UNITED KINGDOM: The Faith and Media Summit, a unique initiative in its format organized in Oxford (I)
HRWF (15.09.2025) – The Faith and Media Summit, an initiative of Radiant Foundation, was a first-of-its-kind gathering of scholars, storytellers, and industry leaders exploring how faith is represented – and often misrepresented – in the modern media landscape.
Hosted in partnership with University of Oxford, the Summit created space for thoughtful pluralistic dialogue on AI, wellbeing, entertainment, public identity, human dignity, and civil discourse, through the lens of faith’s positive role in public life. All participants joined working sessions, contributed to real-time narrative development, co-created publishable works, and connected with collaborators shaping the future of faith-inclusive media, AI, scholarship, and beyond.
Format
- Six 75-min sessions.
- 2-min video presentation per session.
- Context setting opening remarks by 3-4 experts followed by 50-min group conversation resulting in six curated publishable works.
Topics
Local Service Project
Video presentation
Faith, Media & Public Identity
Faith & Entertainment
Workshops: Navigating the Media Landscape
Faith, Media & Flourishing
Faith, Media & AI
Faith, Media & Human Dignity
Faith, Media & Civil Dialogue
Speakers and contributors to the debates (Shortened version of their bios)
Rabbi Elan Babchuck Executive Vice President at Clal, the National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership, and Founding Director of Glean Network.
Josie Bamford is an Executive Producer for The Cultural Programme at the University of Oxford where she is focused on building a program that connects Oxford with artists, writers and thinkers from across the world.
David Bilotti is a strategic marketing and communications consultant with more than two decades of experience guiding corporations and organizations through moments of growth and change.
Allison Brady is the Vice President and Head of Special Projects at HarrisX as a seasoned market research and operations leader, overseeing global research and operational strategies.
Brandon Burton is the President of Bonneville Communications, a multi-faceted digital media company that operates a variety of businesses focused on “creating good”.
Ricky Ray Butler is the CEO of Branded Entertainment Network (BEN), a company that specializes in using AI to deliver cross-platform brand integrations for TV, film, streaming, digital influencers, music, and more.
Elonda Clay is the Library Director at the Methodist Theological School in Ohio, where she focuses on digital religion, the ethical and ecological dimensions of emerging technologies, and the environmental costs of generative AI, working collaboratively to promote just, sustainable digital futures.
Craig Detweiler is a filmmaker and author. He is also President of the cultural investment organization, the Wedgwood Circle, and Dean of the College of Arts and Media at Grand Canyon University.
Edmund de Waal is a contemporary artist, potter and author. His artistic and written practice investigates themes of diaspora, memorial and materiality. His work has been featured in museums worldwide from The British Museum, London to Schindler House, Los Angeles.
John Dye is an Executive Director at The Faith & Media Initiative (Future Leaders), he leads initiatives that bridge global conversations about faith and culture, with a special focus on how media can uplift and inspire.
Justin Dyer is a Professor of Religious Education at Brigham Young University. He received his Ph.D. in human and community development from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and was a postdoctoral fellow at Auburn University.
Willy Fautré, former chargé de mission at the Cabinet of the Belgian Ministry of Education and at the Belgian Parliament. He is the director of Human Rights Without Frontiers (HRWF), an NGO based in Brussels that he founded in December 1988. He is a member of the Press Club in Brussels and a correspondent of The European Times.
Imam Monawar Hussain is the Muslim Tutor at Eton College, Windsor; Muslim Chaplain to the Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and the Founder of The Oxford Foundation.
Bryan McCann is the co-founder and CTO of you.com. Previously, he was a Lead Research Scientist at Salesforce Research working on Deep Learning and its applications to Natural Language Processing (NLP).
Dritan Nesho is the Founder and CEO of HarrisX, a voter and consumer research, data analytics and technology solutions company focused on public policy, consumer technology, media, and telecommunications. He has lectured at Harvard University since 2014 on political polling and opinion research.
Hans Noot, co-director of Human Rights Without Frontiers (HRWF) and is the managing director of The Noodt Foundation, a non-profit, non-partisan NGO supporting Freedom of Religion or Belief in Europe. He holds a Masters Degree in Organizational Behavior from BYU.
Duncan Pile is a progressive Christian writer focused on bridging the gap between traditional expressions of the Christian Faith. He is a also a thought-leadership contributor and reporter for Beliefnet.
Katherine Pieper, PhD is the program director at the Annenberg Inclusion Initiative at the University of Southern California. She has co-authored and contributed to more than 40 studies on diversity and inclusion across entertainment and media industries.
Angela Nielsen Redding currently serves as Executive Director at Radiant Foundation and Faith & Media Initiative, which invests in more accurate, balanced representation of all faiths in news, entertainment, and digital spaces. Prior to her work at Radiant, she founded a media innovation trade association, leading multi-million and billion-dollar investments.
Michael Richardson is the Executive Creative Director at Radiant Digital and Faith & Media Initiative. Prior to this role, Michael Richardson worked in the Los Angeles advertising scene, creating marketing campaigns for mega brands.
Dr. Lipi Roy is a physician, international speaker, media personality, entrepreneur, and host of the YouTube series Health, Humor and Harmony. In 2023, she founded SITA MED, focused on addressing stress-related conditions such as addiction, mental illness, and sleep disorders.
She holds an MD and MPH from Tulane University and completed her residency at Duke University Medical Center, where she also serves on the DukeNY Board.
Hassan Sabriye is the Director of Oxford Community Action. An organization dedicated to promote community development, social inclusion and social justice for diverse, multi-ethnic communities through partnerships with community leaders.
Simran Jeet Singh is Assistant Professor of Interreligious Histories at Union Theological Seminary and author of the national bestseller The Light We Give: How Sikh Wisdom Can Transform Your Life (2022). He is Senior Advisor for the Aspen Institute’s Religion & Society Program, where he previously served as Executive Director.
Aaron Sherinian is the Managing Director of the Church Communication Department for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. As a communications professional with more than two decades of experience of service in the corporate, philanthropic and diplomatic sectors.
Stacy L. Smith is an Associate Professor of Communication and Founder of the Annenberg Inclusion Initiative at University of Southern California. The USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative (AII) is a leading global think tank studying issues of inequality in entertainment examining gender, race/ethnicity, the LGBTQ+ community, people with disabilities and mental health.
Lynn Swain is a TEDx speaker, Master Neuroplastician, and respected expert in authentic leadership and corporate transformation. With over 20 years of experience in consulting, coaching, and leadership development. She is the founder and CEO of Symbiota Leadership Institute and holds a Master of Science in the Neuroscience of Leadership from Middlesex University, UK.
Katrina Lantos Swett is President of the Lantos Foundation for Human Rights and Justice which advocates for human rights worldwide, championing the rule of law, freedom of religion and belief, Internet freedom in closed societies, and fighting antisemitism and Holocaust denial. She formerly served as Chair and Vice Chair of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) and teaches Human Rights and American Foreign Policy at Tufts University. She is also Co-Chair of the International Religious Freedom Summit, launched in 2021.
Reverend Dr. Andrew Teal is an Anglican priest serving as Chaplain, Fellow, and Lecturer in Theology at Pembroke College, Oxford University. A Yorkshire native ordained at age 23, he has devoted over 20 years to ministry and academic life at Oxford. Dr. Teal specializes in Patristic and Modern Theology.
Erica Whyman has led British theatre companies for 25 years from Artistic Director and Chief Executive of The Gate Theatre, London to Deputy Artistic Director of the Royal Shakespeare Company. Unique projects include Faith, a major co-production between the RSC and the Coventry City of Culture Trust.
Brooke Zaugg is an Executive Director at the Radiant Foundation where she launched the Faith & Media Initiative program that connects and provides resources to a global, diverse network of media members, content creators, faith leaders, community members working together to ensure accurate, balanced representation of faith in journalism and entertainment. She has been recognized in Forbes Life, CNN Money, the Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times, and Esquire.
Miyoshi Zuehl (pronounced Mee-yoh-shee Zeel) serves the Faith and Media Initiative as Head of Creator Partnerships. Since joining the foundation in 2022, she has managed relationships with influencers of all sizes, coordinated the production and distribution of hundreds of hours of video content.
Photo: Introduction to the Summit by Angela Redding, Executive Director at Radiant Foundation and Faith & Media Initiative, which invests in more accurate, balanced representation of all faiths in news, entertainment, and digital spaces. (Credit: HRWF, Willy Fautré)
