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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PROGRAN Sunday, December 6, 2009
2:30-4:00pm ENGAGEMENT SESSION
an NGO for the promotion of compassion and nonviolence, and she helped found the Women's Interfaith Encounter, a program of the Interfaith Encounter Association. In April 2009, the Dalai Lama presented Ibtisam with the 'Unsung Heroes of Compassion award in recognition of her work to bring peace and to improve the status of women in the Holy Land. Sheikh Hussein Abu Rukkun, an elder and recognised spokesperson for the Mowahhidoon (Druze) faith, has travelled widely in efforts to build bridges with other religions. He embodies the essence of the Druze tradition, embracing the principles and the Holy Books of the three more widely known Abrahamic religions, while also integrating the Druze belief in reincarnation Sheikh Abdul Aziz Bukhari, a Sheikh of the Naqshabandian Religious Method (Sulil and head of the Uzbeke Community in Jerusalem, is an Uzbek. He is a leading Muslim voice for peace and reconciliation in Jerusalem. He also hosts the Uzbek Cultural Centre of the Holy Land in his home.
Hear the Voices of the Indigenous Elders Asayo Horibe, USA: Buddhist, Moderator Chief Oren Lyons, USA: Onondaga Tsugio Kuzuno, Japan: Ainu elder Clarence Jackson, USA: Tlingit Room 208 Panel Discussion Indigenous cultures have honoured their elders and seek to gain wisdom from their voices. Their stories continue to enrich and help to restore the sacred practices and identity of the community. Asayo Horibe is the President of the Buddhist Council of the Midwest, an organisation for all Buddhist groups in Chicago and the Midwest region In 1989, she also became the first President of the Heartland Sangha in Evanston, Illinois. She serves as a secretary for the Asian Advisory Council for the Illinois Secretary of State, Jesse White. She is a lay minister and has also worked as a registered nurse for over 45 years Chief Oren Lyons, Faithkeeper of the Onondaga Nation of the Iroquois Confederacy, is a powerful and passionate spokesperson for Indigenous human rights and spiritual perspectives. An environmental champion, he speaks around the world, is active at the United Nations, and is widely known through his writings. He is a Professor Emeritus, in American Studies, SUNY Buffalo and the co-author of Exiled in the Land of the Free: 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 2nd Ainu Oratorical Contest in November of 1998. This is an event that brings participants, students, elders and the community together to get in touch with the Ainu language and culture. Clarence Jackson is a Tlingit Clan Elder from the village of Kake, Alaska He is of the Ch'aak' Eaglel 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 for Sealaska Heritage Institute and its Council of Traditional Scholars.
UN Millennium Development Goals, Challenges and Opportunities for Global Stability Almaz Negash Bruce Duncan Room 204 Seminar In September 2000 the international community under the leadership of the United Nations agreed to adopt the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to foster sustainable development in poverty stricken countries. The MDGs are people-centric and measurable, and are intended to transform communities from the bottom up. They range from halving extreme poverty to halting the spread of HIV/AIDS to providing universal primary education by the target date of 2015. These goals are backed by a consensus of governments throughout the world. This session will discuss the MDGs, the progress that has been made toward achieving them, and the challenges that remain. The aim is to assist the participant in understanding the nature of the systems that have sustained the status quo and the nature of the systems that will be required to support systemic change. The presentation will call for bringing together new forms of public/private partnerships to preserve the best of both, providing a stronger support network for emerging regions and their people, and leveraging infrastructure, education, financial, and trade support so as to enable individuals, local governments, and small businesses within these emerging economies to grow more stably and with higher value-added components to their enterprises. Almaz Negash is managing director at Entwine Global. At the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University, she worked to facilitate dialogue between world leaders on a 'Global Ethic' and the need for global moral leadership. As director of the Silicon Valley Center for International Trade Development, she facilitated the awarding of over $200 million in contracts to her clientele. She co-authored Awakening Social Responsibility. A Call to Action. Bruce Duncan has his doctorate in political science from the University of Sydney. Since 1987 he has lectured in history and social ethics at Yarra Theological Union in Melbourne. He is the author of Crusade or Conspiracy? Catholics and the anti-communist Struggle in Australia (2001) and Church Social Teaching (1991).
Striving to Live in a Livable World (Session 2) Lucy Mulenkei, Kenya: Maasai, Moderator Baba Wande Abimbola, Nigeria: Yoruba Norma Kassi, Canada: Vuntut Gwitch'in First Nation Room 209 Panel Discussion Environmental safety and the sustainability of a healthy environment is a problem for many Indigenous communities across the globe. Maintaining a healthy environment is an increasingly difficult challenge as Indigenous communities struggle to protect their land and those who live around it. The land not only serves as source of sustenance, but also provides materials for homes, feed for Livestock, and herbal medicine for health. This land also contains special or sacred places. Maasai, Yoruba and First Nation panellists will discuss the challenges and the spiritual significance of their environments. Lucy Mulenkei is a Maasai from Kenya. She is the Executive Director of the Indigenous Information Network IIN) in Kenya and works with the African Indigenous Women's Organization in the East African Region, She has coordinated training and capacity building on environment and sustainable development for Indigenous rural, nomadic pastoralists and hunter gatherers. Her main focus is on biodiversity conservation and traditional knowledge.
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