Interfaith Forum participants are expected to carry the session takeaways into policy discussions, faith networks and local programs. - The anti-trafficking push will likely center on adoption of ISO 37200 and calls for stronger G20 coordination and funding. - Faith-based groups and partners are likely to continue using the forum’s themes on health, hunger, education and social cohesion in future programs and advocacy.

The bottom line: - The G20 Interfaith Forum used both conversation and service to argue that faith communities can help confront some of the world’s hardest problems, from trafficking to homelessness.