On February 25, about 70 people from diverse faiths attended an interfaith forum at the Clayton theatrette.

Guest speaker Joseph Camilleri, professor of international relations at La Trobe University, talked about why interfaith dialogue was so important in today's society.

He said it was essential in a politically and culturally diverse world that religious groups should be willing to talk together to reconcile their differences. However, each faith must have a willingness for internal dialogue. "Each faith needs to have genuine intra-faith dialogue before inter-faith dialogue can be truly successful."

For Professor Camilleri, the key elements of interfaith dialogue included the search for truth, the coming together in life's journey and valuing not only what we have in common but also the differences.

He said the most important attribute was listening to each other, which was the first step in the process of healing and reconciliation between faiths.

"Fears and uncertainties need to be tackled by bringing them out into the open even though discussing the past could be quite painful. Religions should not be at the core of the problem but at the core of the solution."

He said Melbourne led the rest of Australia in creating a climate for interfaith dialogue.

The forum - organised by the Monash Interfaith Gathering and Monash Council with support from the Victorian Multicultural Commission - may become a quarterly event.