Editor's Note - Dharma Resources - Kong Meng San Phor Kark See ...

overhaul to our draft. It worked and we produced
a decent final declaration!
Renee (second from right) with
organisers of the dialogue and
fellow Singaporean delegates
Renee: The most memorable activity was a night
trek up a mountain in Surabaya. It was my first
time trekking at night. Although it was a long,
tiring and cold trek, we had fun singing, cheering
and encouraging each other. It took us more than
four hours and the sight of the campfire was so
welcoming. After warming ourselves before the
fire, we only had a few hours of sleep before waking
up at 5.30am to catch the sunrise. Watching the
sunrise on a mountain surrounded by the howling
winds was an amazing experience.
Have overseas interfaith dialogues changed
you in any way
Profile
awaken
Renee: My hosts were of upper-middle class status
and owned a salon and a restaurant, but they were
humble and treated everyone with respect. They
did not discriminate against others because they
were richer, or spoke harshly to their workers
when the latter did something wrong – instead,
they would patiently correct their workers and
still appreciate their workers’ efforts.
Overseas interfaith dialogues are not
‘all work and no play’. Any memorable
incidents to share
Cell: That must be the dialogue in Spain 2006. My
working group had to contribute to a declaration
addressed to multiple governments on what
the mass media industry should observe while
reporting on religious issues. It was very difficult
to steer the discussion in the right direction
and pin down what was appropriate. Firstly, we
had no idea what a declaration was and how it
should look like. Secondly, the discussion was
dominated by friends from the Middle East with
their concerns about free media, friends from
Europe who insisted on the freedom of speech
and of course us Asians nodding our heads to
both sides. We still managed to squeeze a draft
out but it was very amateurish. Then half an hour
before our presentation, I grabbed a couple of
people in the group, convinced them that it was
not appropriate, realigned everyone and did an
Cell: Definitely yes! It was an eye opener for me,
to see that there were so many capable religious
youth leaders across the globe keen on interfaith
dialogues. In contrast, Singapore has only just
begun the process of getting youth interested in
such matters, hence you do not get to see many
youth in interfaith work. It is therefore encouraging
for me to meet like-minded youths from all around
the world.
It made me realise that Singapore is still many
steps away from organising our own international
interfaith dialogue for youth. In order to be a
good host, we need the full support of related
government bodies, existing networks with peers
from strategic countries, and a substantial group
of youth with hands-on experience in interfaith
work and knowledge of current affairs with a
religious perspective.
Calling youths:
let Buddhism fulfill your
DREAMS!
www.kmspks.org/BY2010 • email: by2010@kmspks.org
6849 5344
46