Parliament of Worlds Religion 2009 Melbourne Australia

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

Page 280

PROGRAM D
Monday, December 7, 2009
Global Ethics and Religion Forum - Rotary International Peace Fellows, International Christian University
William Steele
Prashan De Visser
Six ICU Rotary International Peace Fellows Room 110
Symposium
This is Panel #7 in the 'War and the Role of Religion in a Just and Sustainable World' Symposium.
William Steele is Dean of Liberal Arts at International Christian University, Japan.
Prashan De Visser is President of 'Sri Lanka Unites in Sri Lanka.
Does the Media Have Faith? - Daily Youth Session
Nasya Bahfen
Anna Halafoff
Nazeem Hussain Barney Zwartz
Erin Williams
Valarie Kaur
Rabbi Ralph Genende Room 201
Interactive Workshop
It is fair to say that religion does not get a good rap in the media. Nine times out of ten the story is negative. But where does the responsibility lie in changing the way the media reports on religion? This session will look at the current view of religion in the media, how this has impacted young people of faith, and where the responsibility lies in changing this view.
Dr Nasya Bahfen lectures in the School of Applied Communication at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology and works regularly in the newsrooms of ABC Radio Australia and SBS Radio. Her teaching and research interests include radio journalism, Islam and the media, and the use of the internet by young Muslims. Nasya is a committee member of the Islamic Women's Welfare Council of Victoria.
Anna Halafoff is a researcher for the UNESCO Chair in Interreligious and Intercultural Relations - Asia Pacific and the Global Terrorism Research Centre, School of Political and Social Inquiry, Monash University.
Nazeem Hussain is a comedian and cast member of Salam Cafe Barney Zwartz is religion editor of 'The Age, where he has worked for 28 years. He has covered religion since 2002. Mr Zwartz has a degree in theology.
Erin Williams is the Media Coordinator for Interfaith Youth Core. Valarie Kaur is a filmmaker whose credits include 'Divided We Fall. Rabbi Ralph Genende is senior rabbi al Caulfield Hebrew Congregation, which is undergoing an energetic renewal. Rabbi Ralph has a Master's degree in Counselling and is Senior Rabbi to the Australian Defence Force. He previously served as College Rabbi at Mount Scopus College. He is an Executive Member of the Rabbinical Council of Victoria, the Council for Christians and Jews, a member of the Victorian Premier's Multi-faith Advisory Group, and heads a Jewish pre-marriage education group.
276 PWR Parliament of the World's Religions
11:30am-1:00pm
INTERRELIGIOUS SESSION
The Reality of the Universal Human Family: Interreligious Cooperation in Healing the Earth
James Bowler
Paul Howorth
Kate Benge Room 203
Presentation with Q&A and musical performance
The Blood Foundation promotes the idea that we are all part of the Human Family, and that there are certain spiritual values and deep ethical obligations that come with such an understanding. This panel will explore the scientific and spiritual foundations of the Human Family and then look at some real world social applications in Australia, the Pacific region and the world. Professor Jim Bowler will tell the story of our great family from both scientific and spiritual perspectives, with special emphasis given to the Indigenous worldview of which he has been a lifelong observer. Paul Howorth will look at the social challenges and opportunities now present in relations between First Peoples and Europeans and draw upon working examples in the region including Blood Foundation's work with Indigenous Hill tribes in Southeast Asia and victims of the Burmese civil war. Finally, Kate Benge will present Blood Foundation's working model of action-based interreligious cooperation, which aims to bring together people of all faith traditions to alleviate suffering, defeat injustice and heal the earth and her people. Then they will open the floor to questions and close with a special musical performance.
James Bowler's career focuses on understanding Ice Age climates and environments of landscape evolution, including the framework of human origins and migrations. In 1969 he discovered the remains of Mungo Lady on the now-dry shores of ancient Lake Mungo. These 41,000-year-old remains provided the earliest evidence of human occupation in Australia, and were considered the world's oldest ritual cremation. Five years later. he discovered Mungo Man at the site of the world's earliest ochre burial. Paul Howorth is a barrister and a strategic planner who works as a consultant and researcher in the field of Indigenous development in Australia. Since 2001, Paul has studied the relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous views of development. In particular, Paul sees enormous potential for non-Indigenous people to learn crucial principles of sustainability from the world's oldest surviving cultures. Kate Benge is a human rights activist with experience at Amnesty International in New Zealand and Blood Foundation in Southeast Asia. She is enthusiastic about the practical way Blood Foundation implements a Universal Philosophy. Kate is currently studying Philosophy and Development Studies at Victoria University in Wellington.
Faith-Consistent Investing
Seamus Finn
Dr Amal Ali El-Tigani Michiel Hardon Room 204
Interactive Workshop
The Islamic and Christian traditions both contain teachings about economic life, from prescriptions about lending to the conduct of corporations, that are central to their visions of just societies. They also bring long experience