Parliament of Worlds Religion 2009 Melbourne Australia

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

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PROGRAM DES
Sunday, December 6, 2009
2:30-4:00pm ENGAGEMENT SESSION
Donald H Frew is a Wiccan Elder and National Interfaith Representative for the Covenant of the Goddess. He has represented Wicca in interfaith work for over 23 years, serving on the Boards of the Berkeley Area Inter laith Council, the Interfaith Center at the Presidio, and the Global Council of the United Religions Initiative. He is the founder and director of the Lost & Endangered Religions Project. Dr Layne Little is the regional director of South Asian programs for the Lost & Endangered Religions Project. He teaches courses on South Asian religion at the University of California at Berkeley Dr Archana Venkatesan teaches about ritual and performance traditions in Hinduism for the Religious Studies and Comparative Religion departments of the University of California at Davis.
years old. It could end in an afternoon. -Arundhati Roy. Indian Author-Nuclear weapons represent a grave threat to humanity being able to hear one another and heal. They use the threat of violence as a tool for compliance of the other, rather than being able to listen to-and toleratedifference. They also pose a constant threat to our earth, with a small nuclear exchange having the potential to cause a devastating nuclear winter or the destruction of our planet. Religious people have always been significant participants in the quest to abolish nuclear weapons, and this continues today. This panel discussion will provide a comprehensive overview of the legal and philosophical aspects of nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament, as both a basis for understanding and as firmament for how and why to respond. Judge Weeramantry has been a lawyer, legal educator, international arbitrator, and domestic and international judge. He has been Chairman of the Nauru Commission of Inquiry and Coordinator of the United Nations University Project on Technology and Human Rights. He is President of the International Association of Lawyers Against Nuclear Arms and a Founder Member of the World Future Council. He has written over twenty books and 200 articles on religious, legal, and political topics. Sue Wareham is the president of the Medical Association for the Prevention of War (MAPWI.
Feeding a Plan of Action for the UN Decade of Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue, Understanding and Cooperation for Peace (Session 1) Gerardo Gonzalez Stein Villumstad Serigne Mansour Sy Room 105 Symposium
The Lost & Endangered Religions Project: Preserving the World's Religious Diversity Donald Frew Dr Layne Little Dr Archana Venkatesan Room 104 Parliament Assembly Project Update The Lost & Endangered Religions Project (LERP) works with marginalised religious communities around the world to help preserve religious traditions-including texts, rituals, songs and dances that are in danger of being lost and helps to restore aspects of these traditions that may have been lost in the community but have been archived. LERP focuses on creating mutually beneficial and cooperative relationships between religious communities and scholars. Historically, there has been considerable tension between academics and small religious communities. LERP works to combat this tension and the perception of academics as 'thieves'. Focusing on traditions that can be physically duplicated or recorded, LERP replaces this old paradigm with a new one stressing community service as its primary goal. Since 1999, LERP has developed ongoing service projects with the Yezidi of southern Turkey, archaeological efforts in southern and eastern Turkey, the performative dance and ritual traditions of the devadasis and of the Araiyar priests of southern India, and new religious movements in Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States. This program will use multimedia material to present an overview of LERP's work to date and discuss questions of methodology.
This symposium is organised by the Initiative for a UN Decade of Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue, Understanding and Cooperation for Peace. This first session will introduce the proposed UN Decade; present successful stories of partnership between faith-based organisations, UN agencies and member states around millennium development goals; and offer interactive sharing with participants, including suggestions for the plan of action of the Decade. A report on presentations and discussions will be made available at the Initiative's website (www.faithdecadeforpeace.net) Gerardo Gonzalez holds a doctorate in Social Psychology from Paris University (1969) and worked for nearly 30 years as a UN international officer. Since 1998 he has volunteered in the field of interfaith cooperation for peace, including directing the project toward the creation of a spiritual forum for world peace at the United Nations. Currently, he is coordinator of the Initiative for a UN Decade of Interreligious Cooperation for Peace. Stein Villumstad has extensive and distinguished experience in international development, conflict transformation, and human rights. He served as regional representative for Norwegian Church Aid (NCA) in Eastern Africa, where he oversaw development activities in ten countries and managed five regional sub-offices. Previously, he held the position of assistant general secretary of NCA, managing the Department for Policy and Human Rights. Serigne Mansour Sy is president of the Federation of Islamic Associations of Senegal and a member of the Steering Committee of the Coalition. Since 1997, he has been Caliph General of the Tijaniya order of Senegal
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