Parliament of Worlds Religion 2009 Melbourne Australia

Author(s): Parliament of the World’s Religions
Publisher: USA Parliament of the Worlds Religions

Page 212

PROGRAM O
Saturday, December 5, 2009
Engaging Faith-Based Organisations for the Millenium Development Goals: Comparative UN Experiences
Dr Azza Karam
Ali Moussa lye Stephen Hanmer Sally Smith
Dr Thomas Uthup
Tim M Rwabuhemba
Quentin Wodon Room 207
Panel Discussion
In 2001, recognising the need to spur development by improving social and economic conditions in the world's poorest countries, 192 United Nations member states and at least 23 international organisations agreed to achieve eight Millennium Development Goals. These international development goals, to be achieved by 2015, range from reducing extreme hunger to promoting gender equality and environmental sustainability. While not all UN bodies have a policy for engagement with faith-based communities on all issues, several have established different means of doing so with diverse groups. To showcase the range of partnerships and issues with which some UN bodies work. with faith-based communities, this interactive panel will bring together six members of the UN family (UNESCO, UNICEF, UNAIDS, UNFPA, the Alliance of Civilizations, the World Bank) to introduce their respective areas of work and, specifically, the successes, challenges and ways forward for their faith-based organisation outreach.
Dr Azza Karam serves the Culture mandate at the United Nations Population Fund. A political scientist and economist by training, she has managed international development programs; served as a gender and culture Trainer and Specialist for various international intergovernmental entities; and is a Lecturer on politics and religion in several academic arenas. She has several books and publications to her name. She has worked in the Middle East, western Europe and the United States. Ali Moussa lye is the Chief of the Intercultural Dialogue Section of UNESCO in Paris, where he coordinates the slave routes projects and UNESCO's History of Africa.
Stephen Hanmer, a UNICEF Partnerships Advisor, supports UNICEF's faith-based partnerships.
Sally Smith is a UNAIDS Partnership Adviser.
As research manager, Dr Thomas Uthup coordinates all research and education activities for the UN Alliance of Civilizations project. His major responsibilities include the development of clearinghouses and appropriate networks of clearinghouse partners, the development of a Research Network, and the building of bridges between organisations to understand the 'other. Currently, his major focus is on developing a network of partners for the Education about Religions and Beliefs clearinghouse. Tim M Rwabuhemba is the UNAIDS Country Coordinator in Papua New Guinea. Prior to this, he was the UNAIDS Country Coordinator in Lesotho. He has also worked for UNICEF as Programme Officer. Rwabuhemba has broad experience and knowledge on public health, HIV programming and policy development issues gained over thirteen years in the UN system and five years working with nongovernmental organisations, including faith-based organisations. He holds a degree in Education and post-graduate qualifications in Health.
208 PWR Parliament of the World's Religions
2:30-4:00pm ENGAGEMENT SESSION
Quentin Wodon worked in business after studying engineering and business. In 1988 joined for five years the ATD Fourth World, a interdenominational grassroots and advocacy NGO working with the extreme poor. He later completed a PhD in Economics, taught at the University of Namur, and finally joined the World Bank in 1998. Since November 2008, he heads the Development Dialogue on Values and Ethics, the unit at the World Bank working on faith, ethics and development.
Protecting Religious Freedom & Sacred Sites: Examples from Indigenous
Communities (Session 2)
Amos Tripp, USA: Karuk
Alejandro Argumedo, Peru: Quechua
Aqqaluk Lynge
Room 208
Panel Discussion
In this second session, members of the panel will discuss why sacred sites are a necessary part of the spiritual life of their respective Indigenous communities. The spiritual beliefs and practices of most Indigenous peoples are land based. As such, sacred places are an essential part of the culture. There are many different types of sacred sites and while some bear the mark of the ancestors, another place might be the place of emergence or the home of an important deity. Sacred sites, therefore, can be a community's creation story. Various religious or sacred ceremonies are conducted at these sites and are blessed with songs, prayers, and other offerings.
Amos Tripp is a Karuk-wuh-uttah-uttah from the middle section of the Klamath River in northwestern California. He studied law at the University of California-Davis and currently works for United Indian Health Services in Arcata, California. His local tribes are 'Fix the World tribes, who believe in living in balance with their surroundings. Mr Tripp is very proud to be part of the healing after the land grab in California devastated these tribes.
Mr Alejandro Argumedo, a Quechua from Peru, is Executive Director of the autonomous international NGO, Cultural Survival Canada, focusing on the connection between cultural and biological diversity and on Indigenous peoples' traditional resource rights. Mr Argumedo is coordinator for the Indigenous Peoples' Biodiversity Network (IPBN) and is a member of the steering committee and advisory group for IPBN's Indigenous Knowledge Programme. He holds a degree in agriculture from McGill University.
Aqqaluk Lynge is President of the Inuit Circumpolar Conference (ICC) Greenland and ICC Vice-Chair for Greenland. He has represented the Inuit of Alaska, Canada, Greenland and the Far East of Russia as President of the ICC from 1997 to 2006. Mr. Lynge was first elected to the Greenland Parliament in 1983 and also served as a Minister with various portfolios. He has demonstrated a deep commitment to pan-Inuit unity since the early 1970s.