Sunday, December 6, 2009 - Council for a Parliament of the World's ...

Program DescriptionsSunday, December 6, 20099:30–11:00amINTRARELIGIOUS SESSIONlutionary impulse—the creative source that springs fromthe depth of our being. This ecstatic and dynamic sourceof spiritual liberation gives new meaning to the profoundtruth that the inner and outer are one, empowering us totransform the world as we know it from the inside out.Andrew Cohen is a spiritual teacher and founder of EnlightenNextmagazine (formerly What Is Enlightenment?). A visionary thinker, Cohenis widely recognised for his original contribution to the emerging fieldof evolutionary spirituality. Through his talks, retreats, publications andongoing dialogues with leading philosophers, mystics and activists, heis becoming a defining voice in an international alliance of individualsand organisations that are committed to the transformation of humanconsciousness and culture.With One VoiceRoom 107FilmThis documentary brings together mystics from fourteendifferent spiritual traditions to share their perspectiveson the unifying truth that transcends all religions. Theseteachers address profound questions about life and love,the existence of God, the path to spiritual awakening andthe way to true peace in the world. They ask us to lookwithin our own hearts and listen deeply, so that we toocan join the conversation and speak With One Voice. Thefilm was directed by Matthew Flickstein.Integration of Immigrants andRefugees into Australia: Interfaith andCross-cultural UnderstandingPhilip HughesRuth PowellRobert DixonRoom 108SeminarMigration is at the core of the Australian experience, andthe country’s cultural and religious diversity continuesto increase. The churches of Australia have developed avariety of ways of welcoming these immigrants, buildingsocially cohesive communities and developing ways inwhich people can serve each other. This seminar bringstogether Australia’s three top Christian research agenciesto look at Australia’s religious profile, its multiculturalchurches and their pastoral strategies. The session willbe of particular interest to those who are working withyoung people, both through schools and religious organisations.It will be of importance to all those who areinterested in contemporary social change and how currentchanges may have an impact on the paths to creatingbetter interfaith and cross-cultural understanding andworking for peace, justice and sustainability.Dr Philip Hughes is a Senior Research Officer at the Christian ResearchAssociation of Australia.Dr Ruth Powell is the Director of the National Christian Life Survey.Robert Dixon is the Director of the Pastoral Projects Office of theAustralian Catholic Bishops Conference and a member of the Board ofthe Christian Research Association. Bob has degrees in science, theologyand education and is nearing completion of a PhD in sociology atMonash University.Transforming Compassion in Scienceand Religion (Session 1)LeRon ShultsSolomon KatzMichael T H WongManuka HenareImam Afroz AliRoom 109Panel and Interactive WorkshopCompassion is a value that is central to many of theworld’s religions and a phenomenon that can be studiedfrom a variety of scientific perspectives. This first sessionof a mini-symposium sponsored by the InternationalSociety for Science and Religion contributes to thegrowing interest in integrating interreligious with interdisciplinarydialogue. It will provide a context withinwhich different voices can come together around theshared concern to understand and facilitate empathy andaltruism across religious and other significant boundaries.This symposium focuses on transforming the way wethink about compassion through listening to one anotherand on facilitating compassion that has a meaningfulimpact on the human condition. It will also discuss facilitatinga level of compassion that transforms the humancondition. The first session will begin with a panel includinga biologist, a psychologist and an economist, who willaddress the question, ‘How does your discipline help usunderstand and foster compassion?’ The panel will befollowed by group exercises in which audience membersdiscuss initial reactions and implications.F LeRon Shults is professor of theology and philosophy at the Universityof Agder in Kristiansand, Norway. A leading authority on science andtheology, he has published some ten books and dozens of articles in thefield. Shults is the editor of the Brill book series ‘Philosophical Studiesin Science and Religion’ and scientific director of the TransformingCompassion project at Stiftelsen Arkivet, a peace-building institute inNorway. His other current research interests include ethics, desire, differentiationand religious symbolism.Dr Solomon Katz is director of the Krogman Center for ChildhoodGrowth and Development at the University of Pennsylvania and is a professorof anthropology and a senior fellow at the Wharton School LeonardDavis Institute for Health Economics. He was founder and Chairman(1984 to 1986) of the Task Force on the African Famine for the AmericanAnthropological Association (AAA) and is currently Chair of the AAA TaskForce on World Food Problems.Michael T H Wong is an Associate Professor of Psychology at MonashUniversity, Australia.Manuka Henare is the Associate Dean at the University of AucklandBusiness School, New Zealand.Imam Afroz Ali is the Founder and President of the Sydney-basedAl-Ghazzali Centre for Islamic Sciences & Human Development. He hasreceived licences to teach in various Islamic Sciences, having learnedfrom the most esteemed Islamic scholars of our time. He has initiatedphilanthropic as well as sustainable environmental projects in Australiaand abroad and continues to advocate peace, acceptance, justice andinterpersonal rights. Ali received the International Ambassador for Peaceaward.www.parliamentofreligions.org 225

Program DescriptionsSunday, December 6, 20099:30–11:00amINTRARELIGIOUS SESSIONSocially Engaged Buddhism:a Pathway to PeaceSulak SivaraksaTony Le-NguyenJill JamesonKarma Lekshe TsomoRoom 110Panel DiscussionThis panel discussion will focus on the incredible successthat socially engaged Buddhist leaders have had incombating modern problems such as war, poverty andAIDS, as well as the diversity of the responses. Thesestories attest to the limitless well of compassion withinthe Buddhist tradition, as applied via the skilful means ofsocial activism. In sharing these stories of success, presenterswill also discuss the obstacles to peace and thesocial, political and cultural causes of suffering that stillremain and must be addressed.Sulak Sivaraksa, of the Santi Pracha Dhamma Institute, is a Nobel Prizenominee and prominent Buddhist social and environmental activist inThailand. He has founded numerous organisations and has been involvedin Buddhist-Christian dialogue for decades. His books include ‘Seeds ofPeace: A Buddhist Vision for Renewing Society’ and ‘Loyalty DemandsDissent’.Tony Le-Nguyen is currently the Executive Producer for AustralianVietnamese Youth Media. Last year he assisted the VietnameseCommunity in Victoria to co-ordinate ‘Children of the Dragon’, a communityarts project to celebrate 30 years of Vietnamese settlement inAustralia. Mr. Le-Nguyen was the first Vietnamese-Australian to beappointed as an Official Prison Visitor to Port Phillip and Fulham Prisonby the Minister for Corrections, the Honourable Andre Haermeyer in 2003to act as an independent voice for the Prison system in Victoria. In 2000,He was awarded the Community Cultural Development Fellowship by theAustralia Council for the Arts, a two year professional development programto research different Community Cultural Development practices inthe United States, Canada, France and Vietnam.Jill Jameson, is a human rights activist and trainer from Melbourne’sBuddhist Peace Fellowship chapter in Australia. Jill has been engagedin the work of the International Network of Engaged Buddhists, offeringtraining in conflict transformation and peace-building in Burma, as wellas being part of a small delegation of Buddhists to Burma following theSaffron Revolution.Karma Lekshe Tsomo is Associate Professor in the Department ofTheology and Religious Studies at the University of San Diego, where sheteaches Buddhism, World Religions, and Comparative Religious Ethics.She studied Buddhism in Dharamsala, India for fifteen years and receiveda doctorate in Philosophy from the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Sheis president of Sakyadhita: The International Association of BuddhistWomen and director of Jamyang Foundation, an initiative providing educationalopportunities for women in developing countries.Zoroastrians: Their Imperativeto be Bridge BuildersArnavaz Chubb, ModeratorDr Dolly DastoorDr Sam KerrPerviz DubashKayzad NamdarianRoom 111Panel DiscussionZarathushtis are unique in the interfaith world. Small innumber, they have great respect for all other faiths, and,in turn, they command the respect of others. This presentationwill explore the Zarathushti imperative to be BridgeBuilders, Nithashnametheshim and Hamazor, the kinds ofschism causes, what it means to be a Bridge Builder andhow Zarathushtis may offer their services to be BridgeBuilders between and among the faiths.Arnavaz Chubb holds a Master’s degree in Avesta and Pahlavi (theancient scriptural languages of the Zoroastrians) and a Bachelor’s degreein English Literature and Ancient Indian Culture, both from the Universityof Bombay, India. She has served in various capacities on the managingcommittee of the Zoroastrian Association of Victoria. She conducts thereligious education classes organised by the Association for children andadults.Dolly Dastoor is the past president of the Federation of ZoroastrianAssociations of North America and the Zoroastrian Association of Quebecas well as editor-in-chief at Fezana Journal. She is currently AssistantProfessor of Psychiatry at McGill University, Canada.Sam Kerr was born in Bombay, India. He is an emeritus surgeon tothe University of New South Wales and its College Hospitals, Sydney,Australia. Dr Kerr was initiated into the Australian ZoroastrianAssociation of New South Wales in 1969 as a founding member. In additionto his professional writings, he has published and lectured onthe social, cultural, historical and scriptural aspects of the religion ofZarathushtra.Perviz Dubash is the former president of the Zoroastrian Associationof Victoria. He is currently the honorable trustee for the ZoroastrianAssociation of Victoria and the Current Coordinator of the ZoroastrianGroup for the Parliament of the World’s Religions.Kayzad Namdarian was brought up and studied in Melbourne, Australia.He is completing a Master of Diplomacy and Trade. He works in theKingdom of Tonga on assignment. He has been involved in variousZoroastrian community activities in Australia and abroad, such as preparingfor a religious presentation on the importance of gender equality atthe UN Women’s Rights Conference in 2005.Tari Sesaji Tri Yoni SaraswatiYayasan Dharma Samuan TigaNi Ketut AriniGusti Koes MurtiyahNurlia RuddinSuprapto SuryodarmoDiane ButlerEddy Supriono WirabhumiIda Pedanda GK Sebali Tianyar ArimbawaEko KadarsihRoom 201Artistic PerformanceTari Sesaji Tri Yoni Saraswati is a new ritual dance offeringto Saraswati, the Goddess of knowledge, the artsand wisdom. In South Sulawesi, she is known as ‘Colliq226 PWR – Parliament of the World’s Religions

Program DescriptionsSunday, December 6, 20099:30–11:00amINTRARELIGIOUS SESSIONPujie Arung Pancana Toa’, author of the world heritageliterature, La Galigo. This dance depicts a woman’ssearch for enlightenment through three phases. The firsttwo consist of an Agni Hotra purification ceremony andKalaruci innertime, in which the oneness of earth, moonand sun meets the small holy one in ourselves. Then, itdepicts three sacred feminine ethnic sources from Bali,Central Java, and Makassar, South Sulawesi, manifestingas Saraswati with the Barong Pa-Hayu Buwana/WorldPeace Barong. From the radiation of Dewi Saraswati’scompassion and breathing of religiosity in art, we praywithin ‘bhinneka tunggal ika’, unity in diversity, to Nature,Ancestors and the Great Oneness of God. Barong Pa-HayuBuwana/World Peace Barong was conceived in March2003 during the Sharing Art and Religiosity program inBedulu, Bali. This barong is a new creation made fromcoral, stones, bark, roots, feathers, fabric, bells andmaterials gifted every year by people across the earth. In2011, it will be dedicated to the 1000-year anniversary ofPasamuan Tiga.Yayasan Dharma Samuan Tiga is a nonprofit public foundation inBedulu, Bali, Indonesia dedicated to maintaining and supporting thespirit of conciliation that arose in the interfaith meeting at Samuan TigaTemple in the year 1011. The foundation strives to promote interculturalcollaboration through sharing in the arts and religiosity among culturesin Indonesia and among nations throughout the world.Ni Ketut Arini, of Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia, is a distinguished performer,choreographer and teacher of classical and modern Balinese dance.She was a faculty member at the Indonesian Conservatory of PerformingArts (KOKAR) and then a supervisor for national high schools throughoutBali. In 1973, she founded Sanggar Warini, a traditional studio in herbirth-village Lebah, where she continues to guide hundreds of young artists.She has toured extensively throughout the world.Gusti Koes Murtiyah, of Solo, Central Java, Indonesia, is the daughterof the late Sri Susuhunan Pakubuwono XII, the king of Karaton SurakartaHadiningrat. She holds a degree in Javanese Literature and is Director ofYayasan Pawiyatan Budaya Karaton Surakarta, which develops and preservespalace arts and culture. She has performed traditional Javanesecourt dances in Jakarta, Asia, Europe and the United States.Nurlia Ruddin, of Makassar, South Sulawesi, Indonesia, is the daughterof a leading teacher of the ritual dance Pakarena. She is a dance teacherat the National High School for the Arts in Somba Opu. Nurlia regularlyperforms in Indonesia, and her students have received national recognition.Suprapto Suryodarmo founded his Padepokan Lemah Putih school inMojosongo, Solo, Java in 1986. Since 1970, he has studied free movement,Vipassana and Javanese Sumarah meditation. He uses these practicesin the nature, temple and human fields. For twenty years, SupraptoSuryodarmo has taught his Joged Amerta method and created ritual artin Indonesia, Europe, the US, Mexico, Australia, the Philippines, Japanand India. He is a founding member of Dharma Nature Time and YayasanDharma Samuan Tiga.Diane Butler was born in the United States and has resided in Beduluand Tejakula, Bali since 2001. She is a movement artist, teacher andcultural/education program director who has worked in contemplativeintercultural arts in the US, Europe, Mexico and Asia. Diane holds a BFAin Dance from Juilliard and an MALS in Dance & Culture from Wesleyan.She is completing her PhD in Cultural Studies at Universitas Udayana inBali. She is a founder and president of Dharma Nature Time.Eddy Supriono Wirabhumi, of Solo, Central Java, Indonesia, holdsan MA in Economics and a PhD in Law from Universitas Diponegoro,Semarang. As a Board Member of the foundation Yayasan PawiyatanBudaya Karaton Surakarta, he is costume director for the artists ofKaraton Surakarta and an advisor for the renovation and revitalisation ofthe palace architecture. Sacred Earth: Music for Inner Peace.Ida Pedanda Gede Ketut Sebali Tianyar Arimbawa, of Amlapura,Bali, Indonesia, was confirmed as a Bali Hindu Priest in 1985 and iscurrently Dharma Adhyaksa of the High Priests’ Assembly of ParisadaHindu Dharma Indonesia (Indonesian Hindu Council). He is active in AIDSeducation and care for youth and fosters the presence of traditional ecosocio-religiousknowledge and practices in national/global environmentalforums. Pedanda Arimbawa has joined interreligious art, prayer, anddialogues throughout Indonesia and internationally.Eko Kadarsih, of Solo, Central Java, Indonesia, is a leading performerof classical palace dances of the Karaton Surakarta. Since 1986, Eko hasperformed with the karaton artist’s delegation and as an independent artistin several Indonesian provinces, and in Jakarta, Asia, Europe and theUSA. She holds a degree in literature.Walking With Wisdom by Jeremy‘Yongurra Yerin’ DonovanJeremy ‘Yongurra Yerin’ DonovanRoom 201Artistic PerformanceJeremy’s music is evocative and heartfelt. His stories andmusic stirs emotions in his audience as he transportsthem back to the Dreamtime.Religious Leaders for a SustainableFutureBishop Geoffrey DaviesJames BuchananRoom 202Interactive WorkshopThis session is framed to consider first the complex issuesof a globalizing world and then outstanding regionalsolutions. We need to develop new forms of global civilsociety, networks of dialogue, engagement and actionwhich work as a check and balance to the powerfulglobal institutions which often do not represent commonvalues. The presentation will explore the special role thatInterfaith communities need to play in the creation ofthese global civil social networks and of the demand thatthese networks offer real workable alternatives to the badpractices of many of the global actors and institutions.Bishop Geoffrey Davies of the Southern African FaithCommunities’ Environment Institute (SAFCEI), will discusshow his organisation works to mobilise religious communitiesand people of faith to care for the whole creation.Believing that climate change, biodiversity loss, economicinjustice and poverty are moral issues, SAFCEI seeks togalvanise all varieties of faith communities to use theirmoral authority and extensive networks to seek environmentaljustice and equity for future generations. The workof the Institute serves as a model that can be replicated,showing that diverse religious people have much in commonand can indeed live in peace and harmony with oneanother while seeking a sustainable, peaceful future.Bishop Geoffrey Davies is Coordinator and founder member of theSouthern African Faith Communities’ Environmental Institute, whichworks to raise awareness of environmental issues, such as climatechange, among different faith communities. He participated in ChristianAid’s Cut the Carbon march around the UK, which aimed to draw attentionto global warming and the urgent issue of reducing our carbon footprint.James Buchanan is director of the Brueggeman Center for Dialogueat Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio. The Center works on globalizationand global issues though conferences, publications and a variety ofwww.parliamentofreligions.org 227

Program DescriptionsSunday, December 6, 20099:30–11:00amINTRARELIGIOUS SESSIONprojects around the world. Interfaith dialogue, engagement and actionare central to the work of the Center. Dr Buchanan has his PhD from theUniversity of Chicago in Comparative Religion and Value Systems. He haspublished widely and lecture throughout the world.Who Do We Want To Be: Exploringthe Mission of the Jewish People inthe 21st CenturyRabbi David RosenRachael Kohn, ModeratorRabbi Jeremy LawrenceRabbi Brad HirschfieldRabbi David SapersteinRoom 203Panel DiscussionContemporary Judaism, whether as expressed in Israel itselfor in the Jewish Diaspora, faces many challenges as itmoves further away in time from the Holocaust and fromthe foundation of Israel. This panel, consisting of severalleading Jewish leaders and thinkers, will discuss thesechallenges and the evolving nature of Judaism in the 21stcentury. The session will be facilitated by Rachael Kohn,one of Australia’s leading religious affairs commentators.Director of the American Jewish Committee’s Department forInterreligious Affairs and the Heilbrunn Institute for InternationalInterreligious Understanding, Rabbi David Rosen serves on several internationalinterreligious organisations. Formerly Chief Rabbi of Ireland,he is the immediate past Chair of the International Jewish Committee onInterreligious Consultations, a broad-based coalition of Jewish organisationsrepresenting world Jewry to other religions.Rachael Kohn is producer and presenter of The Spirit of Things on ABCRadio National.Rabbi Jeremy Lawrence is Senior Rabbi at The Great Synagogue,Sydney. He serves as registrar and a judge on the Sydney Beth Din andis Orthodox rabbinic advisor to the New South Wales Board of JewishDeputies and the Executive Council of Australian Jewry. He is a foundermember of the NSW Jewish Arbitrators and Mediators Service. He wasformerly Rabbi in Auckland and a founder member of the AucklandInterfaith Council. He holds a degree in Jurisprudence from OxfordUniversity and has been associated with interfaith dialogue and the CCJsince student days. Rabbi Lawrence is a keen technophile, broadcasterand lecturer. Other interests include the environment, magic, Gilbert &Sullivan and skydiving. Rabbi Lawrence is married to Mandy and has fourchildren ranging from two to sixteen years old.Rabbi Brad Hirschfield is an acclaimed interfaith activist described byNewsweek as ‘one of America’s most influential rabbis’. He is the creatorof ‘Building Bridges’ and ‘American Pilgrimage’ on Bridges TV, theauthor of ‘You Don’t Have To Be Wrong For Me To Be Right: Finding FaithWithout Fanaticism’, and a columnist for Beliefnet.com and Newsweek/WashingtonPost.com. Hirschfield is the President of CLAL—The NationalJewish Center for Learning and Leadership, America’s leading Jewishinstitution for religious pluralism.Designated in Newsweek’s 2009 list as the most influential rabbi inthe United States and described in a Washington Post profile as ‘thequintessential religious lobbyist on Capitol Hill’, Rabbi David Sapersteinrepresents the national Reform Jewish Movement to Congress and theAdministration as the Director of the Religious Action Center of ReformJudaism.The February 2009 Bushfires in Victoria:Religious Response in the Role ofRecovery and RenewalChi Kwang SunimChristine NixonBrother Trevor PartonPastor Russell WrightRoom 204Panel DiscussionIn February 2009, Australia experienced the most devastatingbushfire in the country’s history. Nearly 200 peoplewere killed, and more than 400 more were injured, as firesspread rapidly across the land. In the aftermath of thedisaster, relief workers from many religious communitiescame together to help the survivors. Reverend Chi KwangSunim, a Buddhist nun and survivor of the Kinglake fires,will lead a dialogue with Christine Nixon, Chair of theVictorian Bushfire Reconstruction and Recovery Authority,and several religious leaders, about working with emergencyrelief, dealing with the suffering and grief of survivorsand victims, and rebuilding community. The presenterswill also share stories of outstanding acts of kindnessexperienced during the Kinglake Ranges’ recovery andrenewal, as well as look into deeper questions of ecologicalsustainability.Chi Kwang Sunim has been a Zen Buddhist nun for 30 years. Born inKorea, she now resides in Kinglake, Victoria. She is a founding memberof the Buddhist Library in Sydney, Wat Buddha Dharma, and TheSeon Centre, and is a seasoned meditation and Buddhist teacher. She iscurrently Chair of the Australian Sangha Association and recognised inBuddhist and Interfaith circles in Australia and abroad.Christine Nixon is the Chair of the Victorian Bushfire Reconstructionand Recovery Authority (VBRRA). Prior to this, Christine was the ChiefCommissioner of Victoria Police, having served New South Wales Policefrom 1972 and Victoria Police from 2001. Christine is an Advisory Boardmember of the Alannah & Madeline Foundation, and a patron of the BlueRibbon Foundation.Brother Trevor Parton is resident at the Christian Brothers Centre forEcology and Spirituality in Glenburn, Victoria, within the area devastatedby the bushfires. Trevor is a lecturer and presenter at Glenburn, as wellas in Hobart, Brisbane and Perth. His work concentrates on eco-literacyand on creating a more functional and spiritual relationship between thehuman and the natural world.Pastor Russell Wright is the Christian Outreach Centre’s mission andoperations manager. He has managed disaster relief projects in bothAustralia and overseas, including the Asian tsunami and Kinglake bushfires.For eight years, he has led more than 300 youth in mission trainingin Asia, in hopes of creating a new generation of community outreachleaders.Jain principles for CorporateSocial ResponsibilityDipak JainRoom 207LectureDr Dipak Jain, former dean of the Kellogg School ofManagement, will address business ethics from a Jainperspective. Over the past year, the economic tsunamithat swept through the world’s financial markets hashighlighted weaknesses in the global banking system. The228 PWR – Parliament of the World’s Religions

Program DescriptionsSunday, December 6, 20099:30–11:00amINTRARELIGIOUS SESSIONcrisis then spread quickly because of the very quality thatotherwise lends strength to this network: the interconnectednessof these financial institutions. From a Jainistperspective, some spiritual tenets could help preventthese market excesses. The market, it seems, shouldregard the accumulation of material wealth as spirituallyhelpful so long as this wealth is deployed in ways that createwidespread social benefit. In his humorous style, DrJain will present several examples from daily life and thecurrent business environment.Dr Dipak C Jain has been dean of the Kellogg School of Managementsince 2001. His career in education began as a student in Tezpur, northeastIndia. He earned his Master’s Degree in Mathematical Statistics fromGauhati University in India and his PhD in Marketing from the Universityof Texas. Since 1989, Dean Jain has also been a visiting professor ofmarketing at the Sasin Graduate Institute of Business Administration atChulalongkorn University in Bangkok.The Calling to Interfaith Ministryand Interfaith PracticeRoger RossRobert SellersRobert HrasnaTim MinerBeth KatzRoom 208Panel DiscussionThis panel describes organisations that have formed tosupport the growing number of interfaith ministers whohave answered the call of this expanding and dynamicmovement. It will take a look at the powerful applicationof interfaith cooperation and mutual learning in Christianleadership, scholarship and among its adherents, as wellas the environmental challenges people of all faiths facetogether.Rabbi Roger Ross is the Executive Director of the New Seminary forInterfaith Studies, the Executive Director of the Rabbinical SeminaryInternational, and the Treasurer of the NGO Committee on Spirituality,Values and Global Concerns, New York. He received his Bachelor’s degreein Psychology and Philosophy from New York University, and his ordinationas Interfaith Minister from The New Seminary. Rabbi Ross receivedRabbinical Ordination from the Rabbinical Seminary International.Robert P Sellers is Connally Professor of Missions and Theology atLogsdon School of Theology, Hardin-Simmons University, in Abilene,Texas. He draws on experience working in Indonesia and travellingthrough 36 countries to teach cross-cultural studies, liberation theologyand interreligious dialogue. A brief account of his personal faithpilgrimage and interreligious perspective is found in ‘The Cave: TeachingReligion Students to Rethink Exclusivism and Embrace Tolerance’, in TheWorld’s Religions After September 11, Vol. 4.Reverend Robert Hrasna is an ordained Interfaith Minister and agraduate of The New Seminary in New York. He continues to serve thereas Director of Music. Reverend Hrasna lives in Ocean Grove, New Jersey,where he formed a ministry in the field of Holistic/Spiritual health andcounselling. He currently serves as the chairman of the board for A WorldAlliance of Interfaith Clergy.Reverend Timothy Miner, OUnI, is the founding secretary of the Orderof Universal Interfaith and the organiser of both the Council of InterfaithCongregations of the United States and the World Council of InterfaithCongregations. He is a graduate of interfaith and traditional seminariesin the United States. He is also a board member of A World Alliance ofInterfaith Clergy working to recognise the training and work of interfaithministers.Beth Katz is the founder and executive director of Project Interfaith(www.projectinterfaithusa.org), an innovative organisation based inOmaha, Nebraska that serves as a leader and resource on interfaithand religious diversity issues. She also teaches courses on internationalconflict resolution and religious diversity in the schools at the Universityof Nebraska at Omaha.The Sacred JourneyMarjorie TidmanPeter TidmanDr John DavidsonNatasha TidmanRaymond TidmanKyle ListerRoom 209Interactive WorkshopSpiritual development is conceptualised within the broadframework of increasing our individual and collectivecapacity to love God and also to love humanity, to alleviatehuman suffering and to contribute our share tothe advancement of civilisation. The major part of thisprogram will focus on the sacred journey in search of theBeloved throughout this world and beyond. The workshopis based on Baha’u’llah’s most important mystical work,‘The Seven Valleys’, revealed in the late 1850s in responseto the questions of a judge who was also a prominent Sufi.The presentation will use various art forms, especiallymusic, to engage the audience. The events of each individualjourney are unique, but the golden threads of love,courage, insight and submission are common to all whoprogress along the spiritual path. The second part of theprogram highlights the newly constructed Baha’i Centreof Learning, located at the gateway to Hobart, Tasmania,which has attracted widespread public interest because ofthe beauty of its architecture and its many environmentalfeatures. The presentation will briefly survey the architecture,functions and aspirations of the Centre to servethe spiritual and social needs of the community, and tellsome of its stories of tragedy and triumph.Dr Marjorie Rose Tidman is an educational consultant and psychologist,and a former member of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’isof Australia. She is currently the Critical Incident (Trauma) Co-ordinatorfor Western Australia, for PPC Worldwide, co-ordinator of ‘Sacred Steps’Spiritual Retreat and a member of the Board of Baha’i Studies for theYerrinbool Baha’i Centre of Learning, Australia.Peter Charles Tidman is an optometrist and a musician, playing classical,jazz, rock, folk, and Spanish guitar; he also performs on vocals andpipes.Dr John Davidson is a member of the Baha’i Council for Tasmania andhas been engaged with the Baha’i Centre Project since its inception. Heis retired from teaching psychology at the University of Tasmania andspends most of his time at the Baha’i Centre of Learning. He has a longinterest in the development of educational programs within the AustralianBaha’i community.Natasha Anna Tidman is a year 12 school student who performs vocals.Raymond Maxwell Tidman is a year 9 school student who plays theguitar and drums.www.parliamentofreligions.org 229

Program DescriptionsSunday, December 6, 20099:30–11:00amINTRARELIGIOUS SESSIONSikh Youth PerspectivesJagjit Singh, ModeratorJessi (Jasjit) KaurKulmeet SinghGurpal SinghRoom 210Panel DiscussionEvery faith sustains itself by nurturing its next generationwith care and dedication. This session, which includesseveral young Sikhs along with Sikh youth camp organisers,addresses the needs of Sikh young adults. It willspeak to their specific issues in the context of a modern,globalised world. It will also address the future of Sikhyouth. This session will present and highlight intergenerationalperspectives relating to Sikh youth development.Jagjit Singh is an auditor who is member of the Sikh community ofMelbourne and practices the Sikh way of life. He actively participates incommunity activities and practices Seva (volunteering ‘selfless service’)in various aspects of life, including participation in activities of Langar(preparing, serving, washing dishes, etc). One of his interests includesmeeting people of varied backgrounds to share the values of Sikhism andto encourage harmony between the different cultures of Australia.Jessi Kaur is a frequent speaker at interfaith conferences and hastravelled extensively sharing spiritual values taught by the Sikh Gurus.Co-founder of the International Institute of Gurmat Studies and author of‘Dear Takuya’, a children’s book that promotes acceptance of diversityamong young children, Jessi is also Fine Arts Commissioner forCupertino, CA, USA. She believes that harmony is possible in a diverseworld when barriers of ignorance are brought down.Kulmeet Singh is the Executive Director of the group FATEH, a Sikhyouth service organisation that offers Sikh young adults the opportunity towork in Punjab, India for the betterment of the Sikh community.Gurpal Singh is a software engineer by profession. Religion, faith andbelief have stimulated his thinking since childhood. Living in a multiculturalworld prompts him to reflect on diversity and to ponder his values.He is a firm believer of ‘Unity in Diversity’ and values the uniqueness ofeach culture. The Parliament of the World’s Religions will surely be aplatform for new horizons to share, care and learn from different sectionsof society.Our Interreligious FutureRev Dirk FiccaCharles GibbsYoland TrevinoDr William VendleyImam Abdul Malik MujahidRoom 211Panel DiscussionThe interreligious movement is barely a century old, yetit is clear that it will play an increasingly important role inthe years ahead. Where is it all going? Will the religionsplay a larger role in the issues challenging the humancommunity? Is there a potential for greater commonaction among the world’s religious and spiritual communities?What are the next steps in the journey, whatis motivating the movement and what are the obstaclesto realising its visions? These and other topics will beaddressed by directors of leading interreligious organisations,their colleagues and the audience.Rev Dirk Ficca serves as Executive Director of the Council for aParliament of the World’s Religions. Dirk worked closely with the religiousand spiritual communities of the Chicago metropolitan area to planand organise the 1993 Parliament in that city. After the 1993 event, Dirkcontinued to lead the Council’s efforts to build a vibrant interreligiousmovement in Chicago and around the world. Dirk is also an ordainedPresbyterian minister.The Rev Canon Charles Gibbs serves as Executive Director of theUnited Religions Initiative, a global interfaith network for peace active in72 countries.Yoland Trevino is a globally respected Indigenous leader of Mayan ancestryand the Global Council Chair of the United Religions Initiative.Dr William F Vendley has served as Secretary General of Religions forPeace since 1994 and has mobilised and equipped religious communitiesin war-torn regions worldwide. He was a participant in His Majesty KingAbdullah’s historic interreligious meeting in Madrid, Spain in 2008 andhas been requested by the Muslim World League to serve on its FollowupCommittee. Dr Vendley is also an advisor to US President BarackObama.Abdul Malik Mujahid is the founder of Sound Vision Foundation andexecutive producer of the daily Radio Islam show. He served two terms asthe Chairman of the Council of Islamic Organizations of Greater Chicagoand is currently Vice Chair of the Council for a Parliament of WorldReligions. As national coordinator of Bosnia Task Force, USA, he successfullyled efforts in collaboration with the National Organization of Women(NOW) to declare rape a war crime.What Religious Insights Can Bringto Secular EducationVenerable Jian TanBernard KorbmanAnnette SubhaniDr Philip RileySri Paramahamsa PrajnananandaRoom 212Panel DiscussionReligion has always inspired and influenced humanthought in significant ways. We believe that some ideasand practices from religion can be used to help us understandcurrent deficiencies in secular education and makeus rethink what is truly important in school education:teaching us how to be human beings. In this program,speakers from Chung Tai Chan Monastery, the JewishHolocaust Centre in Melbourne, the grassroots characterdevelopment program Sharing Circles, and Santa ClaraUniversity discuss ‘What Religious Insights Can Bring toSecular Education’.Venerable Jian Tan is the Vice Abbot of Chung Tai Chan Monastery(founded by the Grand Master Wei Chueh, a Zen Buddhist spiritual leaderin Taiwan). He earned a PhD in Electrical Engineering from NationalTaiwan University and a Master’s degree in English Education in theUS in 2009. He has served as the Vice Abbot of Chung Tai Zen Center ofSunnyvale and has given teachings in San Francisco and Las Vegas.Bernard Korbman is the Executive Director of the Jewish HolocaustCentre in Melbourne. He lectures extensively in Holocaust education, bothnationally and internationally, as well as in issues dealing with humanrights and effective teaching methods. Before working at the JewishHolocaust Centre, Bernard was employed in the Government State Schoolsystem for a 25 year period.Annette Subhani is the Secretary of the Baha’i Council for Victoria. Sheis a parent, has a Diploma in Primary Education, holds a Post-GraduateDiploma in Early Childhood Education, and has participated in numerousprofessional development programs for various industries. She founded230 PWR – Parliament of the World’s Religions

Program DescriptionsSunday, December 6, 20099:30–11:00amINTRARELIGIOUS SESSIONthe grassroots character development program Sharing Circles, whichcontributes to the character and spiritual development of children agedtwo and beyond.Philip Boo Riley is an Associate Professor of Religious Studies at SantaClara University, where he has been active since 1978. His teaching andresearch interests focus on the Silicon Valley faith communities and howsuch organisations are shaped by regional dynamics. He lives in SantaClara with his wife Mary Beth.Paramahamsa Prajnanananda is the current spiritual leader of theKriya Yoga international organizations. These organizations were foundedby his master, Paramahamsa Hariharananda, who spread the teachingsof Kriya Yoga all over the world. Paramahamsa Hariharanandaji wasSwami Shriyukteshwar and Paramahamsa Yogananda’s most outstandingdirect disciple, one of the greatest realized Kriya Yoga masters in thelineage of Mahavatar Babaji Maharaj and Lahiri Mahasaya.Taking Our Place in the InterreligiousMovement: Women in Society,Peacemaking, and Interfaith DialogueTrish MadiganRev Denise YarbroughSussy GumoShehara ViswanathanNatalie Lindner LhuillierRoom 213Panel DiscussionThis program contains four sessions. (1) World Peace:Myth or Reality. A growing body of UN research showsthat capitalising on the activities of women peacebuildersnot only advances women’s rights, but also leads to moreeffective programs. This presentation is by Pushpa Wood,a Hindu woman from New Zealand, and Trish Madigan, aChristian woman from Australia, both participants in theintergovernmental International Dialogues on InterfaithCooperation in the Asia-Pacific region. (2) Make a World ofDifference: Gender, Religion and Human Rights—A KenyanPerspective. Gender equality and the empowerment ofwomen is one of the prioritised agendas of the MillenniumDevelopment Goals. The aim of this paper is to examinehow women are marginalised politically, economically,socially and spiritually in Kenya. (3) Women and a Modelfor Interfaith Dialogue. The central topic of this theme willbe the roles and representation of women in each faithtradition. (4) Too Political?! The Story of Believing Womenfor a Culture of Peace. Members of this women’s interfaithgroup will share stories of challenges and opportunities,and reflect on the experience of women and the goal ofthe interfaith movement to ‘hear each other and heal theearth’.Trish Madigan is a Catholic Dominican sister, a member of the Women’sInterfaith Network and a Christian representative on the AustralianNational Dialogue of Christians, Jews and Muslims. In 2002 Trish participatedin a Consultation of the Pontifical Council for Inter-ReligiousDialogue for the Asian region held in Seoul, South Korea. She has been anAustralian delegate at four regional intergovernmental conferences of theInternational Dialogue on Interfaith Cooperation for Peace and Harmony.Rev Denise Yarbrough is the Canon for Christian Formation andTheological Education at the Episcopal Diocese of Rochester, New York,and acts as the Interreligious and Ecumenical Officer for the Diocese.She teaches interfaith studies and world religions at Colgate RochesterCrozer Divinity School and serves on various interfaith bodies. She hasauthored a curriculum for interfaith education in Christian congregationsand is working on a book on the Israeli/Palestinian conflict.Dr Sussy Nyakan Gumo teaches theology and philosophy in theDepartment of Religion at Maseno. She received her BA in education in1991 and MA in 1995 from the University of Nairobi, and her PhD in religionin 2005 from Maseno University. She lectures on research methods,gender issues, religion and community development, religion and culture,and comparative religion.Shehara Viswanathan is a member of the Uniting Church in Australiaand the Convenor of the Young Women’s Interfaith Network. From 1999-2003 Shehara was the Australian representative on the Women’s AdvisoryCommittee of the World Council of Churches in Switzerland. During thistime she helped organise an International Young Women’s LeadershipConference in Kenya. In 2002 she was one of a team of four who representedthe Australian churches on a solidarity visit to Sudan.Natalie Lindner L’Huillier has a professional background in pastoralministry. Natalie received her undergraduate degree in ChristianTheology from the Brisbane College of Theology. With the support of theNational Council of Churches Ecumenical Leadership Fund, she travelledto Ireland to complete a Masters of Philosophy at the Irish School ofEcumenics, Trinity College, Dublin. Natalie has recently taken up a positionas Indigenous Research Support Officer within Australian CatholicUniversity’s Indigenous Research Office.Decolonising our Hearts and Minds,Healing the Earth and Ourselves: NorthAmerican Indigenous PerspectivesNancy MartinInes TalamantezJavier DavilaRoom 214LectureThis panel of papers explores the need to decolonise ourways of thinking, to face honestly and directly the plight ofNorth American Indigenous peoples, and to move beyondit. This is necessary in order to recover the wisdom andtraditions that are endangered or forgotten and to movetoward healing and reconciliation both between peoplesand with the earth. The session will include the followingpapers: ‘Decolonising our Hearts and Minds’ by InesTalamantez, professor of Native American Studies atthe University of California, Santa Barbara; ‘Genocidein the Guise of a Helping Hand’ by Javier Davila, professorof Infectious Diseases, University of California, Irvineand founder of the Native American Healing Center inSouthern California; and ‘Remembering Who We Are,Recovering the Sacred: First Nations Voices from theYukon’, a presentation by Nancy M Martin, professor ofReligious Studies, Chapman University and co-founder ofthe Global Ethics and Religion Forum.Nancy M Martin is associate professor of Religion and Griset Lecturer inEthics at Chapman University, California, USA. Dr Martin has publishedwidely and lectured internationally on religion in South Asia and comparativereligious ethics. She is co-editor of a series of volumes on comparativereligious ethics including ‘The Meaning of Life in the World Religions’and ‘Human Rights and Responsibilities in the World Religions’.A member of the Mescalero Apache tribe, Ines M Talamantez is aprofessor at the University of California, Santa Barbara. ProfessorTalamantez is the author of ‘Teaching Religion and Healing’ andhas contributed articles to ‘Native Religions and Cultures of NorthAmerica: Anthropology of the Sacred’, and ‘Unspoken Worlds: Women’sReligious Lives’. The past president of the Indigenous Studies Group atthe American Academy of Religion, she is a pioneering figure amongAmerican Indian scholars.www.parliamentofreligions.org 231

Program DescriptionsSunday, December 6, 20099:30–11:00amINTRARELIGIOUS SESSIONJavier Davila is the founding director of the American Indian HealingCenter and senior partner of South Coast Infectious Disease MedicalCenter. Having received his medical degree from the University ofCalifornia, Irvine, he went into private practice in 1984 and taught aboutinfectious diseases at the UCI Medical School from 1986 to 2005. DrDavila founded the non-profit American Indian Healing Center in Whittier,California in 2000 to address the health needs of urban Native Americans.Meditation: the Ultimate TransformativeExperienceDr Andrew Vidich, ModeratorDr Margarete CzernyJim RoseSue RoseDr Art SteinRoom 215Interactive WorkshopIn this interactive experiential symposium, participantswill learn how meditation can transform all aspects oftheir life. Learn how a simple but profound technique ofmeditation can help heal our bodies, open our hearts, liberateour minds and lead directly to the deepest levels ofpeace and joy within. Each of us already contains within useverything we need to be completely healthy, happy andspiritually fulfilled. We are, in fact, hard-wired for happinessand peace. This experience is accessible to each oneof us right now. In fact, it is our birthright. All we need isthe inner technology of transcendence, known in manytraditions as meditation, to access this vast inner wealth.Daily contact with this inner fountainhead of Life and lightwill result in personal healing, spiritual fulfilment andglobal transformation. As Gandhi once said, ‘If we want tochange the world, we should first be the change we seek’.Experience for yourself how meditation can change yourlife forever and how you can be a catalyst for healing theworld by becoming a living Ambassador of Light.Andrew Vidich has taught as an adjunct assistant professor of religionat Manhattan College and Iona College. He is currently a literacy coachand mentor for the New York City Department of Education. He is theauthor of ‘Light Upon Light: Five Master Paths to Awakening the MindfulSelf’ which won the 2008 National Book Award for best book in EasternReligions. Dr Vidich is an international speaker in the field of meditationand spirituality.Margarete Czerny is a scientist and economic advisor to the governmentof Austria and the European Union. She was recently honoured withthe Golden Order of Merit of the Republic of Austria. Dr Czerny was headof the Department of East-West Relations, Infrastructure, Housing Policy,and International Economics at the University of Vienna. Her expertise isin developing plans for transitioning nations. Her interests include methodsof fostering world peace and interreligious dialogue.Jim Rose recently retired from Johnson & Johnson with 35 years of experiencein human resources management and leadership development.In 1984, he began the spiritual path of Sant Mat, where he practices avegetarian diet, meditates daily and studies under the guidance of a spiritualteacher, Sant Rajinder Singh Ji Maharaj. Jim provides workshops andtraining to groups throughout the world where he connects meditationand spiritual development to other aspects of our lives.Susan Rose has been a vegetarian and has meditated for over 35 years.She cooks and studies nutrition with an emphasis on finding healthyvegetarian alternatives for her family and friends. Since retiring from acareer in sales and marketing, Susan has taught classes in vegetariancooking and vegetarian diet in New York, Boston, Chicago, Philadelphiaand various locations in New Jersey. She has most recently given workshopsand talks in India and Dubai.Arthur Stein teaches Peace Studies and Comparative Religion in thehonours program at the University of Rhode Island (URI), USA. Cofounderof the Center for Nonviolence and Peace Studies at URI, he hasbeen engaged in educational and conflict resolution/reconciliation serviceon every continent. Author of several books and other publications, hehas been a participant and scholar in working towards mutual understandingand peacebuilding among ethnic national communities.Politics and Governance: An IslamicPerspective on Religious Democracyin IranDr Mahdi MostafaviRoom 216Academic PaperIslam has been considered a religion that does not separatereligious beliefs and political practice. However, theproper system of governance in an Islamic society hassparked debates among a number of Muslim thinkersand scholars. The model of state established by the NobleProphet of Islam in the city of Medina emphasised theprinciples of justice and equality, which allowed politicalparticipation of sorts for all the citizens includingMuslims, Christians and Jews. In the contemporary worldand after the victory of the Islamic Revolution, the lateImam Khomeini put this doctrine into practice and deviseda new political system in Iran based upon his uniqueconcept of Vilayat-e Faqih (Rule of Jurisprudence), whichis popularly referred to as ‘Religious Democracy’. Thispaper seeks to explore the ways, means and mechanismsthrough which divine teachings and religious values canbe reconciled with contemporary issues related to governanceand the participation of people in political, socialand cultural affairs. The author believes that the doctrineof ‘Religious Democracy’ is the result of such reconciliationand that it has been implemented in the constitutionof the Islamic Republic of Iran.Dr Mahdi Mostafavi is the advisor to the Iranian president and is thePresident of the Islamic Culture and Relations Organisation, whichshapes Iran’s cultural relations with the rest of the world. Dr Mostafaviholds a PhD degree in Strategic Management and has held different positionsin government, including Deputy Foreign Minister and the Presidentof the Department of International Affairs of the Office of the Supreme ofIran. He has many books to his credit.Preservation of Sikh HeritageJasbir Singh, ModeratorDevinder Pal SinghDr Balvinder SinghSarbpreet SinghRoom 217Panel DiscussionThe Sikh faith is now over 500 years old. Preservation ofthat faith’s religious heritage has become a central andcritical issue for the global Sikh community. This sessionprovides an overview of the efforts being undertaken topreserve the written, architectural and musical heritageof the Sikhs throughout South Asia and the rest of the232 PWR – Parliament of the World’s Religions

Program DescriptionsSunday, December 6, 20099:30–11:00amINTRARELIGIOUS SESSIONworld. Discussion will focus on the challenges of preservationand methods to address these challenges.Mr Jasbir Singh has been the Chairman of the Rajasthan StateMinorities Commission, an Indian government agency working forthe welfare of five religious minorities (Muslims, Sikhs, Christians,Zoroastrians and Buddhists). As the Vice President of the State SikhSamaj, he has encouraged propagation of secular ideals propoundedby Sikh Gurus. As Secretary General of the Indian chapter of GCSInternational, a UN-affiliated NGO, he has led initiatives for global peace.Devinder Pal Singh is the Operations Director of the NanakshahiTrust based in Chandigarh, India. The mission of the Nanakshahi Trust,established in 2001, is ‘to develop the Sikh aesthetics and to assist thedestitute and downtrodden’. The Trust is a research and action organisationdedicated to creating awareness of Sikh culture. Projects undertakeninclude creating audio-visual aides, printing text, sponsoring educationand recognising outstanding contributors.Balvinder Singh is Reader and former Head of the Guru RamdasSchool of Planning at Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, and is anINTACH Scholar. He has presented at 17 international conferences andis a well-respected Sikh conservationist. His recent research projectshave included documentation of artwork in Siri Harimandir Sahib, withspecial emphasis on floral designs, and documentation of Sikh Shrines inPakistan.Sarbpreet Singh is the founding director of the Gurmat Sangeet Project.The Gurmat Sangeet Project is an organisation dedicated to the preservationand propagation of Gurmat Sangeet (Sikh Sacred Music). It disseminateshigh quality recordings from its website and organises events thatfocus on young practitioners of this tradition. He has written short stories,poetry and plays on Sikh-related themes and writes a regular blog onGurmat Sangeet.The Spiritual Tradition of ScientologyEmmanuel FoundasRobert AdamsRoom 218Panel DiscussionScientology is a new religion which emerged late in the20th century and continues to be one of the most talkedabout religions as it continues to grow. This presentationis designed to let people know what Scientology actuallyis, what we do in the community, and how we relate toother religions and religious beliefs in our attempt to healthe earth.Emmanuel Foundas is the President of the Church of Scientology inMelbourne.Rev Robert Adams was born in San Francisco, California In 1946. Heholds a Masters degree in Physical Education and a Bachelors degree inBiology from University of the Pacific in Stockton, California and holdsa lifetime teaching credential from the State. As a Scientologist andScientology Minister since 1984, he has assisted hundreds of people toachieve greater awareness and spiritual freedom. He holds the positionof Vice President of the Church of Scientology International working withofficials in government and private industry to better understand the aimsof Scientology and the importance and workability of the array of socialbetterment activities to help make a better world.The Headscarf Debates: ReligiousDress and Secular FundamentalismJanaan HashimDr Siti Musdah MuliaRoom 219Panel DiscussionAt the 2004 Parliament of the World’s Religions inBarcelona, three Muslim women from three very different,yet democratic, societies (the United States, Franceand Turkey) shared their experiences of creating a properspace to wear the hijab in the public sphere. In this session,the American from the original group is now joined byMuslim women from yet two other very different democraticcountries: England and Indonesia. Continuing theconversation from 2004, they will discuss the societal andgovernmental challenges that have arisen over the pastfive years with regard to this issue and how they have navigatedsuch challenges. They will describe how their fellowcitizens and governments have changed in understandingthe hijab, the dynamics behind such change, the directionin which they are going, and what the interfaith communitycan do to shape that direction. More so, these threedynamic speakers will address how Muslim women indemocratic societies contribute to the building and promotionof humanitarian and modern values, despite obstaclessuch as laws prohibiting the hijab or enforcing it.Janaan Hashim is a criminal defense and civil rights attorney practicingin Illinois with Amal Law Group, LLC. She co-founded this firm, the firstof its kind in the US, with five other Muslim women. Ms Hashim writesa legal column for Arab Horizon newspaper in Chicago. She is also anadjunct professor at McCormick Theological Seminary. From 2004 to 2008she was the spokesperson for the Council of Islamic Organizations ofGreater Chicago.Dr Siti Musdah Mulia has been a research professor at the IndonesianInstitute of Sciences (LIPI) since 2003. She also lectures at SyarifHidayatullah State Islamic University, Jakarta. Since 2007, Dr Mulia hasbeen the chairperson of the Indonesian Conference on Religion for Peace,an NGO actively promoting interfaith dialogues, pluralism and democracy.She is the author of many books and an activist for democracy, humanrights and gender issues.Charter of CompassionKaren Armstrong (by video)Sr Joan ChittisterDr Chandra MuzaffarTariq RamadanRoom 220Karen Armstrong, the highly acclaimed British author of‘A History of God’ and numerous other works on comparativereligion, has called upon Jews, Christians andMuslims to draw up a ‘Charter of Compassion’ whichwould apply shared moral priorities to foster greater globalunderstanding. The result of months of consultation,the final manifesto was publicly unveiled on November 9thof this year, and includes such signatories as His Holinessthe Dalai Lama, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and formerUN Human RIghts High Commissioner Mary Robinson. Inconjunction with issuing the Charter, Armstrong is callingfor the establishment of an alliance of individuals, orga-www.parliamentofreligions.org 233

Program DescriptionsSunday, December 6, 200911:30am–1:00pmINTERRELIGIOUS SESSIONnizations and communities to advocate for global change.Learn of the deep connection that compassion has tothe world’s major religious and spiritual connections, itsembrace by youth movements for service worldwide, andits relevance in addressing the critical issues facing theglobal community.interreligious 11:30am–1:00pmBuddhist–Christian DialogueLindsay FalveyPaul SandersJohn MayVincent PizzutoPadmasiri de SilvaRoom 101Interactive WorkshopThis program includes four parts. Firstly, panel memberswill discuss ways in which Christianity and Zen Buddhismhave been able to learn from each other. The workshopfosters a spirit of enquiry and openness, which leads toa softening of prejudice and fear. Participants will be offeredexamples from the Canonical gospels, the Gospelof Thomas, as well as writings from Meister Eckhart,Thomas Merton, and the Japanese Zen master Dogen.This workshop will present approaches to objectless meditation,and explore its vital place in uncovering wisdom.Secondly, presenters will aim to show how issues raisedby dialogue in contexts of pluralism could be exploredcollaboratively by Buddhists and Christians by retrievingstrands of tradition such as compassion, empathy, careand forgiveness. Thirdly there will be a presentation ofthe recently released book, ‘Dharma as Man’, which isan ancient story read each evening by an old man to hisyoung son in rural India. It is a universal tale condensed tocombine the world’s stories, which renders Jesus’ life intoBuddhist concepts in an ancient Indian setting. Fourthly,there will be a discussion of how traditions might betterunderstand their shared vocation to alleviate sufferingthrough interreligious dialogue and shared interspiritualcontemplative silence.Lindsay Falvey is a professor of the University of Melbourne, where hewas previously Chair of Agriculture, Dean of Land and Food Resources,and Dean of Agriculture, Forestry and Horticulture. He is also a lifemember of Clare Hall, Cambridge, at the University of Cambridge. He haswritten extensively on religion, agriculture and issues of sustainabilityfrom multireligious perspectives.Paul Sanders is director of the Augustine Centre and has trained intensivelyin contemplative spirituality in the US and in Australia. He leadsretreats and programs in contemplative spirituality and is a senior Zenstudent.John May has a doctorate in Ecumenical Theology, Muenster and adoctorate in History of Religions, Frankfurt. He was Ecumenical ResearchOfficer in Papua New Guinea from 1983-1987 and Associate Professorof Interfaith Dialogue at the Irish School of Ecumenics, Trinity CollegeDublin from 1987-2007. He is from Melbourne originally.Vincent Pizzuto is Associate Professor in the Department of Theologyand Religion at the University of San Francisco. He has a PhD in NewTestament theology from Leuven, Belgium. Vincent was ordained tothe priesthood in the Celtic Christian Church (an independent Catholicchurch) in 2006, in which he now ministers to a small contemplativecommunity. He has a number of publications and his primary theologicalinterests lie in New Testament theology and Christian mysticism.Dr Padmasiri de Silva is a Buddhist philosopher in the Theravada traditionand has written a number of books about Buddhism in the moderncontext. He has held teaching positions in Sri Lanka, Singapore, the USand New Zealand, and is at present a research associate with the Schoolof Historical Studies at Monash University.Panentheism: God and World inan Ecological AgeJoseph PrabhuMax CharlesworthPhilip ClaytonPurushottama BilimoriaFreya MathewsRoom 103Panel DiscussionPanentheism means that all things are in God. It is distinctas a theological doctrine from pantheism, which saysthat all things are divine, and from theism, which distinguishesand separates God from the world. Panentheism,by contrast, distinguishes but does not separate God fromthe world. Many developments, sacred and secular, haveled to panentheism, among them religious experience,feminist perceptions of the Divine and current ecologicaltrends. This panel incorporates theological, philosophical,ecological and political insights stemming from thisdoctrine and furthermore seeks to make contact with andfoster East-West dialogue on the topic. The monotheisticfaiths have generally been considered dualistic and theEastern faiths non-dualistic. The panellists, drawn fromdifferent religious, cultural and gender perspectives, willsituate panentheism on this spectrum and attempt toexpound the wisdom of panentheism and its significancefor contemporary spiritual and social life.Joseph Prabhu, PhD, is a Professor of Philosophy at California StateUniversity, Los Angeles and the President of the Society for Asian andComparative Philosophy. He has taught at universities around the worldand is the author of ‘Human Rights in Cross-Cultural Perspective’ and‘Liberating Gandhi: Community, Empire and a Culture of Peace’ (forthcoming).He is a Program Task Force Chair and Trustee of the Council fora Parliament of the World’s Religions.Max Charlesworth is an emeritus professor of philosophy associatedwith La Trobe University in Melbourne. He was formerly Professor ofPhilosophy at Deakin University and its Founding Dean of Humanities.Charlesworth is also the Founder and first editor of Sophia, the (now)international journal in metaphysical theology and philosophy of religion.He has written on a wide range of topics from the best in philosophicaltheology to the Aboriginal land rights to issues within the CatholicChurch.Philip Clayton is Ingraham Professor at Claremont School of Theologyand Professor of Religion and Philosophy at Claremont GraduateUniversity. He specialises in conflicts and connections between the sciencesand religion, with particular focus on the biological sciences andthe environmental crisis. He is the author or editor of seventeen booksand over 100 articles, including the recent ‘Oxford Handbook of Religionand Science’ and ‘In Quest of Freedom: The Emergence of Spirit in theNatural World’.Purushottama Bilimoria is a Professor of Philosophy and ComparativeStudies at Deakin University in Australia and Senior Research Fellow,University of Melbourne. He is a regular Visiting Professor at StateUniversity of New York (Stony Brook), Columbia University and the234 PWR – Parliament of the World’s Religions

Program DescriptionsSunday, December 6, 200911:30am–1:00pmINTERRELIGIOUS SESSIONUniversity of California, Berkeley. His areas of specialist research andpublications cover classical Indian philosophy and comparative ethics;Continental thought; cross-cultural philosophy of religion; diaspora studies;bioethics; and personal law in India. He is an Editor-in-Chief of theSophia Journal of Philosophy of Religion.Freya Mathews has published widely in the field of ecological philosophy.Her books include ‘The Ecological Self’, ‘For Love of Matter:A Contemporary Panpsychism’ and ‘Reinhabiting Reality: Towards aRecovery of Culture’. Active in disseminating ecophilosophical ideas inthe wider community, Freya’s work focuses on ecological metaphysics,epistemology and ethics, philosophy of place and reinhabitation, andIndigenous thought, especially in the Indigenous traditions of Australiaand China.Practising Yoga: Covert Conversionto Hinduism or the Key to Mind-BodyWellness for All?Rev Ellen Grace O’Brian, ModeratorSwaminathan VenkataramanChris ChappleDr Amir Farid IsahakRoom 104Panel DiscussionThe science of yoga has grown enormously on the globalstage in the last few decades due to widespread recognitionof its physical and mental health benefits. Hinduismteaches that yoga is comprised of eight steps of whichthe popularly practised postures are an integral part.Although yoga’s origins are Hindu, its practitioners comefrom virtually all faiths. The United States alone hasabout 20 million practitioners, with hundreds of millionsworldwide. However, the Hindu roots of yoga and the useof Hindu chants, such as the sacred syllable ‘Om’, appearto have created apprehensions that the practice ofyoga leads to de facto conversion to Hinduism. Yet, as apluralistic, non-exclusivist and non-proselytising religion,Hinduism teaches that one need not become a Hindu orrepudiate one’s own faith to practice yoga and reap itsbenefits. How founded is the fear of conversion? Is thepractice of yoga inconsistent with the tenets of otherreligions? Can interfaith dialogue help individuals, irrespectiveof faith, reap the immense benefits that followfrom the practice of yoga? The aim of this program is tofoster understanding among faith traditions and to createa sustainable basis for the practice of yoga by all.Rev Ellen Grace O’Brian is the Spiritual Director of the Center forSpiritual Enlightenment and a minister in the spiritual tradition of KriyaYoga. She was ordained in 1981 by Roy Eugene Davis, a direct discipleof Paramahansa Yogananda. She serves on the board of trustees of theParliament, is the President of Meru Seminary, and leads a thriving congregation.She is the author of several books on meditation and spiritualpractice.Swaminathan Venkataraman is a member of the Hindu AmericanFoundation’s Board of Directors and coordinates that organisation’sinterfaith efforts. Mr Venkataraman practises some of South India’sancient Hindu traditions including Vedic chanting. He is an engineerfrom IIT Madras and has an MBA from the IIM Calcutta, now based inSan Francisco. He is currently a Director with Standard & Poor’s at theirUtilities and Infrastructure group. He also raises money for charitablehospitals.Christopher Key Chapple is Doshi Professor of Indic and ComparativeTheology at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. He receivedhis PhD in the History of Religions from Fordham University. A foundingmember of the Forum on Religion and Ecology (Yale University), Chris haspublished more than a dozen books on the religions of India, many with afocus on Hinduism and Ecology. He edits the journal ‘Worldviews: GlobalReligions, Culture, and Ecology’ (Brill).Dr Amir Farid Isahak, a medical consultant, is a Trustee of the GlobalCouncil of the United Religions Inititiative (URI) and President for theAsia-Pacific Region of the World Council of Muslims for InterfaithRelations (WCMIR). He is also Chairman of the Interfaith SpiritualFellowship (INSAF) of Malaysia and a committee member of both theMalaysia Interfaith Network and the Research and Information Centre onIslam and an advisor to the Persatuan Darul Fitrah Malaysia, the MuslimConverts Welfare and Propogation of Malaysia.Global Poverty ProjectHugh EvansRoom 105Interactive WorkshopThe Global Poverty Project is a slideshow and presentationthat will explore the issues around poverty and whatwe can do to help.Hugh Evans is the Founder and Director of the Oaktree Foundation,a youth led aid and development organisation, which has now beenestablished in the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, India and East Timorproviding educational opportunities to more than 40,000 young people. In2004 he was awarded the Young Australian of the Year.Towards a Universal Declaration ofHuman Rights by the World’s ReligionsDr Arvind Sharma, ModeratorRabbi David SapersteinDr Joseph PrabhuDr Chandra MuzaffarDr Mihir MeghaniDr Chris ChappleDr Ines TalamantezBrian LepardRoom 106Panel DiscussionThe Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted bythe United Nations on December 10, 1948, representsa landmark in the evolution of the moral imagination ofhumanity. While the period in which it was proclaimedpossessed a decidedly secular orientation, the religiousbackground of its drafters played a role in its formulation.Increasingly, religious traditions come to serve as championsof human rights. In 1998 a new initiative was launchedto frame a Universal Declaration of Human Rights by theWorld’s Religions. This is an ongoing process in which thetext has been examined, revised and modified at variousgatherings, including the Parliament of the World’sReligions at Barcelona in 2004. This program carries thatprocess forward by inviting representatives of a numberof religious traditions to reflect on the current state of thetext. This session will run for three hours.Arvind Sharma is a Birks Professor of Comparative Religion atMcGill University in Montreal, Canada. He specialises in comparativereligion, Indian philosophy and ethics, and Hinduism (both classical andNorth Indian).www.parliamentofreligions.org 235

Program DescriptionsSunday, December 6, 200911:30am–1:00pmINTERRELIGIOUS SESSIONDesignated in Newsweek’s 2009 list as the most influential rabbi inthe United States and described in a Washington Post profile as ‘thequintessential religious lobbyist on Capitol Hill’, Rabbi David Sapersteinrepresents the national Reform Jewish Movement to Congress and theAdministration as the Director of the Religious Action Center of ReformJudaism.Joseph Prabhu is a Professor of Philosophy at the California StateUniversity at Los Angeles and the President of the Society for Asian andComparative Philosophy. He is also the author of ‘Human Rights in Cross-Cultural Perspective’ and ‘Liberating Gandhi: Community, Empire and aCulture of Peace’ (forthcoming). He is a Program Task Force Chair andTrustee of the Council for a Parliament of the World’s Religions.Dr Chandra Muzaffar is a political scientist and founding president ofthe Malaysian-based NGO International Movement for a Just World (www.just-international.org), which seeks to raise public consciousness onthe moral and intellectual basis of global justice. He also served as thefirst director of the Centre for Civilisational Dialogue at the University ofMalaya. In addition to writings on civilisational dialogue, he has publishedextensively on religion, human rights, Malaysian politics and internationalrelations.Mihir Meghani is the co-founder and President of the Hindu AmericanFoundation, an American Hindu human rights group advocating on behalfof the Hindu community in the United States.Christopher Key Chapple is Doshi Professor of Indic and ComparativeTheology at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. He receivedhis PhD in the History of Religions from Fordham University. A foundingmember of the Forum on Religion and Ecology (Yale University), Chris haspublished more than a dozen books on the religions of India, many with afocus on Hinduism and Ecology. He edits the journal ‘Worldviews: GlobalReligions, Culture, and Ecology’ (Brill).A member of the Mescalero Apache tribe, Ines M Talamantez is aprofessor at the University of California, Santa Barbara. ProfessorTalamantez is the author of ‘Teaching Religion and Healing’ andhas contributed articles to ‘Native Religions and Cultures of NorthAmerica: Anthropology of the Sacred’, and ‘Unspoken Worlds: Women’sReligious Lives’. The past president of the Indigenous Studies Group atthe American Academy of Religion, she is a pioneering figure amongAmerican Indian scholars.Brian D Lepard is Law Alumni Professor of Law at the University ofNebraska College of Law, where he has taught International HumanRights Law, among other courses. A member of the Baha’i Faith, he isthe author of numerous books and articles on human rights, ethics, internationallaw, and world religions, including the book ‘Hope for a GlobalEthic: Shared Principles in Religious Scriptures’.The Dhamma Brothers(Premier Film Series Selection)Room 107FilmThe Dhamma Brothers’ is a moving story of transformation.Men held in an overcrowded maximum securityprison in Bessemer, Alabama, are forever changed by ameditation program. ‘The Dhamma Brothers’ has beendescribed as a film where ‘East meets West in the DeepSouth’, an apt portrait of what happens to a number ofhardened criminals who volunteer for a ten-day Vipassanaretreat. The film was directed by Jenny Phillips, AnneMarie Stein, and Andrew Kukura. Q & A to follow.Who is My Neighbour? Religious Identityand the Limits of LoveMichael FagenblatRuwan PalapathwalaRoom 108Panel DiscussionDuring this panel discussion, we will explore how Jews,Christians and others relate to people who are differentfrom them, particularly in terms of religious identity.The Bible commands us to ‘love thy neighbour’, but asa Jewish lawyer once asked Jesus, ‘who is my neighbour?’Is the neighbour someone like us? Or is he or shea stranger to us? How far does our love have to go? Thepanel, consisting of a Jew and two Christians, will reflecton how we have practised, and still do practise, the commandmentto ‘love thy neighbour’, and on what the ideademands of us in today’s world. This will be an interactiveprogram and audience members will be invited to sharetheir perspective on the merits and problems involved inloving our neighbours.Michael Fagenblat is Lecturer in the Australian Centre for JewishCivilisation, Monash University, and convener of the Masters inInterreligious Studies, Monash University. His first book, ‘A Covenant ofCreatures: Levinas’ Philosophy of Judaism’, is forthcoming from StanfordUniversity Press. He is interested in the interaction between Judaism andother cultures.Dr Ruwan Palapathwala lectures in Asian Religions and Religion andCulture in the United Faculty of Theology, the Melbourne College ofDivinity, and at Trinity College, the University of Melbourne. He is also thepart-time Parish Priest of St Alban’s Anglican Parish, North Melbourne,Australia. He is interested in globalisation, religious traditions of Southand Southeast Asia, and religion and culture.Global Ethics and Religion Forum –Religion and the Future of HumanitarianIntervention in a Sustainable andJust WorldJoseph RunzoBrian LepardGerard PowersDan-Erik AnderssonSeamus MillerAntje JackelénRoom 110SymposiumThis is Panel #3 in the ‘War and the Role of Religion in aJust and Sustainable World’ Symposium.Dr Joseph Runzo is Executive Director and President of the Boardof Directors of the Global Ethics and Religion Forum, an educationalnonprofit dedicated to global ethical responsibility. He has written andlectured extensively around the world on comparative religion, religiousethics, human rights and the ethics of war and peace. He is Professor ofPhilosophy and Religious Studies, Chapman University, USA, and a LifeFellow of Clare Hall, Cambridge University, UK.236 PWR – Parliament of the World’s Religions

Program DescriptionsSunday, December 6, 200911:30am–1:00pmINTERRELIGIOUS SESSIONBrian D Lepard is Law Alumni Professor of Law at the University ofNebraska College of Law, where he has taught International HumanRights Law, among other courses. A member of the Baha’i Faith, he isthe author of numerous books and articles on human rights, ethics, internationallaw, and world religions, including the book ‘Hope for a GlobalEthic: Shared Principles in Religious Scriptures’.Gerard Powers works at the Joan Kroc Institute for International PeaceStudies, University of Notre Dame, USA.Dan-Erik Andersson is Director of Human Rights Studies, University ofLund, Sweden.Seamus Miller is Director of the Australian National University Centrefor Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics and is affiliated with AustralianNational University, Canberra, Australia.Rev Dr Antje Jackelén is Bishop of Lund in the Lutheran Church ofSweden, the first woman bishop to be popularly elected the Church ofSweden. She was previously a professor of systematic theology/religionand science at the Lutheran School of Theology in Chicago and directorof the Zygon Center for Religion and Science. She is the author of ‘Timeand Eternity’ (2005) and numerous articles in a variety of languages.Currently, she serves as president of the European Society for the Studyof Science and Theology.Families: Family and Kinship inContemporary Indigenous CommunitiesMargaret Lokawua, Uganda: Karimjong, ModeratorAnna Pinto, India: MeiteiRosita Worl, USA: TlingitRoom 111Panel DiscussionOne of the traditional strengths found among Indigenouscultures is the inclusion of extended family membersin all aspects of family life, including child rearing.Governmental policies, however, intervene and placechildren outside the family circle, thereby robbing them oftheir cultural heritage, language, and values. Panellistswill present examples of the impact of such policies onIndigenous families.Margaret Lokawua is a member of the United Nations Forum onIndigenous Issues. She is also the Chairperson for the Civil Society forIndigenous Organizations in Karamonja, as well as the Director of theIndigenous Women Environmental Conservation Project.Anna Pinto is Executive Director of the Centre for Organisation, Researchand Education (CORE), an Indigenous peoples’ policy research and advocacyorganisation based in the North East of India. An active member ofthe Indian Women’s Movement for over two decades, she is also a prolificwriter whose work addresses and critiques such issues as policy initiativesby the government of India and international agencies such as theWorld Bank.Rosita Worl, whose Tlingit names are Yeidiklats’okw and Kaa.hani,is Tlingit, Ch’aak’ (Eagle) moiety of the Shangukeidi Clan from theKawdliyaayi Hit (House Lowered From the Sun) in Klukwan. She isPresident of Sealaska Heritage Institute, a nonprofit organisation dedicatedto perpetuating the Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian cultures. Formerlyan Assistant Professor at the University of Alaska Southeast, she hasa PhD and MS in Anthropology from Harvard University and a BA fromAlaska Methodist University.Removal: The Indigenous Reality –Daily Youth SessionMathew Luke Crane, ModeratorVisopiano SanyuDarlene St ClairMelissa BrickellRoom 201Unfortunately, one of the common threads that tie togetherthe experiences of Indigenous peoples throughoutthe world is removal—removal from family, removal fromland, removal from culture, and removal from language.This session will look at the impact removal has had onyoung Indigenous people at the individual, family, communityand societal levels. Stories will be shared from NativeAmerican, Aboriginal Australian and Naga perspectives.Mathew Crane is Aboriginal man from South Australia; Currentlycompleting a Bachelor of Arts in Literature and Theology at AustralianCatholic University; Administrative Assistant to Jim-baa-yer IndigenousUnit, Centre for Indigenous Education and Research, Australian CatholicUniversity; Member of the Anglican Church of Australia and parishionerat St. Peter’s Eastern Hill; Verger at St. Paul’s Cathedral; CommitteeChair of Critical Mass - a group that seeks to connect progressive youngAnglicans in the Diocese of Melbourne.Visopiano Sanyu is Indigenous to Nagaland.Iyekiyapiwin (Darlene St Clair) is an assistant professor of AmericanIndian Studies at St Cloud State University and the director of theMulticultural Resource Center. Her career has focused on the educationof Native peoples from early childhood to college, the integration of Nativecultures’ histories and languages into curricula, and the arts and culturalexpressions of Native peoples. She is Bdewakantunwan Dakota and anenrolled member of the Lower Sioux Indian Community in Minnesota.Melissa Brickell, a descendant of the Yorta Yorta and Wiradjeri people,resides in Melbourne. Her work and active community involvement overthe last eighteen years have focused on cross-cultural awareness andreconciliation among Australians. Brickell received a ReconciliationAward from Maribyrnong City Council for advancing the rights and communitylife of Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. She is alsoactively involved in the Stolen Generations movement in Victoria andnationally.A Tale of Two Women: A MultifaithReading of the Sarah/Hagar NarrativeRachael Kohn, ModeratorRebecca ForgaszCoralie LingRachel WoodlockRoom 202Panel DiscussionThis discussion by three women of the Abrahamic faithswill seek to address the humanity of the other throughan exploration of the Biblical narrative of Sarah/Hagarfrom the viewpoint of the Jewish, Christian and Islamicfaiths. The speakers will present their perspectives onthe Sarah/Hagar story, explore the themes from a varietyof viewpoints and engage in a moderated dialogue led bywww.parliamentofreligions.org 237

Program DescriptionsSunday, December 6, 200911:30am–1:00pmINTERRELIGIOUS SESSIONRachael Kohn. After the presentation, there will be anopportunity for audience questions and discussion. Theprogram is complementary to the current exhibition‘Women in the Bible: Tricksters, Victors and (M)others’being held by the Jewish Museum of Australia.Rachael Kohn is producer and presenter of ‘The Spirit of Things’ on ABCRadio National.Rebecca Forgasz is educator and curator of the current exhibition‘Women in the Bible: Tricksters, Victors and (M)others’ at the JewishMuseum of Australia.Coralie Ling is a retired minister in the Uniting Church in Australia.Rachel Woodlock is a Researcher in the Centre for Islam and TheModern World at the School of Political and Social Inquiry, MonashUniversity.Sacred Envy: Exploring What We Loveabout Our Own Faith, What We Admire inOthers and What Challenges Us in BothRabbi Brad HirschfieldSr Joan ChittisterImam Feisal RaufRoom 204Panel DiscussionTo be possessed of ‘sacred envy’ means to be envious ofthe beauty found in the sacred practices and teachings offaiths not our own. This facilitated conversation amongJewish, Christian and Muslim leaders will encourage participantsto explore what they enjoy most (and least) abouttheir own communities and also what they see as deeplybeautiful (and deeply challenging) in others.Rabbi Brad Hirschfield is an acclaimed interfaith activist described byNewsweek as ‘one of America’s most influential rabbis’. He is the creatorof ‘Building Bridges’ and ‘American Pilgrimage’ on Bridges TV, theauthor of ‘You Don’t Have To Be Wrong For Me To Be Right: Finding FaithWithout Fanaticism’, and a columnist for Beliefnet.com and Newsweek/WashingtonPost.com. Hirschfield is the President of the National JewishCenter for Learning and Leadership, America’s leading Jewish institutionfor religious pluralism.Joan Chittister, OSB, is a noted national and international lecturer whofocuses on women in church and society, human rights, peace and justice,and contemporary religious life and spirituality. In addition to beingthe executive director of Benetvision, a centre for contemporary spiritualitylocated in Erie, Pennsylvania, she is author of 22 books, including‘Illuminated Life: Monastic Wisdom for Seekers of Light’ and ‘The Story ofRuth: Twelve Moments in Every Woman’s Life’.Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf is chairman of the Cordoba Initiative, a multinational,multireligious project that works to improve relations betweenthe Muslim world and the West. Author of ‘What’s Right With Islam IsWhat’s Right With America: A New Vision for Muslims and the West’,he is also founder of the American Society for Muslim Advancement.Imam Feisal is a graduate of Columbia University, New York and holds aMaster’s degree from Stevens Institute of Technology.Aboriginal Reconciliation in Melbourne:Working for Land Justice andReconciliationPeter LewisVicki ClarkMelissa BrickellRoom 207Panel DiscussionThree community leaders will outline how ordinaryAustralians are working for Land Justice andReconciliation in Victoria. Peter Lewis, Co-Chairpersonof the Australians for Native Title and Reconciliation inVictoria, will discuss how to initiate and develop campaignsto stimulate awareness and create effectivechange. He will explain how to bring together non-IndigenousAustralians to inform, educate, and shift attitudesso that people can play an active role in reconciliation andrecognise Indigenous rights. Vicky Walker will discuss thework of the Aboriginal Catholic Ministry for the MelbourneArchdiocese, which has actively sought to provide ministrythat is participatory, experiential, nurturing, and inclusive,growing out of a deep Aboriginal Catholic spirituality andfaith. Two such ministries are Binnap Partners Inc andCatholics for Australian Reconciliation. Melissa Brickell,former Chairperson of the Stolen Generations VictoriaSorry Day Committee, will describe the process behindthe apology, illustrating the positive roles played by religiousgroups.Peter Lewis is the Manager of Policy, Research and Communication atthe Victorian Aboriginal Child Care Agency and is the former NationalDirector for Reconciliation Issues in the Uniting Church. He is one of thefounding members of the Australians for Native Title and Reconciliationin Victoria and is currently its Chairperson. Lewis has been a memberof Reconciliation Victoria, the National Sorry Day Committee and theVictorian Stolen Generations Sorry Day Committee.Vicki Clark is the coordinator of the Aboriginal Catholic MinistryMelbourne. She was a representative of the affiliated Aboriginal TribalGroups (Muthi Muthi) in the formation of the Willandra Lakes WorldHeritage Property Plan of Management. Nationally, Walker has beeninfluential in the formation and subsequent operations of the NationalAboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Catholic Council, serving forsix years as Secretary, three years as Vice Chair and three years asChairperson.Melissa Brickell, a descendant of the Yorta Yorta and Wiradjeri people,resides in Melbourne. Her work and active community involvement overthe last eighteen years have focused on cross-cultural awareness andreconciliation among Australians. Brickell received a ReconciliationAward from Maribyrnong City Council for advancing the rights and communitylife of Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. She is alsoactively involved in the Stolen Generations movement in Victoria andnationally.238 PWR – Parliament of the World’s Religions

Program DescriptionsSunday, December 6, 200911:30am–1:00pmINTERRELIGIOUS SESSIONDiscoveries from ‘Mapping’ FaithEngagement in the InternationalDevelopment ChallengeKatherine MarshallTom BanchoffElias SzczytnickiQuentin WodenRoom 208Panel DiscussionKnowledge is key to effective action, but there are hugegaps in understanding the multiple roles that faith playsin development. ‘Mapping’ the ways in which faith leaders,organisations and communities are currently addressingdevelopment challenges is a vital place tostart. The Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and WorldAffairs at Georgetown University brings together differentapproaches to the question of how religion formspart of the public conversation on human rights, peaceand democracy. In collaboration with the World FaithsDevelopment Dialogue, the Berkley Center has exploredthe work of faith-inspired organisations, transnational,national and local, across different world regions and onmajor development challenges, including health, governance,agriculture and gender. The session will reflect onunderlying questions, on the challenges of using knowledgeresources better for social justice action, and onchallenges ahead.Katherine Marshall is a Senior Fellow at the Berkley Center forReligion, Peace, and World Affairs and Visiting Professor in theGovernment Department and the School of Foreign Service, GeorgetownUniversity. She leads the Berkley Center’s work on faith-inspired institutionsworking in development, involving a series of regional backgroundpapers and consultations with academics and practitioners, and a seriesof reviews of development topics.Professor Banchoff is director of the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace,and World Affairs and Associate Professor in the Government Departmentand the School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University. ProfessorBanchoff is editor of ‘Democracy and the New Religious Pluralism’(Oxford University Press, 2007) and ‘Religious Pluralism, Globalization,and World Politics’ (forthcoming, Oxford University Press). Banchoff wasawarded the DAAD Award for Distinguished Scholarship in German studiesin 2003.Elias Szczytnicki is Secretary General and Regional Director, Religionsfor Peace Latin America and the Caribbean. Before, he was Member,National Executive Committee, Consensus-Building Table on Fightagainst Poverty of Peru, and Member, Committee on Supervision andTransparency, National Program on Direct Support for the More PoorPeople Together. Mr Szczytnicki holds a Bachelor’s degree in historyfrom the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru, and is a graduate from theProgram on Jewish Organization Direction of the Leatid Center.After engineering and business studies, Quentin Wodon worked inbusiness. In 1988, he shifted career and joined for five years the ATDFourth World, a inter-denominational grassroots and advocacy NGOworking with the extreme poor. He later completed a PhD in Economics,taught at the University of Namur, and finally joined the World Bank in1998. Since November 2008, he heads the Development Dialogue onValues and Ethics, the unit at the World Bank working on faith, ethicsand development.One Voice, Many Musics: Many Faiths,One CommunityAndre de QuadrosMarcel de QuadrosDeepti V PatelRoom 209Lecture, Film Screening, and DiscussionIn August 2008, six choirs from Lebanon, Syria, Jordan,Iraq, Palestine and Sweden met for an historic festival inPetra, Jordan. It was the first time that such a large groupof Arab choirs had ever performed together. This sessionwill focus on the unifying power of music and its particularimportance to an ethnic community that has for so longbeen separated by international borders. Documentaryfilmmakers Deepti V. Patel and Marcel de Quadros will talkabout their film, ‘Aswatuna’, which tells the story of thecreative individuals, women and men of different faiths,who were determined to organise this festival as a processof reconciliation and healing among the Arab community.In Arabic, Aswatuna, means ‘unity through the voice’.Singing in a choir that includes Christians and Muslimsexpressing faith in humankind, faith in the divine andlistening to this through the beauty of the music that theycreate, without understanding the language in which theysing, is truly a way of hearing each other. Audience membersshould expect a deeply moving, cathartic experience.A discussion will accompany the film screening.Andre de Quadros is a professor of music at Boston University, directorof the School of Music, and a faculty member in the university’s Institutefor the Study of Muslim Societies and Civilizations and its Global HealthInitiative. He is a conductor, scholar of non-Western choral traditions,and a music and human rights activist. He co-founded the Arab ChoralFestival and is an advisor to the International Federation for ChoralMusic.Marcel de Quadros has a background in high-end IT and marketingconsultancy. He is also the co-director of BlueION Studios. With officesin Australia and the United Kingdom, BlueION Studios was founded asa platform for documentary filmmakers to experiment with alternativeviews, positive human stories and new media projects.Deepti V Patel is a solicitor advocate. She is Arts and Culture Executiveat Hindu Council UK, City Hindus Network; Advocacy and CampaignsLead with South Asia Forum; a trustee for Inter-Faith Youth (Kirsch)Trust; an organiser of the London Week of Peace and the charity PeaceAlliance; and a member of St Ethelburgas Centre for Reconciliation andPeace, City of London Inter-Faith Forum. She is a company director ofBlueION Studios and producer/writer of ‘Aswatuna’.www.parliamentofreligions.org 239

Program DescriptionsSunday, December 6, 200911:30am–1:00pmINTERRELIGIOUS SESSIONReligious Dual Belonging: The Futureof the Dialogue of Experience?Gwenda Rait, ModeratorDr Stewart SharlowVicki ClarkChristina FoxBrni Nivedita ChaitanyaCharlotte Hain-SharlowPaul KnitterRoom 210Panel DiscussionThe concept of religious dual belonging has had a longtradition with varying degrees of acceptance. Since theSecond Vatican Council, Christians worldwide have engagedwith various Buddhist, Hindu, Islamic and Jewishspiritual practices. In the 20th century, two key examplesof dual belonging were Fathers Bede Griffiths andAbishiktananda, both Catholic Benedictine monks whobecame sannyasi (Indian Holy Men), while retaining theirChristian heritage. Spiritual scholars, such as the greatTurkish theologian, Bediuzzaman Said Nursi, spoke aboutChristian-Muslims in the future. For many, such dialoguesof experience are anathema, while for others, experiencinganother faith in all its richness can help them discoveranew the depths and riches of their primary faith tradition.Gradually, one recognises and experiences the parallelsand the differences between faiths without losingone’s primary identity. A panel of speakers will explore thesignificance of this religious experience and what it offersto people in other faith traditions. The panel will addressthe following questions: Is dual belonging one of the experienceswhich will herald a new age in cross-cultural andcross-religious relations? Is this a religious path for onlya few or will it become a pattern for interfaith dialogue inthe future?Mrs Gwenda Rait is a member of the Melbourne Catholic Ecumenicaland Interfaith Commission.Dr Stewart Sharlow is a member of the Janssen Spirituality Centre (forInterreligious and Cross-cultural Relations) and a follower of a Christian-Sufi path.Vicki Clark is an Aboriginal elder of the Mutthi Mutthi people of NewSouth Wales and Co-ordinator of the Melbourne Aboriginal CatholicMinistry in Victoria.Christina Fox is a Christian Spiritual Director and follower of a Christian-Buddhist path.Brni Nivedita Chaitanya is a Hindu Nun and teacher of Hindu Scripturesat Chinmaya Dhain in Melbourne.Charlotte Hain-Sharlow is a member of the Melbourne CatholicInterfaith Committee and follower of a Christian-Sufi path.Paul Knitter is the Paul Tillich Professor of Theology, World Religions,and Culture at Union Theological Seminary, New York. Previously, hetaught theology at Xavier University in Cincinnati. His groundbreaking1985 book ‘No Other Name?’ addresses interreligious dialogue, as well ashuman and ecological well-being. Knitter is on the Board of Trustees forthe International, Interreligious Peace Council, which was formed afterthe 1993 Parliament of the World Religions.Role of Religion and Spiritualityin the Public DiscoursePenny Mulvey, ModeratorArchbishop Philip FreierRabbi David SapersteinRoom 211Panel DiscussionThe best way to achieve and maintain societal change forthe greatest good is through the art of persuasion. Whenpeople of deeply-held convictions and widely-divergentvalues can engage in honest and fruitful dialogue aboutwhat matters most, and find ways to co-exist and cooperatefor the common good, the benefits are mutual andtransformative. How can religious and spiritual communitiesinsure that the public discourse in their respectivesocieties serves these ends? What are the unique contributionsthat communities can make to the conversation?What boundaries and limits should inform theirparticipation? This program offers the opportunity to hearseasoned leaders explore the meaning of ‘civil discourse,’and identify the urgent conversations to which religiousand spiritual communities must add their voices.Dr Philip Freier became the Anglican Archbishop of Melbournein December 2006, following seven and a half years as Bishop ofthe Northern Territory. Dr Freier has been working towards engagingthe Church with the wider community, particularly through his‘Prayer4Melbourne’ quest, in which he has visited a range of publicspaces, welfare centres and shopping malls. He is deeply involved insocial justice issues affecting Indigenous peoples.Designated in Newsweek’s 2009 list as the most influential rabbi in theUnited States and described in a Washington Post profile as ‘the quintessentialreligious lobbyist on Capitol Hill’, Rabbi David Sapersteinrepresents the national Reform Jewish Movement to Congress andthe Administration as the Director of the Religious Action Center ofReform Judaism.Towards the Heart of Humankind:Critical Considerations of Unity,Diversity and a Declaration of GlobalSpiritualityDr Christoph QuarchAbdulaziz SachedinaRabbi Michael LernerHue GioiInes TalamantezRoom 212Open Space ForumSome contend that humanity is entering a new phase inspiritual evolution; some herald a new consciousness ofglobal responsibility and compassion, growing in responseto global crises. Is there an underlying spiritual commonground that might bring people together, that mightsupport dialogue? And if so, how do we honor and attendto the particularities of our differences? A Declarationon Global Spirituality has been designed, proposed bya diverse group of representatives of different spiritual240 PWR – Parliament of the World’s Religions

Program DescriptionsSunday, December 6, 200911:30am–1:00pmINTERRELIGIOUS SESSIONtraditions. A January 2009 publication has been circulatedamong a group of high-level spiritual teachers from allover the world, as well as in a public, worldwide Internetconsultation. The authors will present this declaration atthe Parliament of the World’s Religions for additional review.In this session, critical concerns about the potentialand the pitfalls of moves towards universality will be addressed.Participants in this session will join the discussionabout this important document.Dr Christoph Quarch is a philosopher, theologian and journalist. From2000 to 2006 he was academic director for the German ProtestantKirchentag. From 2006 to 2008, he served as chief-editor of the periodical‘Public Forum’. Since 2001, he has operated a philosophy cafe and aseminar-program on issues of spirituality and philosophy. He is initiatorof the Spiritual Summer Academy Hombroich, supporter of the WorldSpirit Forum Arosa, and ambassador of the World Wisdom Council.Abdulaziz Sachedina is a professor of Religious Studies at the Universityof Virginia. He has been visiting professor at Wilfrid Laurier, Waterlooand McGill Universities, Haverford College and the University of Jordan,Amman. He has lectured around the world and is a core member of theIslamic Roots of Democratic Pluralism Project in the CSIS PreventiveDiplomacy program. He is also the author of ‘Islamic Roots of DemocraticPluralism’.Rabbi Michael Lerner studied at the Jewish Theological Seminary inNew York City and received mentorship from noted scholar AbrahamJoshua Heschel. He received a PhD in Philosophy from the Universityof California, Berkeley in 1972 and a PhD in Clinical Psychology fromthe Wright Institute in 1977. Michael Lerner serves as the rabbi of BeytTikkun Synagogue in San Francisco and is the editor of Tikkun Magazineand author of numerous books.A member of the Mescalero Apache tribe, Ines M Talamantez is aprofessor at the University of California, Santa Barbara. ProfessorTalamantez is the author of ‘Teaching Religion and Healing’ andhas contributed articles to ‘Native Religions and Cultures of NorthAmerica: Anthropology of the Sacred’, and ‘Unspoken Worlds: Women’sReligious Lives’. The past president of the Indigenous Studies Group atthe American Academy of Religion, she is a pioneering figure amongAmerican Indian scholars.Many Religions, One Community:The Theory and Practice of LivingTogether in Muslim Spain and IndiaImam Abdul Malik MujahidImam Khalid GriggsDr Muhammad ShafiqRoom 213Panel DiscussionThis panel will present the Constitution of Medina, thecity of the Prophet Muhammad. 1,400 years ago, differenttribes contractually agreed upon the constitution to establisha harmonious co-existence between adherents ofdifferent religions. The constitution offered full autonomyin religious and civil matters to each of the city’s religiousgroups by declaring all signatories as one Ummah, or onepeople, with agreement to defend the city-state together.Panellists will also elaborate on the Islamic heritageof co-existence by examining the application of theseideals several hundred years later in Spain and India.This program, bound to inspire discussion about the ideals of the past and realities of today, will highlightthe essential Islamic teachings about pluralism and thespace of the Other.Abdul Malik Mujahid is the founder of Sound Vision Foundation andexecutive producer of the daily Radio Islam show. He served two terms asthe Chairman of the Council of Islamic Organizations of Greater Chicagoand is currently Vice Chair of the Council for a Parliament of WorldReligions. As national coordinator of Bosnia Task Force, USA, he successfullyled efforts in collaboration with the National Organization of Women(NOW) to declare rape a war crime.Imam Khalid Fattah Griggs has been the imam of The CommunityMosque of Winston-Salem in North Carolina since 1984. He is cochairmanof the North Carolina-based Black Leadership Roundtable ofWinston-Salem-Forsyth County. Griggs holds a degree in political scienceand English from Howard University in Washington, DC. He was part ofthe anti-Vietnam war movement in the late 1960s and was involved withthe Islamic Party of North America in the 1970s after his conversion.Dr Muhammad Shafiq is executive director of the Center for InterfaithStudies and Dialogue (CISD), professor of Islamic and religious studiesat Nazareth College and Imam of the Islamic Center of Rochester. DrShafiq has written several books, including ‘Interfaith Dialogue: A Guidefor Muslims’. His latest article is ‘Abrahamic Faiths: Models of InterfaithDialogue in the United States (A Case Study of Rochester, New York)’,published in ‘Peace-Building By, Between, and Beyond Muslims andEvangelical Christians’.The New Planetary Narrative;Connecting Ecology, Social Justiceand CosmologyDrew DellingerGlen LauderSarah HousemanTahnee WoolfRoom 214Interactive WorkshopEnvironmental movements for social justice are converging,as we recognise the interrelated nature of our problemsand the need for creative solutions. At the same timewe are beginning to grasp the significance of cosmologyin our worldview or ‘cultural story’ and the role this playsboth in creating the current crisis and in inspiring a newdirection. A new planetary movement is unfolding at theconfluence where ecology, social justice and cosmologymeet. At the heart of this emerging global movementis a vision of the world as sacred and connected. DrewDellinger will identify some core values common to ecology,social justice and cosmology, such as ‘personhood’,which acknowledges the sacredness of every individualbeing, and community, which emphasises the primacyof relationship. Dellinger will elucidate the underlyingprinciples connecting ecology, cosmology and justice anddescribe strategies for change utilising the power of story,dreams and action. As part of this presentation, Be theChange Australia will introduce ‘Awakening the Dreamer,Changing the Dream Symposium’, a process that allowsthe listener to experience both the depth of their ownheart and a profound interconnectedness with others,while examining the interwoven threads of social justice,environmental sustainability and spirituality.Drew Dellinger is a spoken word poet, teacher, author, activist andfounder of Poets for Global Justice. He has inspired minds and hearts athundreds of events in many countries, performing poetry and keynotingon justice, ecology, cosmology, activism, democracy and compassion.He has spoken and performed at conferences—including Bioneers, theGreen Festival and The Dream Reborn—as well as colleges, poetry venues,protests and places of worship.www.parliamentofreligions.org 241

Program DescriptionsSunday, December 6, 200911:30am–1:00pmINTERRELIGIOUS SESSIONGlen Lauder has a PhD in natural systems in transition and he led thedevelopment of the New Zealand Biodiversity Strategy. Over the last tenyears he has been engaged by institutes, government, research and philanthropicgroups in New Zealand, Australia, Japan and the US. Lookingat how communities access collective clarity, deep compassion and commitment,he co-leads a cross-system practice-and-research initiative onsocial emergence called the ‘Ecology of Commitment’.Sarah Houseman is a committed member of the Pachamama Alliance,as well as a trainer and global leader for the ‘Awakening the Dreamer,Changing the Dream’ initiative. Sarah uses the Symposium as a forumwithin which the community is able to explore issues that matter deeplysuch as environmental sustainability, social justice and spiritual fulfillment.She is also a practitioner of the respected approach to sustainability,The Natural Step, and works with small business and communities.Tahnee Woolf is an international speaker, accomplished writer,movement specialist and global visionary. She has a Master’s degreein international law from Oxford University. She is also a qualifiedFeldenkrais practitioner and has created the pioneering online program‘Body Mastery’ to empower people around the world to free themselvesfrom pain.The Impact of Women in ConflictResolutionAsatu Bah-KennethNaree CharoenpolpiriyaJacqueline OgegaSande HartRoom 217Panel DiscussionWomen make up one-half of the world’s population butthey are often marginalised, even devalued. Yet, they frequentlyengage in world altering activities. This panel willhighlight the role of women in resolving and reconcilingthe parties involved in recent conflicts in several regionsaround the globe including Africa, the Middle East andNorth America, among others. The panel will share theirstories and showcase the role that women have playedand continue to play in building peace with justice aroundthe world.Asatu Bah-Kenneth serves with the Liberia National Police. She isdeputy inspector-general of police for administration, serves on the government’sHumanitarian Task Force, and was the first personnel directorof the Ministry of Gender and Development. Mrs Bah-Kenneth foundedLiberian Muslim Women for Peace and is president of the LiberianFemale Law Enforcement Association. She is a life-long peace and justiceactivist and is featured in the documentary ‘Pray the Devil Back to Hell’.Naree Charoenpolpiriya is a peace advocate who has been workingfor women victims of violence since 2004. Naree has been a nonviolencetrainer for over twenty years. She initiated a healing project for familymembers of Takbai protest victims in 2004. Also, she was a commissionerto the Thai government-appointed National Reconciliation Commission.She has a strong sense of how conflict resolution methods have changedand developed over the years.Jacqueline Ogega is the Director of the Women’s Program at theWorld Conference of Religions for Peace. She has served as the AfricanWomen’s Project Director at Religions for Peace in Africa, where sheestablished the African Women of Faith Network. She has experienceand skills in gender, peace building and development programming. Sheholds a Master’s degree as well as a post-graduate diploma in genderand development, both from the University of Nairobi, Kenya.Sande Hart is the Founder & President of Spiritual And ReligiousAlliance for Hope (S.A.R.A.H.), a women’s interfaith group that developedfollowing the events of 9/11. She is on the Board of Directors forthe Interfaith Youth Council and the Institute of Religion & CulturalCompetency. Sande is also the author of ‘Make a Difference 101(Community Service: A Practical Step-by-Step Guide for Kids)’.Faith, Community andDisaster Risk ReductionAndreana RealeRuth MaetalaChi Kwang SunimDeborah StorieLen ClarkeHafiz Aziz ur RehmanRoom 218Panel DiscussionAs the Earth is ravaged by cyclones, earthquakes and tsunamis,we ask questions such as ‘Why did this happen?’and ‘What are we to do about it?’ This forum will addressthese questions by bringing together science and religionand will consider how faith communities and leaders canreduce disaster risk. The focus is primarily on the humanconditions that make people vulnerable to disaster.The panel discussion will address the following areas: 1)Theology: How do different faith traditions understanddisaster? 2) Action: How do faith communities, on a local,national and global scale, prevent and respond to disasters?3) Advocacy: How are religious leaders speaking outabout reducing vulnerability to disaster, and what elsecan be said? 4) Disaster: How might communities reducethe impact of disasters? This is a topic well coveredfrom a secular perspective but not from a faith perspective.Salvano Briceno, director of the United NationsInternational Strategy for Disaster Reduction, supportsthis initiative.Andreana Reale is a Christian and researcher with a special interestin the link between faith and natural disasters. She is also a communityworker with Urban Seed, a Christian organisation that seeks to buildrelationships and provide support for the homeless and marginalised inMelbourne.Ruth Maetala is a native of the Solomon Islands and currently an advisorin a process of moving communities due to rising sea levels. She is a pastor’swife, mother of four children, and community worker. She is Head ofthe Research and Policy Unit of the Ministry of Women Youth and Children(Solomon Islands Government). Her research interest is in land, naturalresources management, and gender policy.Reverend Chi Kwang Sunim has been a Zen Buddhist nun for thirtyyears. Born in Korea, she now resides in Kinglake, Victoria. She is aseasoned meditation and Buddhist teacher and a founding memberof the Buddhist Library in Sydney, Wat Buddha Dharma, and The SeonCentre. She is currently Chair of the Australian Sangha Association andrecognised in Buddhist and Interfaith circles in Australia and abroad. Shefought and survived the Kinglake fires and is a CRC in ‘Remake Kinglake’recovery projects.Deborah Storie is a PhD Candidate at Melbourne College of Divinity, amember of TEAR Australia’s Project Review Committee, and Deputy Chairof the TEAR Board. She worked with a rural community developmentprogram in Afghanistan from 1992 to 1998 and later returned to lead a disastermanagement program from 2001 to 2002. Deborah also facilitatescommunity development training and evaluations, enjoys the Australianbush and occasionally works as a vet at the RSPCA.Len Clarke is an Indigenous elder of the Baha’i faith, from theWarrnambool area of Victoria. He is the chairperson of the KirraeWhurrong Native Title Group and co-chair of the Victorian IndigenousLand Justice Group. Through his Kikkabush Aboriginal Pastoral andAdvancement Association, Len works to help Indigenous communitiesreach their full potential. Len is an active educator, lecturing at variousinstitutions and organisations, and has been involved in a number ofdocumentaries regarding Indigenous people and culture.242 PWR – Parliament of the World’s Religions

Program DescriptionsSunday, December 6, 200911:30am–1:00pmINTERRELIGIOUS SESSIONHafiz Aziz ur Rehman is an Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Shariah& Law, International Islamic University, Islamabad, Pakistan. He belongsto the part of Kashmir that was hit badly by the 2005 earthquake, and hefollowed closely the relief and rehabilitation efforts by religious and faithbasedNGOs. Aziz is a student of comparative Shariah and Common lawand is currently completing his PhD at the Australian National UniversityCollege of Law.The Challenge of Islamophobia andthe Media: How Innovative Dialogue isChanging the LandscapeDr Nasya Bahfen, ModeratorJennifer Maytorena TaylorAhmed RehabFiyaz MughalKaren L Hernandez-AndrewsMohammed El-leissyRoom 219Panel DiscussionNegative media portrayals of Islam and Muslims hampermuch-needed efforts to improve relations with the IslamicWorld and Muslims generally, regardless of where theylive. Steps are being taken through the innovative use ofvarious media to combat this issue. The questions mustbe asked, ‘Are these efforts facilitating a change in thesocio-religious landscape? If not, why does this perceptionabout Muslims prevail, and what role should Muslimsplay in helping to define how they are portrayed?’ In thissession, leading scholars, activists, media professionalsand grassroots leaders will discuss these pressing issuesof the day.Dr Nasya Bahfen lectures in the School of Applied Communication atthe Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology and works regularly in thenewsrooms of ABC Radio Australia and SBS Radio. Her teaching andresearch interests include radio journalism, Islam and the media, and theuse of the internet by young Muslims. Nasya is a committee member ofthe Islamic Women’s Welfare Council of Victoria.Jennifer Maytorena Taylor’s films have won awards at festivalsaround the world and two Emmys. Her credits include the documentaries‘Special Circumstances’, ‘Ramadan Primetime’, ‘Paulina’, ‘HomeFront’, ‘Immigration Calculations’, several television series, and manyshort films. She has held fellowships at the Banff Centre for the Arts, theKnight Center for Specialized Journalism, and the Sundance InstituteDocumentary Lab.Ahmed Rehab is an American Muslim activist and writer with a focuson civil rights, media relations, and Islam-West relations. He is theExecutive Director of CAIR-Chicago, a Muslim civil rights and advocacyoffice. Rehab serves on the boards of directors of the Illinois Coalition ofImmigrant and Refugee Rights, the Immigration and Refugee InterfaithMinistries, the Chicago Human Relations Advisory Committee and theEgyptian American Society. He is a member of the Chicago Council onGlobal Affairs’ Muslim task force. He has appeared on Fox News, ABC,CBS, NBC, HDTV News, PBS, CNN, CLTV, WGN, C-Span, BBC, MSNBC,WBBM, Chicago Public Radio, Fox News Radio, and Conservative Radio.Fiyaz Mughal is the Director of Faith Matters, which works on developingplatforms for interaction between Muslim, Sikh and Jewish communitiesacross the UK. He is the founder and director of two micro-financeprojects in Palestine and Israel and has been appointed as the advisor toNick Clegg MP on interfaith issues and prevention of extremism. Mughalwas awarded the Officer of the Order of the British Empire.Karen holds an MA Theological Research in Christian-MuslimUnderstanding from Andover Newton Theological School and a BA inPeace and Justice Studies with a concentration in Islam from WellesleyCollege. She is currently pursuing a Master of Sacred Theology inReligion and Conflict from Boston University School of Theology. Karenteaches and lectures with various organisations in the US about Islam,global Christian-Muslim relations, Al Qaeda, theological responses toterrorism and Islamophobia.Mohammed El-leissy is a community worker with the Islamic Councilof Victoria. He hosts the ‘World Peace’ program on Melbourne’s SYN FM,which deals with issues of cultural and religious identity in Australia. Hehas served on numerous interfaith panels and recently returned from atour of Southeast Asia, where he represented Australian Muslims to faithgroups in the region.The Vision of Humanity:The Components of PeaceSteve KilleleaWilliam F VendleyRoom 220Vision of Humanity is an umbrella enterprise for severalinterrelated initiatives focused on bringing about globalpeace. These include the Global Peace Index, which rankscountries by their peacefulness and is the basis for identificationof drivers of peace. The Institute for Economicsand Peace is a think tank dedicated to research on theinterrelationship between business, peace and economicdevelopment. In this session, the founder of Vision ofHumanity will present some of his peace initiatives, andthe Secretary-General of Religions for Peace will presentsome of that organisation’s peace initiatives, includingefforts in the Middle East.Steve Killelea is Chairman and Founder of , Integrated Research Ltd;The Charitable Foundation; Global Peace Index; Institute for Economicsand Peace. Steve is an accomplished entrepreneur in high technologybusiness development and at the forefront of philanthropic activitiesfocused on sustainable development and peace.Dr William F Vendley has served as Secretary General of Religions forPeace since 1994. He has mobilised and equipped religious communitiesin war-torn regions worldwide. He was a participant in His Majesty KingAbdullah’s historic interreligious meeting in Madrid, Spain in 2008 andhas been requested by the Muslim World League to serve on its FollowupCommittee. Dr Vendley is also an advisor to US President BarackObama.www.parliamentofreligions.org 243

Program DescriptionsSunday, December 6, 20092:30–4:00pmENGAGEMENT SESSIONLunchTIME PROGRAMMING1:00–2:30pmTowards a Universal Declaration ofHuman Rights by the World’s Religions,ContinuedRabbi David SapersteinMadhu KhannaRoom 106The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted bythe United Nations on December 10, 1948, representsa landmark in the evolution of the moral imagination ofhumanity. While the period in which it was proclaimedpossessed a decidedly secular orientation, the religiousbackground of its drafters played a role in its formulation.Increasingly, religious traditions come to serve aschampions of human rights. In 1998 a new initiative waslaunched to frame a Universal Declaration of HumanRights by the World’s Religions. This is an ongoing processin which the text has been examined, revised andmodified at various gatherings, including the Parliamentof the World’s Religions at Barcelona in 2004. This programcarries that process forward by inviting representativesof a number of religious traditions to reflect on thecurrent state of the text. This is the continuation of a threehour program.Designated in Newsweek’s 2009 list as the most influential rabbi inthe United States and described in a Washington Post profile as ‘thequintessential religious lobbyist on Capitol Hill’, Rabbi David Sapersteinrepresents the national Reform Jewish Movement to Congress and theAdministration as the Director of the Religious Action Center of ReformJudaism.Professor Madhu Khanna teaches in the Centre for the Study ofComparative Religions and Civilizations at the Jamia Millia IslamiaUniversity in New Delhi. She was the co-convenor of the global congresson World’s Religions After September 11: An Asian Perspective, whichmet in New Delhi from January 17-20, 2009. She specializes in HinduShakta Tantra, a field in which she has published extensively, and is thefounder trustee of the Tantra Foundation. Her work on Narivada, theIndian word and concept for feminism, has been widely acclaimed, a fieldin which she is the Honorary Advisor at the Indira Gandhi National Centrefor the Arts.Global Ethics and Religion Forum –What is Peace in a Sustainableand Just World?Rev Dr David LC Clark, ModeratorPhilip Rossi SJPal AlhaulaliaLeif StenbergMutombo Nkulu-N’senghaGeorge R WilkesColin HoneyMost Reverend Dr Philip FreierRoom 110SymposiumThis is Panel #4 in the ‘War and the Role of Religion in aJust and Sustainable World’ Symposium.Rev Dr David LC Clark is Chair at the Von Hugel Institute, St. Edmund’sCollege, Cambridge University, England.Philip Rossi is a Professor of Theology at Marquette University, USA.Pal Alhaulalia is Pro Vice Chancellor and Vice President of theDivision of Education, Arts and Social Sciences, and UNESCO Chair inTransnational Diasporas and Reconciliation Studies at the University ofSouth Australia, Australia.Leif Stenberg is Director of the Centre for Middle Eastern Studies,University of Lund, Sweden.Mutombo Nkulu-N’sengha is an Assistant Professor of ReligiousStudies, USA.George Wilkes is Director of the Program in Religion and Ethics inWar and Peace-Making at St Edmund’s College, Cambridge University,England.Colin Honey is Director of the Lonsdale Centre for Applied Ethics,Melbourne, a member of the Program in Religion and Ethics in War andPeace-Making at St Edmund’s College, Cambridge University, Englandand Australia.Dr Philip Freier became the Anglican Archbishop of Melbournein December 2006, following seven and a half years as Bishop ofthe Northern Territory. Dr Freier has been working towards engagingthe Church with the wider community, particularly through his‘Prayer4Melbourne’ quest, in which he has visited a range of publicspaces, welfare centres and shopping malls. He is deeply involved insocial justice issues affecting Indigenous peoples.Engagement 2:30–4:00pmThe Necessity of Nuclear Disarmamentand Steps Toward its AchievementJudge C G WeeramantrySue Wareham, RespondentRoom 102Round Table Discussion‘The nuclear bomb is the most anti-democratic, antinational,anti-human, outright evil thing that man hasever made. If you are religious, then remember that thisbomb is Man’s challenge to God. It’s worded quite simply:We have the power to destroy everything that You havecreated. If you’re not religious, then look at it this way:This world of ours is four thousand, six hundred million244 PWR – Parliament of the World’s Religions

Program DescriptionsSunday, December 6, 20092:30–4:00pmENGAGEMENT SESSIONyears old. It could end in an afternoon’. -Arundhati Roy,Indian Author—Nuclear weapons represent a grave threatto humanity being able to hear one another and heal. Theyuse the threat of violence as a tool for compliance of ‘theother’, rather than being able to listen to—and tolerate—difference. They also pose a constant threat to our earth,with a small nuclear exchange having the potential tocause a devastating nuclear winter or the destruction ofour planet. Religious people have always been significantparticipants in the quest to abolish nuclear weapons, andthis continues today. This panel discussion will providea comprehensive overview of the legal and philosophicalaspects of nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament, asboth a basis for understanding and as firmament for howand why to respond.Judge Weeramantry has been a lawyer, legal educator, internationalarbitrator, and domestic and international judge. He has beenChairman of the Nauru Commission of Inquiry and Coordinator of theUnited Nations University Project on Technology and Human Rights. Heis President of the International Association of Lawyers Against NuclearArms and a Founder Member of the World Future Council. He has writtenover twenty books and 200 articles on religious, legal, and political topics.Sue Wareham is the president of the Medical Association for thePrevention of War (MAPW).The Lost & Endangered ReligionsProject: Preserving the World’sReligious DiversityDonald FrewDr Layne LittleDr Archana VenkatesanRoom 104Parliament Assembly Project UpdateThe Lost & Endangered Religions Project (LERP) workswith marginalised religious communities around theworld to help preserve religious traditions—includingtexts, rituals, songs and dances—that are in danger ofbeing lost and helps to restore aspects of these traditionsthat may have been lost in the community but have beenarchived. LERP focuses on creating mutually beneficialand cooperative relationships between religious communitiesand scholars. Historically, there has been considerabletension between academics and small religiouscommunities. LERP works to combat this tension andthe perception of academics as ‘thieves’. Focusing ontraditions that can be physically duplicated or recorded,LERP replaces this old paradigm with a new one stressingcommunity service as its primary goal. Since 1999, LERPhas developed ongoing service projects with the Yezidi ofsouthern Turkey, archaeological efforts in southern andeastern Turkey, the performative dance and ritual traditionsof the devadasis and of the Araiyar priests of southernIndia, and new religious movements in Canada, theUnited Kingdom, and the United States. This program willuse multimedia material to present an overview of LERP’swork to date and discuss questions of methodology.Donald H Frew is a Wiccan Elder and National Interfaith Representativefor the Covenant of the Goddess. He has represented Wicca in interfaithwork for over 23 years, serving on the Boards of the Berkeley AreaInterfaith Council, the Interfaith Center at the Presidio, and the GlobalCouncil of the United Religions Initiative. He is the founder and director ofthe Lost & Endangered Religions Project.Dr Layne Little is the regional director of South Asian programs for theLost & Endangered Religions Project. He teaches courses on South Asianreligion at the University of California at Berkeley.Dr Archana Venkatesan teaches about ritual and performance traditionsin Hinduism for the Religious Studies and Comparative Religiondepartments of the University of California at Davis.Feeding a Plan of Action for theUN Decade of Interreligious andIntercultural Dialogue, Understandingand Cooperation for Peace (Session 1)Gerardo GonzalezStein VillumstadSerigne Mansour SyRoom 105SymposiumThis symposium is organised by the Initiative for a UNDecade of Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue,Understanding and Cooperation for Peace. This firstsession will introduce the proposed UN Decade; presentsuccessful stories of partnership between faith-basedorganisations, UN agencies and member states aroundmillennium development goals; and offer interactive sharingwith participants, including suggestions for the plan ofaction of the Decade. A report on presentations and discussionswill be made available at the Initiative’s website(www.faithdecadeforpeace.net).Gerardo Gonzalez holds a doctorate in Social Psychology from ParisUniversity (1969) and worked for nearly 30 years as a UN internationalofficer. Since 1998 he has volunteered in the field of interfaith cooperationfor peace, including directing the project toward the creation of a spiritualforum for world peace at the United Nations. Currently, he is coordinatorof the Initiative for a UN Decade of Interreligious Cooperation for Peace.Stein Villumstad has extensive and distinguished experience in internationaldevelopment, conflict transformation, and human rights. Heserved as regional representative for Norwegian Church Aid (NCA) inEastern Africa, where he oversaw development activities in ten countriesand managed five regional sub-offices. Previously, he held the position ofassistant general secretary of NCA, managing the Department for Policyand Human Rights.Serigne Mansour Sy is president of the Federation of IslamicAssociations of Senegal and a member of the Steering Committee of theCoalition. Since 1997, he has been Caliph General of the Tijaniya order ofSenegal.www.parliamentofreligions.org 245

Program DescriptionsSunday, December 6, 20092:30–4:00pmENGAGEMENT SESSIONSacred Sites, Sacred Solidarity:Teachings of the TraditionsSpeakers to be AnnouncedRoom 106When individuals and communities of a faith outside ourown are maligned or attacked, when their revered placesof worship and practice are threatened or destroyed, it isour sacred responsibility to stand side-by-side with themto express solidarity and support—to refuse to condoneviolence and desecration through silence and inaction.Nothing heals the wounds of such an injury more quicklythan to be comforted and supported by religious andspiritual communities in the neighbourhood and aroundthe world. In this way, the safeguarding of sacred sites isinextricably linked to the need to actively and concretelyexpress spiritual solidarity with other religious communities.This session of the ‘Sacred Sites, Sacred Solidarity’Symposium will share and discuss the teachings ofseveral spiritual traditions with respect to standing in solidaritywith other communities, and how those teachingsrelate to the mutual care of sacred sites.American OutrageRoom 107FilmOn five occasions US federal marshals have confiscatedmore than a thousand head of livestock owned by WesternShoshone sisters Carrie and Mary Dann charging thatthe sisters are grazing animals on public land. The Dannsisters claim that this range was recognised as WesternShoshone land by the United States in 1863 and that thereal reason for the government’s interest is the treasurehidden beneath the range. This documentary traces theelderly sisters’ fight from the United States SupremeCourt, to the Organization of American States, to theUnited Nations. The film was directed by George andBeth Gage.Building a Culture of Peace –Development on the ground inEl SalvadorMarta BenavidesRoom 108SeminarEl Salvador, the smallest country in central America,whose peoples since colonial times in the 1500s, havesuffered massacres, oppression and repression of theindigenous population, violence by slavery, civil war,death squads, disappearances, and free trade agreements,all aspects of the road to impoverishment. Today,in the context of the financial and economic crisis, accordingto UN – CEPAL (the Economic Commission forLatin America and the Caribbean) and UNDP (the UNDevelopment Program), the country is highly indebted,at the verge of desertification, and facing possible collapsedue to violence, the economic crisis, and the lack ofattention to healing the wounds of war, and the migrationof large numbers of the population who are at economicactive age. Yet, el Salvador, right now is experiencing anew beginning, with a president committed publically tothe preferential option for the poor. The challenge is todevelop a ‘solidarity economy,’ with real development andsecurity, focusing on freedom from want, freedom fromfear, and freedom from hunger, as enunciated by the UN.This session will cover practical strategies on the locallevel, as well as the hope and framework of building forthe 23rd century.Marta Benavides of El Salvador is one of the surviving activists fromthe original group of human rights and peace advocates who began theirwork during the 1970s and the rising climate of repression. A leader ofan ecumenical revolution focused on bringing peace to her country, theordained pastor who chose ‘to live and not die for the revolution’ has beenbringing people at all levels and from all sectors - politics, the arts, lawenforcement, agriculture and food security, environment, religion andlabor together to defend human rights and develop a culture of peace.The Digital Revolution and the Ageof Religious PluralismLeo BrunnickRabbi Brad HirschfieldRabbi Irwin KulaRoom 109The digital revolution and technological innovation includingGoogle, Wikipedia, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter andhigh speed internet networks have changed the wayreligions and spiritual traditions are communicated anddistributed. Not only are changes continuing, but they arecontinuing to accelerate. How do we make this work for usand for the world? How do we use the new power at ourfingertips to make change that really matters? As thesenew technologies become accessible, every religion’swisdom and practice become part of a global conversationthat crosses boundaries, is independent of central authoritiesand can be used in any manner by individual spiritualseekers as well as independent groups. What are theimplications of this for our personal identities as well asthe integrity of our particular religions and religious communities?Most importantly, how can we who are deeplycommitted to cultivating harmony among the world’sreligions and spiritual communities use new technologyto help usher in a new age of pluralism? Leo Brunnick willoffer a four-part model of how we use the new technologyto Communicate, Educate, Elevate, and Activate. Thesession will be interactive, inviting participants to offerwisdom and practice in globally accessible ways.Leo Brunnick is a founder and the CEO of Patheos.com, helping shapethe vision, mission, strategy and operating principles of the company.In this role, he brings to bear twenty years of executive leadership andmanagement experience. Leo is an expert in bringing cutting-edge webtechnologies to market. He is the visionary behind the innovative approachto the Patheos libraries and lenses and is passionate about theglobal conversation on religion and spirituality.246 PWR – Parliament of the World’s Religions

Program DescriptionsSunday, December 6, 20092:30–4:00pmENGAGEMENT SESSIONRabbi Brad Hirschfield is an acclaimed interfaith activist described byNewsweek as ‘one of America’s most influential rabbis’. He is the creatorof ‘Building Bridges’ and ‘American Pilgrimage’ on Bridges TV, theauthor of ‘You Don’t Have To Be Wrong For Me To Be Right: Finding FaithWithout Fanaticism’, and a columnist for Beliefnet.com and Newsweek/WashingtonPost.com. Hirschfield is a President of the National JewishCenter for Learning and Leadership, America’s leading Jewish institutionfor religious pluralism.Rabbi Irwin Kula, also a President of Clal – received the 2008 WalterCronkite Faith and Freedom Award for his work ‘toward equality, libertyand a truly inter-religious community’. Fast Company magazine and‘Religion and Ethics Newsweekly’ (PBS) both named him one of theleaders shaping the American spiritual landscape. He is the author ofYearnings: Embracing the Sacred Messiness of Life, and is currentlydeveloping the Clinton Global Initiative commitment, Disruptive SpiritualInnovation.Reality, Religion and Responsibilities:Individual CommitmentsTim FischerRev James HaireRoom 110LectureThis is a major session of the Parliament with vastlyexperienced presenters. Most people entering politics areguided by their ethical and/or religious frameworks. Mostpeople committing themselves to a religious traditionwish to make a better and more spiritual world. In thissession, a well-known former politician and a well-knownformer church leader both of whom have moved intonew roles, one as Australian Ambassador to the Vatican,and the other as the director of the Australian Centre forChristianity and Culture in Canberra, will speak abouttheir current commitments and their thoughts on the roleof religion and interreligious activity in Australian societyand internationally. Tim Fischer, former Deputy PrimeMinister of Australia, will deliver an address, ‘To see fromthe Holy See: Hearing, Helping and Happiness’ and RevJames Haire, Executive Director of the Australian Centrefor Christianity and Culture, will speak from his variedand extensive experiences, firstly from his childhood inNorthern Ireland, his experience in church union andleading the third largest religious group in Australia (theUniting Church in Australia – a union of Congregational,Methodist and Presbyterian churches) and from his ecumenicaland interfaith activities over the years.H E The Honourable Timothy Andrew Fischer AC is the AustralianAmbassador to the Vatican. He served as an officer in the infantry inAustralia and Vietnam, followed by service in the New South WalesParliament and the Australian Federal Parliament, where he held thetitles of Leader of the National Party, Minister for Trade, and DeputyPrime Minister. Mr Fischer has a range of agricultural, export and transportbusiness interests.Rev James Haire, Former Moderator General of the Uniting Church ofAustralia, is Executive Director of the Australian Centre for Christianityand Culture. Professor Haire is also a Professor of Theology at CharlesSturt University and of the Public and Contextual Theology StrategicResearch Centre. Professor Haire has sought cooperation betweenthe various denominations and was Co-chair of the National Dialoguebetween the Uniting Church and Catholic Church in Australia from 1992to 2004In Search of Sustainable PathwaysJoseph GelferMichael YorkJoni StimsonSamuel AlexanderRoom 111Panel DiscussionPromising strategies for achieving a sustainable worldcan be found in the world’s many faiths. This panel willpresent the following themes: (1) Planetary survivalrequires exploring alternative ways to live, and onepromising way entails simplifying our lives by consumingless and living more; (2) Pagan polytheism’s centralfocus is on ecology and healing the earth; (3) God’s lawcan help humanity develop guidelines for environmentalsustainability; (4) Gaia Consciousness is manifested asthe environmental movement, earth-based spirituality,and a trend towards seeking unity within diversity; and (5)The future of peace requires the mobilisation of men ofall faiths who reclaim what is naturally peaceful about beinga religious man. (This talk is about religion, men andmasculinity.) Panellists proceed from the shared assumptionthat a better world depends on healing within eachfaith, between different faiths and with those who chooseno faith.Joseph Gelfer has a PhD in religious studies from Victoria University ofWellington, New Zealand. He is an Honorary Research Associate at theSchool of Political and Social Inquiry at Monash University, Australia.Joseph is founding editor of Journal of Men, Masculinities and Spirituality.His book, ‘Numen, Old Men: Contemporary Masculine Spiritualities andthe Problem of Patriarchy’, is published by Equinox Publishers (London,2009).At the Cherry Hill Seminary, Michael York focuses his teaching on comparativereligions. He is Co-Chair of the American Academy of Religions’Contemporary Pagan Studies Group and has authored ‘Pagan Theology:Paganism as a World Religion’.Joni Stimson earned a Bachelor of Social Work (Hons) from theUniversity of Queensland in 1985. Her undergraduate work focused oncommunity development, with an emphasis on social planning. Her independentPostgraduate Study at the Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel,led her to examine the philosophical underpinnings of the communitiesthat formed the kibbutzim and how they have changed over time. For herMaster of Social Work from the University of Sydney (1999), she focusedher thesis, ‘LEVITICUS Ecological Reading’, on the creation of sustainablecommunities.Samuel Alexander is a part-time lecturer and doctoral student atMelbourne Law School and the editor of ‘Voluntary Simplicity: The PoeticAlternative to Consumer Culture’ (2009). He is also the founder of theLife Poets Simplicity Collective, a grass-roots environmental organisationdedicated to the promotion and celebration of sustainable culture.Living simply and happily in a small hut that he built himself using mostlyabandoned materials, he spends his time quietly planning, with youthfulambition, the non-violent erasure of consumer culture.www.parliamentofreligions.org 247

Program DescriptionsSunday, December 6, 20092:30–4:00pmENGAGEMENT SESSIONHindu Spirituality in Dance:Odissi PerformanceDr ChandrabhanuJambudvipa EnsembleRoom 201Artistic PerformanceOdissi dance is an art full of grace, poise and magic. Itis the traditional dance of Orissa and has its origins inancient temple worship. In ancient times, Odissi was seenas a religious rite performed only by devadasis. Odissi isprimarily the enactment of love between Lord Krishna andRadha. The movements of the dance are largely basedon the concept of ‘Tribhangi’, which divides the body intothree parts: the head, bust and torso. Much of the dance’smagic comes from mudras, or movements of the hands.Dr Chandrabhanu will perform along with sixteen dancersfrom his world-renowned Jambudvipa Ensemble (DanceAcademy).Dr Chandrabhanu was born in Kangar, the capital of the Malaysianprovince of Perlis. He has choreographed almost fifty major choreographicworks, productions and performances in Bharata Natyam,Odissi, and contemporary dance styles, including Bharata Natyam solorecitals. Chandrabhanu is currently artistic director and principal ofChandrabhanu Bharatalaya Academy of Indian Classical Dance andMusic, Melbourne.Islam 101 Series: War and Peacein Al–Islam: The Prophet’s StruggleDr Tariq RamadanDr William F VendleyRabbi Michael MelchiorRoom 202Panel DiscussionThe concerted struggle for peace consumed the life ofProphet Muhammad. However, there is the perceptionthat war was a dominant factor during the formative yearsof Islam and that Muslims are consequently predisposedto violence and war. During this session, internationallyrespected Islamic scholar Tariq Ramadan will discuss theProphet’s life in regards to war and peace, how misinformationabout these issues affects current prospects forpeace, and what lessons about peace can be gleaned fromthe Prophet’s example as we move forward. This sessionwill also include an interfaith panel of respondents whoare leaders in peace building among the faith traditions.This program is one of six sessions in the Islam 101Series designed to highlight critically important issuesregarding Islamic beliefs, practice, and history that are alltoo commonly misunderstood.Tariq Ramadan (www.tariqramadan.com) is Professor of ContemporaryIslamic Studies at Oxford University. He is currently Senior ResearchFellow at Doshisha University in Kyoto, Japan. He is active both at theacademic and grassroots levels and lectures extensively throughout theworld on theology, ethics, social justice, ecology and interfaith as wellas intercultural dialogue. Through his writings and lectures, he has contributedsubstantially to the debate on the issues of Muslims in the Westand Islamic revival in the Muslim world. Professor Ramadan is currentlypresident of the European think tank, European Muslim Network (EMN),in Brussels.Dr William F Vendley has served as Secretary General of Religions forPeace since 1994 and has mobilised and equipped religious communitiesin war-torn regions worldwide. He was a participant in His Majesty KingAbdullah’s historic interreligious meeting in Madrid, Spain in 2008 andhas been requested by the Muslim World League to serve on its FollowupCommittee. Dr Vendley is also an advisor to US President BarackObama.Rabbi Michael Melchior hails from Denmark, where his familymembers have served as Chief Rabbis for seven generations. In 1999,he was elected to the Knesset, where he became one of Israel’s leadinglegislators. He helped to enact legislative reforms in the areas ofeducation, children’s rights, the environment and social justice. Today,Rabbi Melchior leads a variety of civil society movements, including aforum that promotes dialogue and understanding among differentstrands of Israeli society.Religion, Conflict and Peacebuilding:The Case of Israel-West Bank-GazaEliyahu McLeanDeacon Jiries MansourIbtisam MahamidSheikh Hussein Abu RukkunSheikh Abdul Aziz BukhariRoom 203The Israeli, West Bank, and Gaza areas are some of themost volatile in the world. Interreligious and interethnicconflicts have plagued these areas for decades. Landdisputes and human rights violations have been a significantsource of conflict. As the Holy Land for numerousfaiths, there have been regular clashes over access tosacred sites. Because of this, tensions between ethnic andreligious communities are high, characterised by a lackof trust and discrimination. The Jerusalem Peacemakersand the Abrahamic Reunion, a network and family ofreligious leaders, women and grassroots peacemakers,seek to rebuild trust between Israelis and Palestinians,especially after the recent war in Gaza. The peacemakersin the Holy Land work together to help loosen rigid beliefs,bridge the gulf between peoples, and to help peoplerecognise that they are in this together and that polarisationand violence do not work. Representatives of Jewish,Christian, Druze, and Muslim faiths will share stories ofpeacemaking and hope from Israel and Palestine.Eliyahu McLean is the co-director of Jerusalem Peacemakers, anetwork of religious leaders and grassroots peacebuilders in the HolyLand. He is also a leader in Israeli-Palestinian bridge building projects.Mr McLean was initiated as a ‘Rodef Shalom’ (Peace Pursuer) by RebZalman Schachter Shalomi. His work with Palestinian Sufis is describedin ‘At the Entrance to the Garden of Eden: A Jew’s Search for God with theChristians and Muslims in the Holy Land’.Jiries Mansour is Deacon of the Greek Catholic Church in Kfar Rame, anArab village in Galilee. He is founder and principal of the Saint AnthonyLatin School, which is recognised for its superior academic training forDruze, Christian and Muslim students. Jiries is a leader in peace andinterfaith initiatives in the Holy Land and has initiated numerous schoolexchanges between Arab and Jewish youth. Jiries is a founding memberof the Abrahamic Reunion.Ibtisam Mahamid’s primary focus is on improving relations betweenJews and Arabs in Israel, and she also works to improve the status ofwomen in both Arab and Jewish society. She is on the board of Middleway,248 PWR – Parliament of the World’s Religions

Program DescriptionsSunday, December 6, 20092:30–4:00pmENGAGEMENT SESSIONan NGO for the promotion of compassion and nonviolence, and she helpedfound the Women’s Interfaith Encounter, a program of the InterfaithEncounter Association. In April 2009, the Dalai Lama presented Ibtisamwith the ‘Unsung Heroes of Compassion’ award in recognition of her workto bring peace and to improve the status of women in the Holy Land.Sheikh Hussein Abu Rukkun, an elder and recognised spokespersonfor the Mowahhidoon (Druze) faith, has travelled widely in efforts to buildbridges with other religions. He embodies the essence of the Druzetradition, embracing the principles and the Holy Books of the three morewidely known Abrahamic religions, while also integrating the Druze beliefin reincarnation.Sheikh Abdul Aziz Bukhari, a Sheikh of the Naqshabandian ReligiousMethod (Sufi) and head of the Uzbeke Community in Jerusalem, is anUzbek. He is a leading Muslim voice for peace and reconciliation inJerusalem. He also hosts the Uzbek Cultural Centre of the Holy Land inhis home.UN Millennium Development Goals,Challenges and Opportunities forGlobal StabilityAlmaz NegashBruce DuncanRoom 204SeminarIn September 2000 the international community under theleadership of the United Nations agreed to adopt the eightMillennium Development Goals (MDGs) to foster sustainabledevelopment in poverty stricken countries. The MDGsare people-centric and measurable, and are intended totransform communities from the bottom up. They rangefrom halving extreme poverty to halting the spread ofHIV/AIDS to providing universal primary education by thetarget date of 2015. These goals are backed by a consensusof governments throughout the world. This sessionwill discuss the MDGs, the progress that has been madetoward achieving them, and the challenges that remain.The aim is to assist the participant in understanding thenature of the systems that have sustained the status quoand the nature of the systems that will be required to supportsystemic change. The presentation will call for bringingtogether new forms of public/private partnerships topreserve the best of both, providing a stronger supportnetwork for emerging regions and their people, andleveraging infrastructure, education, financial, and tradesupport so as to enable individuals, local governments,and small businesses within these emerging economiesto grow more stably and with higher value-added componentsto their enterprises.Almaz Negash is managing director at Entwine Global. At the MarkkulaCenter for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University, she worked tofacilitate dialogue between world leaders on a ‘Global Ethic’ and the needfor global moral leadership. As director of the Silicon Valley Center forInternational Trade Development, she facilitated the awarding of over$200 million in contracts to her clientele. She co-authored AwakeningSocial Responsibility, A Call to Action.Bruce Duncan has his doctorate in political science from the Universityof Sydney. Since 1987 he has lectured in history and social ethics atYarra Theological Union in Melbourne. He is the author of Crusade orConspiracy? Catholics and the anti-communist Struggle in Australia(2001) and Church Social Teaching (1991).Hear the Voices of the Indigenous EldersAsayo Horibe, USA: Buddhist, ModeratorChief Oren Lyons, USA: OnondagaTsugio Kuzuno, Japan: Ainu elderClarence Jackson, USA: TlingitRoom 208Panel DiscussionIndigenous cultures have honoured their elders and seekto gain wisdom from their voices. Their stories continueto enrich and help to restore the sacred practices andidentity of the community.Asayo Horibe is the President of the Buddhist Council of the Midwest, anorganisation for all Buddhist groups in Chicago and the Midwest region.In 1989, she also became the first President of the Heartland Sanghain Evanston, Illinois. She serves as a secretary for the Asian AdvisoryCouncil for the Illinois Secretary of State, Jesse White. She is a lay ministerand has also worked as a registered nurse for over 45 years.Chief Oren Lyons, Faithkeeper of the Onondaga Nation of the IroquoisConfederacy, is a powerful and passionate spokesperson for Indigenoushuman rights and spiritual perspectives. An environmental champion,he speaks around the world, is active at the United Nations, and is widelyknown through his writings. He is a Professor Emeritus, in AmericanStudies, SUNY Buffalo and the co-author of ‘Exiled in the Land of theFree: Democracy, Indian Nations and the U.S. Constitution’.Tsugio Kuzuno is an Ainu elder and spiritual speaker from Shizunai,Hokkaido, Japan. Mr Kuzuno is noted for winning first prize in the 2ndAinu Oratorical Contest in November of 1998. This is an event that bringsparticipants, students, elders and the community together to get in touchwith the Ainu language and culture.Clarence Jackson is a Tlingit Clan Elder from the village of Kake,Alaska. He is of the Ch’aak’ (Eagle) moiety, Tsaagweidi (Killer Whale)Clan. He is on the board of directors for Sealaska Corporation, a regional,Native for-profit corporation founded by the US Congress for the Tlingit,Haida, and Tsimshian people. He also serves on the board of trustees forSealaska Heritage Institute and its Council of Traditional Scholars.Striving to Live in a Livable World(Session 2)Lucy Mulenkei, Kenya: Maasai, ModeratorBaba Wande Abimbola, Nigeria: YorubaNorma Kassi, Canada: Vuntut Gwitch’in First NationRoom 209Panel DiscussionEnvironmental safety and the sustainability of a healthyenvironment is a problem for many Indigenous communitiesacross the globe. Maintaining a healthy environmentis an increasingly difficult challenge as Indigenouscommunities struggle to protect their land and those wholive around it. The land not only serves as source of sustenance,but also provides materials for homes, feed forlivestock, and herbal medicine for health. This land alsocontains special or sacred places. Maasai, Yoruba andFirst Nation panellists will discuss the challenges and thespiritual significance of their environments.Lucy Mulenkei is a Maasai from Kenya. She is the Executive Director ofthe Indigenous Information Network (IIN) in Kenya and works with theAfrican Indigenous Women’s Organization in the East African Region.She has coordinated training and capacity building on environment andsustainable development for Indigenous rural, nomadic pastoralists andhunter gatherers. Her main focus is on biodiversity conservation andtraditional knowledge.www.parliamentofreligions.org 249

Program DescriptionsSunday, December 6, 20092:30–4:00pmENGAGEMENT SESSIONProfessor Wande Abimbola is the current Awise Agbaye, orSpokesperson of Yoruba Religion in the World. He was formerly Vice-Chancellor of University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University), Ile-Ifefrom 1982–1989; Senate Majority Leader for the Federal Republic ofNigeria from 1992–1993; and Special Adviser to the President of Nigeriafrom 2003–2005. Professor Abimbola has taught at Harvard Universityand Boston University. He is currently President of the UNESCOsponsoredIfa Heritage Institute, Nigeria.Norma Kassi, raised in Old Crow, Yukon, is Vuntut Gwich’in (Peopleof the Lakes). From 1985 until 1992 she was a member of the YukonLegislative Assembly. She has been a spokesperson in the effort topreserve the Porcupine Caribou Herd and serves on the InternationalGwich’in Steering Committee for the Preservation of the Arctic NationalWildlife Refuge. She is Co-director of the Arctic Health ResearchNetwork: Yukon, engaged in health research.Removal: The Indigenous Reality –Daily Youth WorkshopMathew Luke CraneDarlene St ClairVisopiano SanyuMelissa BrickellRoom 210This interactive workshop will build on a panel sessionfeaturing stories of removal from Native American,Aboriginal Australian and Naga perspectives. Participantswill have the opportunity to ask questions of the sessionpresenters and engage in discussion about the impact ofremoval.Mathew Crane is an Aboriginal man from South Australia; Currentlycompleting a Bachelor of Arts in Literature and Theology at AustralianCatholic University; Administrative Assistant to Jim-baa-yer IndigenousUnit, Centre for Indigenous Education and Research, Australian CatholicUniversity; Member of the Anglican Church of Australia and parishionerat St. Peter’s Eastern Hill; Verger at St. Paul’s Cathedral; CommitteeChair of Critical Mass - a group that seeks to connect progressive youngAnglicans in the Diocese of Melbourne.Iyekiyapiwin (Darlene St Clair) is an assistant professor of AmericanIndian Studies at St Cloud State University and the director of theMulticultural Resource Center. Her career has focused on the educationof Native peoples from early childhood to college, the integration of Nativecultures’ histories and languages into curricula, and the arts and culturalexpressions of Native peoples. She is Bdewakantunwan Dakota and anenrolled member of the Lower Sioux Indian Community in Minnesota.Visopiano Sanyu is Indigenous to Nagaland.Melissa Brickell, a descendant of the Yorta Yorta and Wiradjeri people,resides in Melbourne. Her work and active community involvement overthe last eighteen years have focused on cross-cultural awareness andreconciliation among Australians. Brickell received a ReconciliationAward from Maribyrnong City Council for advancing the rights and communitylife of Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. She is alsoactively involved in the Stolen Generations movement in Victoria andnationally.Religious and Spiritual Responsesto DisastersLaura CrochetAmjad Mohammed-SaleemAdditional speakers to be determinedRoom 211Religious and spiritual communities were often the firstresponders to human and ecological disasters long beforeworld class relief organizations such as the InternationalRed Cross or the United Nations Refugee Relief Agency.For centuries, come drought, floods, hurricanes, fires,social and political upheaval, or war, these communitiestirelessly rose to the occasion. Today, religious andspiritual communities work side-by-side with outstandinglocal, national and interreligious relief organizations toprovide humanitarian aid to millions worldwide who areoften in life or death situations. In this session, panellistswith first hand experience of these collaborative effortswill share their stunning experiences and best practices.They will also provide practical insight into how this vitalwork can be supported.Laura Crochet, an organizational management specialist in NewOrleans, Louisiana, for a statewide association, has focused on capacitybuilding for nonprofits, since June 2006. Her specialty areas includegrant writing, mission development, and planning. Ms. Crochet grewup in southern Louisiana, and received a Master’s Degree in EducationAdministration and Supervision. She has contributed her knowledgethrough webinars, trainings and conferences. Immediately followingHurricane Katrina, she worked in Long Term Community Recoverywith FEMA.Amjad Mohammed-Saleem is the head of media and public relationsfor The Cordoba Foundation. He was the architect of a global partnershipbetween Muslim Aid and the United Methodist Committee on Relief,which was hailed by the British Prime Minister as a landmark exampleof Muslims collaborating with Christians during times of conflict in SouthAsia. After losing several family members in the 2004 Tsunami, he joinedthe humanitarian and development field including overseeing tsunamireconstruction work in Sri Lanka.Accommodating Indigenous Spiritualityin the Contemporary World: Valuingand Respecting the Importance ofIndigenous SpiritualityJoseph Henry Suina, USA: Cochiti Pueblo, ModeratorTsugio Kuzuno, Japan: AinuNana Osei Boakyewa Apeadu Yiadom II, Akan/Ghana:ApeaduRoom 214Panel DiscussionMany Indigenous peoples in different regions of the worldlive in communities where there is an ongoing interfaithtension, sometimes cloaked in political rivalry. Three panellistsrepresenting different ethno-religious backgroundswill discuss instances of both accommodation and conflictthat either strengthen or weaken Indigenous spirituality.Dr Joseph H Suina is a Professor Emeritus in the College of Education atthe University of New Mexico and has numerous publications on cultureand education. He directed the Institute for American Indian Education atUNM for tribes throughout the Southwest. He is a former governor and250 PWR – Parliament of the World’s Religions

Program DescriptionsSunday, December 6, 20092:30–4:00pmENGAGEMENT SESSIONa current tribal council member, who continues to advocate for NativeAmerican tribes in the areas of health, museums, language retention,sacred sites, economic development and housing.Tsugio Kuzuno is an Ainu elder and spiritual speaker from Shizunai,Hokkaido, Japan. Mr Kuzuno is noted for winning first prize in the 2ndAinu Oratorical Contest in November of 1998. This is an event that bringsparticipants, students, elders and the community together to get in touchwith the Ainu language and culture.Nana Osei Boakyewa Yiadom II, a noted African leader, is one ofGhana’s queen mothers. Among the first African women to be elected villagechief, she is a fellow with the UN Institute for Training and Research,working on a project on refugee women. Since 1986, she has served as aconsultant on the UN Decade for Women, an advisor to the Committee onAfrican Women’s Affairs, and president of the Pan African Human RightsAssociation.Religious Identity Formation:The Templars in AustraliaDr Irene BouzoDr Rolf BeilharzRoom 215Interactive WorkshopA community that cannot articulate its identity risks losingits group cohesion. A group that defines its identificationprocess in an unsatisfactory way is in danger of an identitycrisis. This session explores the sustainability of religiousgroups through collective identity formation and communityliving. Dr Irene Bouzo will first present a practical,three-step framework for religious identity formation.The context is the changing nature of communities inthe 21st century and how a faith group lives in an urbanvillage. This presentation is informed by research into themultiple migrations across five continents of the TempleSociety Australia and its adaptation in Melbourne. Dr RolfBeilharz, President of the Temple Society Australia, willthen provide a snapshot of the Society’s spiritual aspirationsand how it is overcoming geographic displacement.Freedom of personal belief is one of the basic tenets. TheTemple Society identifies as an independent Christiancommunity in the sense that it is not affiliated or alignedwith any denomination. Following a thirty-minute presentation,participants will take part in an interactive workshopexploring the three steps in identity formation inrelation to their experiences in faith groups.Irene Bouzo is completing a PhD on the migration and identity formationof the German-speaking Templars. She is a trained teacher and has alsoworked as a policy advisor in adult migrant education and the ethnic agedcare sector in Victoria, Australia. She has contributed fifteen years ofvolunteer work to the Temple Society and is one of its lay elders.Rolf Beilharz is President and past Regional Head of the Temple SocietyAustralia. He is a religious and spiritual elder and has spent twenty yearsoverseeing spiritual, heritage, social and welfare support programs inthe Templar community. He was Dean of the Faculty of Forestry andAgriculture, University of Melbourne and is a Humboldt Fellow. DrBeilharz has a PhD in Genetics and Animal Breeding from Iowa StateUniversity.The Women’s Interfaith Initiative andGrassroots MovementSande HartKay LindahlRoom 216Interactive WorkshopThis workshop explores models of organisation forwomen’s grassroots and interfaith initiatives. It will alsodiscuss how such organisations are affecting the shape ofthe interfaith movement today. Participants will discusshow to identify a community’s needs and how to mobilisewomen into action, dialogue, conflict resolution, reconciliationand collaboration. This workshop will present aproven, successful model of organisation for a women’sgrassroots and interfaith group. The workshop will enableindividual exploration so that the participant can developa group that suits the specific needs of her community.Opportunities will be provided to develop relationshipsand to continue networking. This workshop’s objective isto empower and activate the highest common values ofdiverse faith traditions: service, gathering, sharing andhealing our world for future generations.Sande Hart is the Founder & President of Spiritual And ReligiousAlliance for Hope (S.A.R.A.H.), a women’s interfaith group that developedfollowing the events of 9/11. She is on the Board of Directors forthe Interfaith Youth Council and the Institute of Religion & CulturalCompetency. Sande is also the author of ‘Make a Difference 101(Community Service: A Practical Step-by-Step Guide for Kids)’.Kay Lindahl is a teacher who offers presentations on the powerof listening for diverse groups around the world. She serves on theBoard of Directors for the North American Interfaith Network and theImmortal Chaplains Foundation. She is a past trustee for the UnitedReligions Initiative. She is also the author of ‘The Sacred Art of Listening’,‘Practicing the Sacred Art of Listening’, and the children’s book ‘HowDoes God Listen?’Indigenous Land Rights:Struggles and Survival (Session 2)Aqqaluk Lynge, Greenland: Kalaallit, ModeratorFrancois Paulette, Canada: DeneChief Megaron Txukarramae, Brazil: KayapoRoom 217Panel DiscussionThe participants on this second panel will give examplesof their struggles for land rights. The survivaland livelihood of most Indigenous communities dependon their land rights and ownership of their land base.Dispossession of these ancestral homelands is a majorproblem confronting Indigenous peoples worldwide.Economic development and various forms of governmentalpolicies pose the threat of weakening or dispossessingIndigenous peoples of their rights to their homelands.Aqqaluk Lynge is president of the Inuit Circumpolar Conference (ICC)Greenland and ICC Vice-Chair for Greenland. He has represented the Inuitof Alaska, Canada, Greenland and the Far East of Russia as President ofthe ICC from 1997 to 2006. Mr Lynge was first elected to the GreenlandParliament in 1983 and also served as a minister with various portfolios.He has demonstrated a deep commitment to pan-Inuit unity since theearly 1970s.www.parliamentofreligions.org 251

Program DescriptionsSunday, December 6, 20092:30–4:00pmENGAGEMENT SESSIONFrancois Paulette is a Dene Suline and member of the Smith’s LandingTreaty 8 First Nation. He became the youngest chief in the NorthwestTerritories Indian Brotherhood. In 1972, along with other chiefs, he challengedthe crown to recognise treaty and Aboriginal rights. He served onthe National Indian Brotherhood Treaty Implementation Committee, theAssembly of First Nations Renewal Commission, and the Parks CanadaAboriginal Consultative Committee and has spoken internationally onDene history and Aboriginal rights.Chief Megaron Txukarramae is grand chief of the Kayapo people fromthe Amazonian Basin of Brazil, the head administrator of the NationalIndigenous Foundation (FUNAI) in his region, and a board member ofConservation International. The traditional lands of the Kayapo representthe single largest tract of protected tropical forest in the world and ChiefMegaron works toward the preservation of his people’s lands, culture andidentity, and the promotion of their economic and political autonomy.Knowing Home: A Presentationof Indigenous SpiritualityVicki ClarkRoom 218Interactive WorkshopVicki Clarke, a Muthi Muthi woman living in urbanMelbourne, is inextricably linked to her country of MungoNational Park, located in southwestern New South Wales.By sharing part of her journey, she invites program attendeesto enter into her personal world in a way that isa rare gift. Vicki will show a DVD and give a presentationthat discusses the issues of identity, belonging, spiritualityand the need for healing among Indigenous peoples. Shewill create an emotive and extremely effective tool thatpromotes understanding of Australian Indigenous spiritualityand raises issues of social justice for Indigenouspeoples in Australian society.Vicki Clark is the coordinator of the Aboriginal Catholic MinistryMelbourne. She was a representative of the affiliated Aboriginal TribalGroups (Muthi Muthi) in the formation of the Willandra Lakes WorldHeritage Property Plan of Management. Nationally, Vicki has beeninfluential in the formation and subsequent operations of the NationalAboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Catholic Council, serving forsix years as Secretary, three years as Vice Chair and three years asChairperson.Our Interreligious Future – Part TwoMarcus Braybrooke, ModeratorCardinal Theodore McCarrickRabbi David RosenAnd Others to Be AnnouncedRoom 219Panel DiscussionThe interreligious movement is barely a century old, yetit is clear that it will play an increasingly important role inthe years ahead. Where is it all going? Will the religionsplay a larger role in the issues challenging the humancommunity? Is there a potential for greater commonaction among the world’s religious and spiritual communities?What are the next steps in the journey, what ismotivating the movement and what are the obstacles torealising its visions? These and other topics will be addressedby religious leaders and the audience.moderatorRev Dr Marcus Braybrooke, President of the World Congress of Faithsand Patron of the international Interfaith Centre, Oxford, is an Anglicanpriest who has been active in interfaith work for over forty years. He isauthor of many books, including ‘A Heart for the World’.Cardinal Theodore E McCarrick, PhD, DD, Archbishop Emeritus ofWashington, has visited many nations as a human rights advocate andto survey humanitarian needs. He has travelled to areas affected bymajor natural disasters, such as Central America, Sri Lanka, Louisianaand Mississippi post-Hurricane Katrina, to ensure people in need wouldreceive assistance, and to bring prayer and financial support. He has beena member of the United States Commission for International ReligiousFreedom.Rabbi David Rosen is Director of the American Jewish Committee’sDepartment for Interreligious Affairs and the Heilbrunn Institute forInternational Interreligious Understanding. He serves on several internationalinterreligious organisations. Formerly Chief Rabbi of Ireland, heis the immediate past Chair of the International Jewish Committee onInterreligious Consultations, a broad-based coalition of Jewish organisationsrepresenting world Jewry to other religions.Breaking Barriers: Global Womenof Faith Network, Religions for PeacePatricia BlundellLilian SisonRavinder Kaur NijjarJacqueline OgegaRoom 220Panel discussion and interactive WorkshopReligions for Peace, through its Global Women of FaithNetwork, mobilises women of faith to harness the largelyuntapped power of multireligious cooperation to buildpeace, advocate for justice, end poverty and protect theearth. This interactive workshop by a panel of internationalspeakers will share experiences of women of faithas agents of peace and security, grounded in the spiritualvalues of different faiths. The second half of this workshopwill encourage the forming of partnerships, by providingan opportunity for women of faith to interact with oneanother and with other non-sectoral partners. The panelwill recommend ways to strengthen and mainstream theleadership of women of faith in building peace across theworld.Dr Patricia Blundell RSM is Co-Chair, Asia Pacific Women of FaithNetwork, Religions for Peace, and President of the Tertiary CampusMinistry Association (Australia), the professional association of AustralianUniversity Chaplains. She is Secretary of the International Association ofChaplains in Higher Education and is Co-ordinating Chaplain at GriffithUniversity, Brisbane, Australia. Her doctoral dissertation is on interreligiousdialogue and the public university.Dr Lilian Sison is Chair, Asia Pacific Women of Faith Network, Religionsfor Peace; Member, IWCC Global Women of Faith Network; and Dean ofthe Graduate School, University of San Tomas, Philippines.Ravinder Kaur Nijjar is Co-Chair of Religions for Peace EuropeanWomen of Faith Network and a member of RfP International Women’sCoordinating Committee. She serves on the Executive Committees ofthe UK Interfaith Network, Scottish Inter Faith Council, Patron of AlmaRoyalton Kisch Inter Faith Youth Trust (London) and is GNNSJ ScotlandCoordinator (a Sikh organisation). She is experienced in the field of educationand holds a BEd (Hons) degree (London).Jacqueline Ogega is the Director of the Women’s Program at theWorld Conference of Religions for Peace. She has served as the AfricanWomen’s Project Director at Religions for Peace in Africa, where sheestablished the African Women of Faith Network. She has experience252 PWR – Parliament of the World’s Religions

Program DescriptionsSunday, December 6, 20094:30–6:00pmOPEN SPACEand skills in gender, peace building and development programming. Sheholds a Master’s degree as well as a post-graduate diploma in genderand development, both from the University of Nairobi, Kenya.Footy Training Clinic – Offsite YouthWorkshopRobert ‘Dipper’ DiPierdomenicoNick HatzoglouOffsiteOffsite ProgramThis is your chance to venture on to the training groundof one of Melbourne’s Australian Football League (AFL)teams, tour the facilities and learn the basic skills ofAussie Rules Football with current players. This event isfacilitated by Multicultural Development Officers from theAFL.Robert ‘Dipper’ DiPierdomenico is a National AusKick Ambassadorand former professional Australian Rules footballer. In 1986 he receivedthe Brownlow Medal and he was inducted into the Australian FootballHall of Fame in 2007. He coached the Israeli-Palestinian Peres Team forPeace in the 2008 Australian Football International Cup.Nick Hatzoglou is the Multicultural Project Coordinator for theAustralian Football League. Nick’s key role with the Australian FootballLeague is to bring Australian Football opportunities closer to people fromculturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.OPENSPACE 4:30–6:00pmThe Sufism of Hazrat Inayat Khan:Universal SufismNuria DalyShaikha Safa HullRoom 102Religious or Spiritual ObservanceThe Sufi Movement in Australia represents the SufiMessage of spiritual liberty as brought to the West byHazrat Inayat Khan in the early years of the 20th century.It is a message that is both profound and simple.This session is an opportunity to experience some of theconcepts and teaching methods used on this path: gentlytuning and refining our personalities, our interaction withothers and the world that sustains us, and discovering aworldview that rests on and is constantly refined by love,harmony and beauty. The practices we are offering willinclude music, story, meditation, chanting (wazifa) andremembrance (zikr). There will also be an open forum forquestions. All are most welcome to drop in and share thisoffering with us.Nuria Irene Daly is a Shaikha in the Sufi Movement and is the NationalRepresentative of the International Sufi Movement in Australia. The SufiMovement follows the teachings of Hazrat Inayat Khan, who brought tothe West the concept of Universal Sufism. Nuria has led a Sufi groupin Melbourne for many years and has led retreats and meditations inAustralia.Shaikha Safa Hull is Co-National Representative of the Sufi Movementin New Zealand, and has been leading Sufi groups and spiritual retreatsfor over 20 years. She is an active member of the International SufiMovement and has presented a number of public talks on Sufism bothin Australia and New Zealand. Safa is also a senior clergy member, orSiraja, of the religious activity of the International Sufi Movement, knownas Universal Worship.Edmonton’s Experience of Reconciliationwith Indigenous PeopleLewis CardinalRick ChapmanJames ScottAlvin DixonRoom 103Panel DiscussionRestitution does not automatically guarantee reconciliation,nor does it assure redemption. However, restored relationshipswith Indigenous People will never occur withoutthe intentional efforts of those who seek the peaceand welfare of all. The Interchurch Interfaith Committeeof Edmonton Presbytery, United Church of Canada,will share stories of our current ecumenical efforts inEdmonton, Canada to pursue reconciliation and right relationswith Indigenous Peoples through programs of study,reflection and celebration with Aboriginal (Indigenous)spiritual leaders. Specific details and outcomes of eventswill be presented for both information and critique inthe hope that we will encourage and learn from similarexperiences worldwide. Related to our presentation willbe accounts of the national United Church of Canada’sefforts to ‘explore, develop and nurture just and respectfulrelationships between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginalpeople across our church’; and also reports regardingthe founding and progress of the Canadian government’sTruth and Reconciliation Commission.Lewis Cardinal is an Aboriginal educator and community leader inEdmonton.Rick Chapman has been working with Aboriginal people in the inner cityof Edmonton for the last three years at the Inner City Pastoral Ministry.Reverend James Scott was ordained by the United Church of Canada.His career has focused on social justice, peacemaking and conflict resolution.He directed the Coalition Against the Return of the Death Penaltyand animated educational programs for the Church Council on Justiceand Corrections. Currently James brings his healing and reconciliationexperience to his role as a United Church national staff member forIndian Residential Schools.Alvin Dixon is an Indigenous leader in the United Church of Canada andhas been deeply involved with the Residential School settlement process.www.parliamentofreligions.org 253

Program DescriptionsSunday, December 6, 20094:30–6:00pmOPEN SPACEAn Islamic Conscience: the Aga Khanand the IsmailisShamir Allibhai, Producer/DirectorRoom 107Film and DiscussionThe Aga Khan has been the spiritual leader of 15 millionIsmaili Muslims for the past five decades. Born intowealth and privilege, he has devoted his life to eliminatingpoverty and inequality. At a time when Islam is at oddswithin itself and with the West, this film presents the AgaKhan as a voice of moderation, speaking out for pluralism,and promoting dialogue between civilisations. Thefilm was directed by Jane Chablani, Bill Cran, and ShamirAllibhai.Shamir Allibhai is the Producer of ‘An Islamic Conscience’. He waspreviously the Commercial Director and part of the founding team of theChannel 4 British Documentary Film Foundation. The Documentary FilmFoundation is a nonprofit organisation that funds documentary filmmakersand runs BRITDOC, the UK’s first documentary feature film festival,which Shamir was instrumental in launching. Shamir is a candidate fora Master’s of Theological Studies in Islamic Studies from the HarvardDivinity School.Knit Together in Love: CommunitiesEnriched by Altruistic HandicraftingAlison HoodRoom 108Academic Paper and Interactive WorkshopWhen you make a handmade object, you reconnect to theprocess of creation. You transform raw materials into afinished product, rather than simply buying a mass-produceditem. You experience fellowship and connectednesswith other craftspeople, as well as with those for whomthe object is intended. This research-based workshop willhighlight individuals and small groups that employ theirhandcrafting skills to make unique textile objects, createdfor the sole purpose of giving them to those in need, oftencomplete strangers. Knitters and crocheters are welcometo bring their crafts with them to work on as we discusshow, through engaging in this process, individuals buildrelationships with themselves, each other, and the communityat large. This session will focus in particular onhow knitters and crocheters respond to the needs of thecommunity, as well as their empowering role as stewardsof knowledge, skills, and resources. These creative processesare explored using the theoretical framework of‘lived religion’, which examines how religion and spiritualityfunction in the creative process of handicraft, as wellas how they are manifested within the daily lives of peoplewho participate in them.Alison Hood is Chair of Religious Studies at Huntington University. Sheteaches courses pertaining to the contemporary issues of technology,spirituality, and ritual and their effects on life experiences. Alison is amember of the Canadian Society for the Study of Religion and is currentlypursuing her Doctorate at the University of Queensland, researchingaltruistic handcrafting as ‘lived religion’. She holds a BA from LaurentianUniversity and an MA from Wilfrid Laurier University.Education for Successful SocietiesElias SzczytnickiSimon Xavier Guerrand-HermesKatherine MarshallStephen HanmerRoom 109Education is sacred to many religious traditions, and faithcommunities are leaders in both thinking about educationand running educational institutions, from preschoolsthrough advanced studies. The role faith communities playturns out not only on service delivery but also on the question:‘Education for what?’ a question that signifies how importantthe issue of values is to the enterprise of education.‘Education, education, education’ is a common response tothe question of what area deserves highest priority in buildingsuccessful societies. This session will reflect on religion’sroles in education worldwide, highlighting the experience ofJesuit education, the Aga Khan Development Network, andthe Gulen movement. The presenters will explore the debatesabout whether and how basic knowledge about different faithtraditions should be a core component of curricula.Elias Szczytnicki is Secretary General and Regional Director, Religions forPeace Latin America and the Caribbean. Before, he was Member, NationalExecutive Committee, Consensus-Building Table on Fight against Poverty ofPeru, and Member, Committee on Supervision and Transparency, NationalProgram on Direct Support for the More Poor People Together. Mr Szczytnickiholds a Bachelor’s degree in history from the Pontifical Catholic University ofPeru, and is a graduate from the Program on Jewish Organization Direction ofthe Leatid Center.Simon Xavier Guerrand-Hermes is the Chairman of the GHFP board, ViceChairman of Hermes of Paris, and board member of Hermes International.He is also Chairman of Eden Development and Treasurer of Religions forPeace. He is a Honourary Fellow of Oxford University.Katherine Marshall is a Senior Fellow at the Berkley Center for Religion,Peace, and World Affairs and Visiting Professor in the GovernmentDepartment and the School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University. Sheleads the Berkley Center’s work on faith-inspired institutions working indevelopment, involving a series of regional background papers and consultationswith academics and practitioners, and a series of reviews of developmenttopics.Stephen Hanmer, a UNICEF Partnerships Advisor, supports UNICEF’s faithbasedpartnerships.Religious Leadership in a GlobalPerspectiveRabbi Dr Alon Goshen-Gottstein, ModeratorDharma Master Hsin TaoJinwol LeeCardinal Theodore McCarrickImam FeisalBhai Sahib Mohinder SinghRabbi David RosenH H Pujya Swami Chidanand SaraswatiH H Swami AmaranandaH H Dadi JankiSr Joan ChittisterRoom 203Recently religious leaders affiliated with the Elijah Board ofWorld Religious Leaders gathered in the Holy Land to discuss254 PWR – Parliament of the World’s Religions

Program DescriptionsSunday, December 6, 20094:30–6:00pmOPEN SPACEthe question of ‘The Future of Religious Leadership’.Those discussions were informed by an internationalsurvey, prepared by the Elijah Interfaith institute, on thetheme of religious leadership. The survey measuredsatisfaction, expectation and trust that different communitiesworldwide have in their religious leaders. It contrastedhow local religious leaders are doing in relation tointernational leaders and heads of large organization. Itsought to identify the qualities that people feel are mostimportant to the vocation of a religious leader and it suggestedwhat it is that the faithful of different religions areexpecting of their leaders. The present panel will featurereligious leaders reflecting upon the findings of thissurvey. It will include religious leaders of those traditionssurveyed. What have leaders learned from the survey?How have they been challenged? What practical conclusionsand consequences might they implement in lightof this survey? Join us in order to receive the answers tosuch questions from these renowned religious leaders.Alon Goshen-Gottstein has been director of the Elijah Interfaith Instituteand lecturer and director of the Center for the Study of Rabbinic Thought,Beit Morasha College, both in Jerusalem, since 1997. Ordained a rabbiin 1977, he holds a PhD and BA from Hebrew University of Jerusalem.His nearly three dozen articles have appeared in edited collections and insuch scholarly journals as Harvard Theological Review, Journal for theStudy of Judaism, and Studies in Interreligious Dialog.Dharma Master Hsin Tao was born in Burma in 1948 and came toTaiwan at age 13. He became a monk at age 25 and established the WushengMonastery on Ling-jiou mountain in 1983. He founded the Museumof World Religions and is president of the Global Family of Love andPeace. The series of Buddhist-Muslim dialogues he initiated in 2001 hasbeen conducted in ten countries, including the UNESCO Paris and UN inNew York.Venerable Professor Jinwol Lee is a Buddhist monk and Seon (Zen)Master of the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism. He received a PhDin Buddhist Studies from UC Berkeley and now teaches at DonggukUniversity in Korea. He is a Steering Committee Member of the Coalitionfor the UN Decade for Peace, an Executive Committee Member of theWorld Fellowship of Buddhists, and a Global Council Member of theUnited Religions Initiative.Cardinal Theodore E McCarrick, PhD, DD, Archbishop Emeritus ofWashington, has visited many nations as a human rights advocate and tosurvey humanitarian needs. He has travelled to areas affected by majornatural disasters, such as Central America, Sri Lanka and Louisianaand Mississippi post-Hurricane Katrina, to ensure people in need wouldreceive assistance, and to bring prayer and financial support. He has beena member of the United States Commission for International ReligiousFreedom.Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf is chairman of the Cordoba Initiative, a multinational,multireligious project that works to improve relations betweenthe Muslim world and the West. Author of ’What’s Right With Islam IsWhat’s Right With America: A New Vision for Muslims and the West’,he is also founder of the American Society for Muslim Advancement.Imam Feisal is a graduate of Columbia University, New York and holds aMaster’s degree from Stevens Institute of Technology.Bhai Sahib Dr Mohinder Singh comes from a line of spiritual leaders,and is Chairman of Guru Nanak Nishkam Sewak Jatha. He is a retiredcivil and structural engineer, with two honorary Doctorates for work infaith, community and education. Bhai Sahib is also a recipient of the JulietHollister Award from the Temple of Understanding.Rabbi David Rosen is Director of the American Jewish Committee\’sDepartment for Interreligious Affairs and the Heilbrunn Institute forInternational Interreligious Understanding. He serves on several internationalinterreligious organisations. Formerly Chief Rabbi of Ireland, heis the immediate past Chair of the International Jewish Committee onInterreligious Consultations, a broad-based coalition of Jewish organisationsrepresenting world Jewry to other religions.H H Pujya Swami Chidanand Saraswati is the president and spiritualhead of Parmarth Niketan, one of the largest spiritual institutions inIndia. He is also the founder and chairman of the India Heritage ResearchFoundation (IHF), sponsoring a wide range of humanitarian and educationalprograms. Swami Saraswati has been a long-time participant ininternational interfaith conferences. In 1991, he received the ‘Hindu of theYear’ award.H H Swami Amarananda is the senior monk of the RamakrishnaOrder and president of the Centre Vedantique in Geneva. He is a formerresidential school headmaster and expert on disaster management.He has participated in numerous multireligious programs, includingthe World Faiths Development Dialogue, meetings of the Communityof Santo Egidio, the Interreligious Platform in Geneva and the WorldCouncil of Churches.Come into the Presence of God!A Celebration of the Divine in Words,Music and SilenceRev Dr Stephanie DowrickDr Kim CunioRobin RamsayRoom 201Artistic PerformanceVarious musicians and spiritual leaders will contributeto this multi-art form program. In celebration of theDivine and the human relationship to the Divine, we willmove from the meditative to the ecstatic through poetry,scripture, music and guided and silent meditation. We willemphasise the universal teachings from East and West,especially those that lead us to appreciate love as thecentre of our lives, the source of our wellbeing, a unifyingand healing force for humanity, and the most profoundexpression of the numinous and Eternal. We will highlightshort, inspirational passages from the major scripturesboth in English and in their original languages, sometimesaccompanied by music. Poetry selections will rangefrom Rumi to Thich Nhat Hanh, from Rilke to Mary Oliver,and from Owl Woman to Miguel Hernandez. A range offine musicians will represent Islamic, Jewish, Christian,Hindu and Buddhist traditions. Rev Dr Stephanie Dowrickwill devise and moderate the text for the program. Dr KimCunio will provide musical direction, and Robin Ramseywill provide artistic direction.Rev Stephanie Dowrick, PhD, is an ordained Interfaith Minister andAustralia’s best-known writer in the areas of personal, social and spiritualdevelopment. She is in demand both nationally and internationally as aworkshop and retreat leader and has been writing the ‘Inner Life’ columnfor Good Weekend Magazine (Sydney Morning Herald and The Age) since2001. Since 2003, Stephanie has given regular interfaith services at PittStreet Uniting Church in Sydney.Dr Kim Cunio is Australia’s leading composer and interpreter of sacredtraditional music. He has been commissioned to investigate the musicof many sacred traditions by organisations around the world and inAustralia. His most recent commissions have included The Sacred Fire:The Music of Hildegard of Bingen, the Temple Project (music in the timeof Jesus), and The Thread of Life, a reuniting of Arabic and Jewish musicians.Robin Ramsay is an inspirational figure in Australia’s theatre history andhas performed in theatre, television and film for over forty years. A longtimemeditator and spiritual scholar, Robin recently completed his debutfeature film as director, Tao of the Traveller, a mystical exploration of thejourneys of the human soul. The film won Best Film in its category at theSouth African International Film Festival and is an Official Selection at theThailand International Film Festival.www.parliamentofreligions.org 255

Program DescriptionsSunday, December 6, 20094:30–6:00pmOPEN SPACEThe Science and Spiritualityof Climate ChangeJohan RockströmRoom 202Panel DiscussionFormer US Vice-President Al Gore has defined the criticalfactor in addressing climate change in spiritual terms,as ‘…the moral courage to rise and successfully resolvea crisis that so many said was impossible to solve…’ DrRajendra Pachauri, Chairman of the IntergovernmentalPanel on Climate Change at the UN, has said that the currentcrisis has ‘…. raised the threat of dramatic populationmigration, conflict, and war over water and other resources,as well as a realignment of power among nations.’ Inthe public debate about climate change, the perspectivesof scientific research and spirituality often seem confused,or at cross-purposes. These two Nobel Laureates, awardedfor their work on environmental concerns, bring clarityand synergy to these twin perspectives that are crucial inaddressing the most challenging crisis of our time.Johan Rockström is Executive Director of Stockholm Resilience Centre.He is also Professor in natural resources management at StockholmUniversity and executive director of Stockholm Environment Institute(SEI). He is coordinator of several national and regional research anddevelopment projects linked to the Global Water Partnership, theGlobal Dialogue on Water for Food and Environmental Security, and theResilience Alliance.Thirst (Premier Film Series Selection)Room 210Film‘Thirst’ tells the story of communities in Bolivia, India andthe United States that are asking fundamental questionsabout water. Q & A to follow.The Legacy of the Melbourne Parliament(Part 1)Room 211This session, on the legacy of the 2009 Parliament, willbe a conversation with members of different religious,cultural, and interreligious Melbourne-based groups.Participants will strategise how to further utilise the energyof the Parliament for the future of Melbourne, the roleof the Parliament in developing social cohesion betweenresidents, and making a world of difference.Exploring the Future of Religion andSpiritualityAndrew CohenRoom 213Andrew Cohen is a spiritual teacher and founder of EnlightenNextmagazine (formerly What Is Enlightenment?). A visionary thinker, Cohenis widely recognised for his original contribution to the emerging fieldof evolutionary spirituality. Through his talks, retreats, publications, andongoing dialogues with leading philosophers, mystics, and activists, heis becoming a defining voice in an international alliance of individualsand organisations that are committed to the transformation of humanconsciousness and culture.Offerings for Barong Pa-Hayu Buwana /World Peace BarongYayasan Dharma Samuan TigaRoom 214Interactive ExhibitA barong is an animal figure that makes a dancingpilgrimage for peace. Barong Pa-Hayu Buwana / WorldPeace Barong was conceived 26 March 2003 and blessed26 March 2004 during ‘Sharing Art & Religiosity’ inBedulu, Bali, facing the Samuan Tiga Temple, where, inthe year 1011, three faiths met in reconciliation. This barongis a new creation made of coral, stones, tree bark androots, feathers, fabric, bells and other materials initiallygifted by 56 individuals and societies from 23 nations ofthe world. Parliament presenters and visitors are invitedto send materials from your culture to Yayasan DharmaSamuan Tiga 1 Jalan Pura Samuan Tiga Bedulu, Bali80551 Indonesia to beautify the Barong Pa-Hayu Buwana/ World Peace Barong so that it may be more complete for‘Sharing Art & Religiosity’ in the year 2011 and dedicatedto the 1000th anniversary of Pasamuan Tiga. Artist delegatesof Yayasan Dharma Samuan Tiga will host discussionson the process of creating the World Peace Barongfrom 4:30 to 6:00 pm daily during Open Space.Yayasan Dharma Samuan Tiga is a nonprofit public foundation inBedulu, Bali, Indonesia dedicated to maintaining and supporting thespirit of conciliation that arose in the interfaith meeting at Samuan TigaTemple in the year 1011. The foundation strives to promote interculturalcollaboration through sharing in the arts and religiosity among culturesin Indonesia and among nations throughout the world.Role of YouthChisato MoritaShumei Youth GroupRoom 216MusicalThe Shumei Youth Group strongly believes in theParliament’s missions of healing the Earth and listeningto each other. But what can young people contribute?How can they work to address the issues that stand inthe way of achieving these goals? As young people fromall religions and spiritual groups are working towards amore comfortable and fair world for everyone, the ShumeiYouth Group is dedicated to taking an active role in thischange. Via the exchange of ideas with one another andby working together with similar goals in mind, today’syouth can maintain a ‘yes, we can!’ attitude. The ShumeiYouth Group’s work is based on these words of its founder,Mokichi Okada: ‘We recognise all religions as our colleaguesand will link hands with them in mutual amity aswe go onward.’ As part of their presentation, the groupwill suggest a new way of life based on their three pillars:spiritual healing, natural agriculture and appreciation of256 PWR – Parliament of the World’s Religions

Program DescriptionsSunday, December 6, 20094:30–6:00pmOPEN SPACEart, all of which have proven effective in enriching the livesof people worldwide.Chisato Morita is a staff member of Shinji Shumeikai.The Shumei Youth Group is using the ideas of Japanese philosopherMokichi Okada to work to help all the different people of the world tolive in happiness and harmony with nature. They aim to work towardsdeveloping ambitious leaders in today’s generation to sustain our world.The essence of their practice is feeling the beauty of our world. The groupworks for the happiness of others, appreciates precious art and music,and enjoys growing vegetables.Spiritual Progressives: NetworkingTowards a New Bottom LineRabbi Michael LernerRoom 217SeminarSpiritual progressives are all those (including ‘spiritualbut-not-religious’people) who seek a New Bottom Line.Institutions, corporations, laws and government policies,educational, legal and health systems, and even our personallives should be defined as ‘productive’, ‘efficient’ or‘rational’ not only to the extent that they maximise moneyor power (the Old Bottom Line), but also to the extentthat they maximise the human capacity to be loving, caring,kind, generous, ethically and ecologically sensitive,aware of the sacred in other sentient beings, and capableof responding with awe, wonder and radical amazementat the grandeur and mystery of Creation. Rabbi MichaelLerner invites participants to a meeting to discuss how tobuild a network of spiritual progressives within their owndenominations, religious communities, academic communitiesor local places of worship or work.Rabbi Michael Lerner studied at the Jewish Theological Seminary inNew York City and was mentored by noted scholar Abraham JoshuaHeschel. He received a PhD in Philosophy from the University ofCalifornia, Berkeley in 1972 and a PhD in Clinical Psychology from theWright Institute in 1977. Michael Lerner serves as the rabbi of BeytTikkun Synagogue in San Francisco and is the editor of Tikkun Magazineand author of numerous books.A Listening Place Each DayKristen HobbyLynette DunganBernie MilesKava SchaferJill MantonNola VanderfeenRoom 218Interactive WorkshopWe welcome you to a safe place where you can simply be.This is a quiet place where you can sit and meditate orreflect on what has touched or challenged you throughoutthe day of the Parliament of the World’s Religions.Spiritual directors will be available in this room; you maytalk to them if there is anything you would like to share.Spiritual directors are trained to listen in a non-judgmentaland respectful way and are available for people of allfaith traditions.Educating Religious Leaders for aMulti-Religious World: Resourcesfor and Obstacles to Multi-ReligiousEducation in One’s Own TraditionNorth American Theological School StudentsRoom 219Panel DiscussionFaculty and students will try to explore, both intra-religiouslywithin their own traditions and inter-religiouslyin conversation with members of other traditions, theproblems and the possibilities they face in trying to promotewithin their own community a greater awareness ofand interaction with other communities. We will try to faceproblems honestly but sensitively, for the ‘religious other’often appears as a threat to one’s own religious identityand as a denial of certain beliefs about uniqueness or superioritythat have been part of one’s own tradition. Suchproblems must be embraced carefully, creatively and patiently.This session will stress the positive resources thatcan be found in each tradition—resources that call membersof each tradition to humility about one’s own claims,openness to the beliefs and practices of others, and loveand compassion towards all, no matter how different theymay be. We also want to examine how the ‘critical issues’in our suffering and threatened world can also provideresources for greater cooperation as these issues providenew possibilities for religions to collaborate practicallyeven when they may differ doctrinally. Each school willbring some particular texts or statements from their owntradition that can serve as assuring and creative resourcesfor an open engagement with others.This is part of a symposium entitled ‘Educating ReligiousLeaders for a Multi-Religious World’. The Council for aParliament of the World’s Religions, with the support ofThe Henry Luce Foundation, has coordinated with fifteentheological institutions to explore ways to increaseeducation for interfaith leadership in North Americantheological schools. Institutions strongly acknowledgedthe urgency of interfaith engagement and the preparationof a religious leadership equipped with knowledgeand understanding of the plurality of faith traditions in thecontemporary world.Religions for Peace GatheringStein VillumstadRoom 220Participants in the Parliament who are or want to beaffiliated with Religions for Peace (RfP) are invited to aninformal forum in which we will share current developments.This gathering will discuss strategic priorities forthe organisation; updates from the RfP network; globaladvocacy agendas and campaigns; and visual identity anddevelopment of e-advocacy capacities. The objective ofthis gathering is to strengthen the sense of identificationwww.parliamentofreligions.org 257

Program DescriptionsSunday, December 6, 20099:00–10:30pmEVENING PROGRAMMINGwith and ownership of the network among the RfPaffiliatedparticipants.Stein Villumstad has extensive and distinguished experience in internationaldevelopment, conflict transformation, and human rights. Heserved as regional representative for Norwegian Church Aid (NCA) inEastern Africa, where he oversaw development activities in ten countriesand managed five regional sub-offices. Previously, he held the position ofassistant general secretary of NCA, managing the Department for Policyand Human Rights.EVENING PROGRAMming 9:00–10:30pmBurma VJRoom 107FilmIn Burma’s police state, video journalists (VJs) risk theirlives to make the world aware of events inside their nation.Equipped with small cameras, the VJs project thestruggle of the Burmese people on TV screens worldwide.This 90-minute film tells the story of ‘Joshua’, a 27-yearoldVJ thrust into the role of tactical leader of a group ofreporters when monks lead a massive, peaceful uprisingagainst the regime. The film was directed by AndersOstergaard.258 PWR – Parliament of the World’s Religions