F&BF Founder’s Centenary! #SirSigmund100 Campaign

The Faith and Belief Forum launches month long campaign on founder’s 100^th anniversary.

Ever wondered how the Faith and Belief Forum got started? Today the UK’s leading community relations charity works across the country engaging thousands of people annually in our programmes and trainings. From faith communities and schools to workplaces and a UN award winning ParliaMentors programme for university students, F&BF touches every level of society engaging individuals across difference, building links, and sparking friendship between people who otherwise might never meet.

It all started with the humble ambition of a man called Sir Sigmund Sternberg, an interfaith superhero who had seen the ugliest side of societal breakdown himself when he narrowly escaped Nazi death camps by moving to Britain from Budapest in 1939.

Never short of illustrious company, Sir Sigmund was a pioneer in the world of interfaith relations receiving recognition and awards from Prime Ministers and Popes and being knighted in 1976. He established The Faith & Belief Forum (then The Three Faiths Forum) in 1997 with Sheikh Zaki Badawi and Revd Dr Marcus Braybrooke. Reflecting on the interfaith dialogue that he had helped establish in the UK and beyond Sir Sigmund once said, “One wonders if, had there been such dialogue groups in the past, would the Holocaust have happened?”

Carrying on the flame of his legacy, the Faith & Belief Forum passionately continues the work he established over two decades ago to reach and transform the lives of thousands of people from all faith and cultural backgrounds.

Sir Sigmund passed away in 2016 and Wednesday 2^nd June would have been his 100^th birthday. In commemoration of his achievements, we are running a month-long campaign to celebrate his life and the success of the initiatives he ignited. In the second half of the month we will be looking also to the future of the Faith and Belief Forum, how we can further widen our impact, how our supporters can get involved to strengthen and spread the invaluable work of building closer communities and developing a diverse and cohesive society.

Find out more about Sir Sigmund and the #SirSigmund100 Campaign here.