As part of UNESCO’s efforts to strengthen dialogue among civilisations and cultures it had conducted a global research to define the best practices in interreligious dialogue. The research was conducted by Arigatou International. SIO is the only Islamic Organisation among the eight organisations short listed as best among the total of 200 practices of Inter-faith dialogue in India. The seventy eight pages report in its evaluation of Indian practices mentions: “Probably no country in the world harbours more interfaith dialogue meetings than in India, with over 200 organizations active in interfaith dialogue.” The report also mentions SIO as the dialogue initiative with the largest number of youth membership.

Background of the research project mentioned in the report is: “Based on its many years of experience with far reaching dialogue initiatives, the Organization distanced itself from the notion of a “clash of civilizations” proposing a more dynamic and interactive framework for cultural encounters and exchanges—a perspective rooted as well in historical facts. The year 2001 was celebrated as the United Nations Year of Dialogue among Civilizations, and in November 2001 the General Assembly adopted the Global Agenda for Dialogue among Civilizations (Resolution 56/6), assigning UNESCO a lead role within the United Nations system.”

The research team had visited SIO headquarters in New Delhi on June 2009 and had detailed exchange with the central leadership of SIO.