Mr Ribhav Misra

Student at CMS Cambridge, Gomti Nagar Extension Campus
Moderator: 10th International Interfaith Conference 2025

What if the world’s greatest divides could be healed—not by treaties or armies, but by children in a classroom?

For decades, our planet has been fractured along lines of faith, culture, and ideology. News headlines remind us daily of the cost of misunderstanding and mistrust. It often feels like a list of reasons to lose hope. here at my school, I’ve learned something different.

“What if the seeds of peace were not sown in the corridors of power, but in the curious minds of young learners nurtured to see the beauty in diversity?”

This question lies at the heart of the International Interfaith Conference, an initiative of City Montessori School (CMS) that grew from the far-sighted vision of our Founder-Manager, Dr Jagdish Gandhi: “If children can learn to respect every faith, they can grow into adults who protect every human life.” To me, that’s not just a line; it’s an invitation. Because here at CMS, we have not been asked to erase differences, but to understand them. Not to fight to be right, but to learn how to live together.

Over the years, this gathering has transcended the formality of speeches and panels to become a living testimony of humanity’s shared spirit. I’ve stood in the same room as monks, maulanas, bishops, rabbis, pandits, and pioneers, and I’ve listened. I’ve seen eyes light up when we discover that the essence of every faith, whether Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, Sikhism, Buddhism, the Bahá’í Faith, or others, is rooted in love, compassion, and service. I’ve felt goosebumps when leaders from different religions agreed, in front of a hall full of children, that the sanctity of human life is far more important than any doctrinal difference. I’ve watched students like me go home ready to make kindness louder than personal differences.

The 9th International Interfaith Conference, held under the theme “We Belong – For Peace Making”, proved that this isn’t just wishful thinking. Its purpose was to deepen respect between traditions and inspire real peacebuilding at the grassroots level. Through panel talks, workshops, and cultural exchanges, we built bridges where walls once stood, gave the youth a voice as peace ambassadors, wove interfaith values into the fabric of education, and reminded ourselves that we are not just citizens of one nation. We are citizens of the world. By the end, it wasn’t the applause that stayed with me, but the quiet determination on the faces of those who were ready to live what we had learned.

Now, as the 10th International Interfaith Conference, hosted by CMS Rajajipuram Campus II, draws near, I can almost feel the air buzzing with possibility. The theme, “Together in Faith to Shape a Better World,” isn’t just words on a banner to me. It feels like a promise. This time, we’re not stopping at dialogue. We’re rolling up our sleeves, ready to turn understanding into action. I can already picture students and educators from every corner of the globe brainstorming side by side, creating projects that won’t just stay on paper but will grow in schools, neighbourhoods, and maybe even nations. I know we’ll walk away not just inspired, but armed with tools to make peace more than a dream—we’ll make it a habit. And when that happens, we won’t just be talking about shaping a better world. We’ll already be doing it.

If children can be taught arithmetic and science, why not the arithmetic of kindness or the science of peace? That’s the lesson my school has been teaching me since the day I walked through its gates. I’ve learned that the Interfaith Conference can’t erase every conflict, but it gives us something even more powerful, a beginning! A place where conversations the world needs so badly are not only possible, but unstoppable.

And perhaps, in the quiet power of these gatherings, lies the answer to our opening question. Yes, the world’s deepest divides can be healed. And the healers are already among us, sitting in our classrooms, learning to see each other not as “us” and “them,” but simply as “we.”