This year’s lecture will be from Peace and Conflict Studies director Dr Jenny Te Paa Daniel, titled "Kia tau te rangimarie ki a koutou — a query in Aotearoa-NZ".
Organiser the Rev Greg Hughson, of the Dunedin Abrahamic Interfaith Group, expected there would be some challenging conversations from her talk.
"The lecture is exploring the theme about what is our response to a greeting of peace," Mr Hughson said.
"It ties in well with Muslim, Jewish and Christian communities ... the greetings are very similar among people of faith, but also within the Maori world.
"She has an international track record for peace and justice; she’s a very challenging speaker."
Mr Hughson said Dr Te Paa Daniel would be the first Maori to give the lecture, which began in 2004 with a talk from former prime minister David Lange, and had been held annually in September ever since.
"I had links with David Lange, who was a Methodist.
"I heard he was coming back to his faith, so I invited him to give a talk ... he was dying, but he spoke very eloquently about his faith, and later thanked us for the opportunity."
Other notable talks included Imam Gamal Fouda, whose delivered his lecture "Responding to terrorism in Christchurch and elsewhere" in the wake of the 2019 Christchurch mosque attacks.
"He was such an incredible presence, it was a really powerful lecture about the importance of faith and kindness in the wake of such an atrocity," Mr Hughson said.
This year’s lecture takes place at the St David’s Lecture Theatre at 6.45pm, and will be followed by a supper in All Saints Hall.
