Two days. One arc.

Welcome & Opening

Greetings from IRF Secretariat and the convening partners. Framing of the two days as a single arc.

Greg Mitchell, IRF Secretariat · Sheikh Al-Mahfoudh bin Bayyah, Alliance of Virtue · Lord Russell Rook OBE, Good Faith Partnership · Matias Perttula, Museum of the Bible

Present at the Beginning — The History of Religious Freedom & Implications for the Future

Religious freedom as an Anglo-American achievement carried across the Atlantic through faith and the Enlightenment: from Magna Carta (1215), Chief Justice Edward Coke, and Sir Francis Bacon; through Roger Williams' "soul liberty" and his 1663 Royal Charter; to John Locke's Letter Concerning Toleration and the Toleration Act (1689); to Thomas Jefferson's Virginia Statute (1786), which carried into the First Amendment (1791) — and what it means for meeting the persistent threats to international religious freedom.

Chris Seiple, Ph.D., Co-Founder of the IRF Roundtable and winner of the IRF Lifetime Peacebuilders Award

America 250 Founders' Promise Award: The session closes with the first-ever conferral of the Founders' Promise Award — honoring two nations whose pioneering partnership carries the Founders' promise forward. To be revealed on stage.

American Stories — Faith Communities Who Have Flourished Here

Brief, vivid narratives from leaders of multiple U.S. faith traditions about what religious freedom has meant — the freedom to worship, build, teach, serve, and contribute to public life as full citizens. Ten short stories, threaded by a moderator, on religious freedom as the precondition for civic flourishing.

Keynote Remarks: The Honorable Riley Barnes, Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor

Fireside Chat: The Honorable James Lankford, U.S. Senator (R-Oklahoma), interviewed by Greg Mitchell — followed by an America 250 IRF Award presented to Senator Lankford.

American Narratives: Leaders from IRF Roundtable participant communities

Global Stakes — The Cost of Religious Unfreedom

A sober turn to the cost of religious unfreedom, with firsthand testimonies from countries where persecution is acute and on how transnational repression puts people at risk abroad — concluded by the story of a released prisoner of conscience.

Keynote: Ambassador Robert Řehák, Ph.D., Special Envoy for Holocaust, Interfaith Dialogue and Freedom of Religion, Czech Republic

China Testimonies: Omer Kanat, Uyghur Human Rights Project · Rushan Abbas, Campaign for Uyghurs · Dr. Jianli Yang, Citizen Power Initiatives for China · Mark Yang, Falun Dafa Information Center

Iran Testimony: Anthony Vance, Baháʼís of the United States, with former prisoner of conscience Keyvan Ghaderi (Baháʼí)

Lunch

Reflections on the Current State of International Religious Freedom

Where progress has not been made, and what obstacles and risks remain.

David Burrowes, Director, FoRB – Free for All

The Promise for Tomorrow — Proven Models & the Next Phase

From proven models to the next phase: the IRF Roundtable's multi-faith, equal citizenship, Track 1.5 engagement approach, the Prague Model it produced, and the Eurasia proof of concept.

Moderator: Chris Seiple, Ph.D.

The IRF Roundtable: Greg Mitchell, Managing Co-Chair · Working Group Co-Chairs Lauren Homer, Anna Sineva & Sean Nelson · The Prague Model: Ambassador Robert Řehák, Ph.D. · W. Christopher Stewart, Strategic Architect of Philanthropic and Charitable Impact · Proof of Concept — Eurasia: Wade Kusack, Love Your Neighbor Community

Bridge to Day Two

Connecting the proven models of Day One to the launch of Day Two: the Civil Society Collaborative — with a first look at its flagship Global Peace & Prosperity Initiative, the U.S.–U.K.–U.A.E. founding partnership, and the 18-month plan.

Greg Mitchell · Sheikh Al-Mahfoudh bin Bayyah · Lord Russell Rook OBE

Open Afternoon

Downtime, self-guided touring of the Museum, and the Museum gift shop. Guided tour for those who opted in: 3:30 – 4:30 PM.

America 250 IRF Awards Dinner

Sponsored by the John Templeton Foundation. Reception at 5:45 PM; dinner and the evening's America 250 IRF Awards to follow. Offered in support of the expansion of the IRF Roundtable and the launch of the Civil Society Collaborative. Details →

LAUNCH — Civil Society Collaborative + Flagship Global Initiative

The defining moment of the Forum. Born out of the IRF Roundtable and the Prague Model, the Civil Society Collaborative for Religious Freedom, Peace, and Prosperity is revealed as an innovation ecosystem — with its Joint Planning & Development Committee model, Shared Initiatives, and Community of Practice + Culture of Philanthropy (CoP²) — followed by the reveal of its flagship Global Peace & Prosperity Initiative: a founding civil society partnership of the United States (IRF Secretariat), the United Kingdom (Good Faith Partnership), and the United Arab Emirates (Alliance of Virtue and the Abu Dhabi Forum for Peace), with the MENA region as an early focal point since the Abraham Accords and the Gaza Peace Plan are critical. Headline output: an 18-month plan that becomes the catalyst for 3-year and 5-year plans.

Greg Mitchell · Sheikh Al-Mahfoudh bin Bayyah · Lord Russell Rook OBE · Chris Seiple, Ph.D.

Symbiotics — The Blueprint: Dr. Lael A. Alexander, Founder & CEO, Noitavonne, Inc., author of Symbiotics

Supporting Global Reveals: Beneath the flagship, two cross-cutting global initiatives.

• Corporate Initiative on AI & Faith: Fireside chat — Ben Christensen & Keith Myer, Faith Family Technology Network (FFTN) · Simran Stuelpnagel, IRF Secretariat, Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce · Memorandum of Understanding signing: FFTN & IRF Secretariat · Response: Suhail Khan, Microsoft
• Academic Initiative

Regional & Country-Specific Initiative Reveals

Each reveal follows the same arc — Problem → Vision → Reveal → Call to Action & Opt-In.

Eurasia Panel — Love Your Neighbor Community: Framing — Wade Kusack, Love Your Neighbor Community · Opening remarks — Ambassador Robert Řehák, Ph.D. · Former Congressman Geoff Davis · Former Congressman Charles Boustany

• Segment 1 — Civil Society: Dr. Tetiana Kalenychenko, Dialogue in Action (Ukraine) · Alexey Kildishov, Attorney, Scholar, Expert (Kazakhstan) · Guram Imerlishvili, European Alliance for Religious Freedom (Georgia) · Sergey Ternovoy, Bible Society of Uzbekistan · Valeriu Ghilețchi, Former MP & Deputy Speaker, Parliament of Moldova
• Segment 2 — Religious Leaders: Rev. Dr. Ivan Rusyn, Ukrainian Evangelical Theological Seminary (Ukraine) · Peter Kremeruk, Center of Evangelical & Protestant Churches of Uzbekistan · Shavkat Khamdamov, Muslim Board of Uzbekistan · Guram Imerlishvili, European Alliance for Religious Freedom (Georgia) · Valeriu Ghilețchi, Former Bishop, Union of Christian Evangelical Baptist Churches of Moldova
• Segment 3 — Academia: Dr. Yuliya Kharkova, Scientific Institute of Public Law; Caspian University (Kazakhstan) · Dr. Olim Astanakulov, International Islamic Academy of Uzbekistan · Dr. Tetiana Kalenichenko, Dialogue in Action (Ukraine)
• Synthesis & Next Steps: Wade Kusack

Latin America — Conciencia Nacional por la Libertad Religiosa: Guillermo Smythe (Mexico) · Cristian Badillo, Conciencia Nacional por la Libertad Religiosa (Mexico) · Evelyn Bran, Governor of the State of La Libertad (El Salvador) · Senator Lorena Rios Cuellar (Colombia) · Monseñor Carlos Perez (Puerto Rico)

West Africa — The Stirling Foundation: Nicole Stirling, The Stirling Foundation

East Asia: Speaker to be announced.

Lunch · Azerbaijan — Perspectives from the Region

Lunch, followed at 1:00 PM by perspectives from two Azerbaijani leaders. Speakers to be announced.

IRF Roundtable Initiative Reveals

Congressional Working Group: Anna Sineva · Kyle Cristafalo · Mehmet Saracoglu

Prisoners of Conscience Working Group: Sean Nelson

Middle East Working Group: Lauren Homer

Africa Working Group: Scott Morgan

Additional Roundtable initiative reveals to be announced.

National Initiative Reveals — United States

Conscience Rights in Health Care: Dr. Shannon Kroner, Freedom of Religion – United Solutions · Pastor Ricardo Beas · Rabbi Jonathan Gross

Religious Freedom Alliances Across the United States: William Benac, Religious Freedom Alliance Council

Closing — Action Plans & Coordinated Engagement

A closing session that ties the launches and reveals into a coordinated path forward — action plans for the coming weeks and months, calls to action, and a joint declaration and pledge.

Greg Mitchell · Sheikh Al-Mahfoudh bin Bayyah · Lord Russell Rook OBE · Chris Seiple, Ph.D.