Religious leaders from all faiths assemble in the Thai capital mid-June to shape a programme of community initiatives aimed at solving some of the world's pressing problems.

The agenda for this summit, which runs from June12-14, has already singled out three broad global themes that demand the attention of heads of faiths: conflict resolution, poverty alleviation and combating environmental degradation.

Summit organisers are hoping that a charter of commitment to emerge out of the three-day gathering will serve as a template to guide followers of faiths into action, particularly at the community level.

They also expect the first of many pilot projects to work with the United Nations and governments to come out of the religious confab.

''We are going to launch a process here,'' says Bawa Jain, who was the secretary-general of the UN-backed Millenium World Peace Summit of Religious and Spiritual Leaders in Aug 2000. ''We are not looking for quick-fire solutions; we are in for the long haul.''

Good testing ground

And the choice of an Asian country to host the confab is equally relevant to this vision, adds Phra Thepsophon, a well-respected Thai Buddhist scholar. ''The world religious leaders must do something, and Asia is a good testing ground.''

Both men, who spoke at a press conference here Tuesday, underscored the import of this summit in the aftermath of the Sept 11 acts of terror in the United States. According to Jain, ''Transformation of militants can take place if we influence the religious leaders they look up to, those who have moral authority.''

So far, religious leaders due to attend range from archbishops, rabbis, imams, swamis and monks to heads of indigenous belief systems. Also scheduled to participate are religious scholars, jurists and representatives of interfaith groups.

And once again, as happened during the UN's summit of religious and spiritual leaders in Aug 2000, the world body's experts are due to play a pivotal role.

UN specialists in poverty alleviation, the environment and socio-economic issues such as drug abuse will serve as resource persons during the conference, says David Lazarus, spokesman for the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), the worldbody's regional centre based in Bangkok.

''The formula is to explain what the UN is doing in these areas and get religious leaders' help to channel their energies into influencing their communities,'' he adds.

For Jain, the link with the United Nations is key to this religious mission. ''Religious leaders feel that the UN is the only neutral platform to confront major social challenges,'' he explains.

That sentiment was vividly displayed during the Aug 2000 summit, when over 2000 religious leaders participated.

''The success of that event made me realise we should not stop there,'' says Phra Thepsophon, who is also rector at the Bangkok-based Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya University. ''I wanted to see something materialise.''

He adds that Thailand serves as an ideal location for the first major initiative since that UN-backed meeting in New York. ''Thailand has a record of peaceful co-existence with religions; we have not had a religious war in our history.''

The Bangkok meet, according to Jain, is to take the message from that initial summit to another level - translating words into a concrete programme of action.

Spiritual message

The summit is expected to send a strong spiritual message by identifying the three pressing concerns for action &38212 conflict resolution, poverty alleviation and halting environmental degradation.

''The efforts of this summit are channelled towards motivating intolerant and fearful pockets of politically exploited peoples with little access to education, awareness and opportunities to a better understanding and consequent appreciation of the overwhelming need for peace in order to gain prosperity,'' states a note released ahead of the meeting.

What is more, by addressing the three themes spelled out, the Bangkok meet is expected to underscore a greater need for religious leaders to step up their efforts in solving the more earthly problems than harping on religious differences.

''We are not in the inter-faith business,'' asserts Jain. ''Religiousleaders can play a role in Asia to address social challenges.''

However, conference organisers admit the challenges that lie ahead, particularly in continents like Asia, which has deeply religious societies.

The major faiths in the region include Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, Sikhism, Shintoism, Taoism, Janism and Confucianism.

And Jain hinted that the religious leaders would not shy away from addressing some of the more contentious issues in Asia that are rooted in religions. The fighting that has erupted between India and Pakistan over the disputed territory of Kashmir will not be ignored, he affirms.

''This is a defining moment,'' he says. ''The issue of terror. What roles can religions play to stop it. The initiatives will have to come from religious councils.''