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Introduction:

The values of social solidarity, nafir (collective popular action) and care for poor, widows and orphans are deeply rooted values of the Sudanese society. The first Ministry for Social Affairs in Sudan was established immediately after independence, with its aims set at providing social security and welfare of children, women juveniles and poor families as well as supporting the handicapped.

With the advent of the National Salvation Revolution, social development has started to become a broad concept and an strategic term, that means focusing on the human beings in a view to pushing forward the development process in the society for achieving a better reality of development, authenticity and civilizational specialty, and at the same time, a means for International Brotherhood and Friendship.

Among the important aspects tackled by social planning are the following:

1. The religious life and its institutions.
2. Takaful(social solidarity) and its institutions.
3. The humanitarian aid commission
4. Women.
5. Children.

Here we are going to focus on International Friendship, and Women Sector.

 

Since early this decade, Sudan has given more concern to popular solidarity as peoples are the tools of building and the mainstay of international development.

The Khartoum-based Council for International People’s Friendship(CIPF) was then set up as a popular arm for external relations. The CIPF made considerable advancement towards enhancing its relations among peoples through a number of international conferences. A major outcome of international peoples friendship other than contact and exchange through friendship societies, was the Khartoum Inter-Religious Dialogue and International Peace Forum, November 1991, which bore the motto "Towards a World of Brotherhood and Peace". The conference underscored the need for creating proper atmosphere for peace and stability in the world. Towards that end, peace-loving peoples called, through their representatives in Khartoum, for adherence to good morals preached by the various religions. Popular diplomacy focused on creating dialogue among the religions as men of religion are the backbone of dialogue which was corporate by the 1991 Khartoum Declaration.

The forum itself was a fruit of a series of attempts and preceding conferences. Men of the world religions held a number of dialogue forums including the Tokyo Good Morals Conference, 1981, the Forum of Prayer for International Peace, Acacia, Italy 1986, the Religions Summit, 1987, the Milborne meeting of the International Council for Religions and Peace, 1989 and the 1990 Hizan Hill Forum, Japan, in which Khartoum conference was decided to be held in 1991.

The Khartoum forum was the first to be held in a Muslim land outside the Christian world. It was held in collaboration with the Japanese committee. The Khartoum conference brought together representatives from Japan, Iran, Syria, Egypt, Pakistan, Jordan, Chad, Nigeria, Kenya, Ethiopia, Senegal, Yugoslavia, Hungary, the USA, United Kingdom, Yemen, the Czech Republic, Poland and Sudan besides thinkers and scholars from various parts of the world. The "Prayer for Peace" was held with Muslims, Bhudists from Japan and Christians each in their own rituals within an atmosphere of love, peace and brotherhood.

That is but part of the CIPF achievements in Sudan let alone formation of societies of solidarity with all peoples of the world.