Parliament of Worlds Religion 2009 Melbourne Australia

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

Page 281

PROGRAM Monday, December 7, 2009
11:30am-1:00pm INTERRELIGIOUS SESSION
with practice, as observers and participants. The collapse of major financial institutions and the resulting economic crisis has prompted renewed interest in these teachings. as leaders from both traditions have pointed out that adherence to faith-consistent economic principles might have averted the downturn and spared the world's poor from the shocks that resulted from the crisis. Rev Seamus Finn and Dr Amal Ali El-Tigani will talk about how interfaith cooperation on these issues could foster the emergence of a more sustainable, environmentally friendly, and just society. Rev Seamus Finn OMI is a member of the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate and a board member of both 3iG and the Interfaith Center for Corporate Responsibility (ICCRI. He is a leader in faith-based and socially responsible investing. The cornerstone of his advocacy with corporations and financial institutions is a call for greater transparency and disclosure by the companies and a reliable regulatory and supervisory framework that has a global reach. Dr Amal Ali El-Tigani is an Assistant Professor in the School of Business at Dar Al-Hekma College, a premier women's college in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, where she teaches courses in finance, investment and accounting Dr El-Tigani holds a DBA in International Business Finance and Investments from the George Washington University. Washington DC. She is also the Vice Dean for Finance and Administration at Dar Al-Hekma College, one of the first and leading colleges for women in Saudi Arabia Recently retired from the World Council of Churches, Michiel Hardon was the Director of Income Monitoring and was the founding director of 3 G (International Interfaith Investment Groupl. In the past he also worked for the International Monetary Fund and directed economic and social affairs for the city government of the Hague for four years. Hardon also worked in international consulting in the private sector.
and international conferences, and community interfaith celebrations. Ms Penn will share examples of best practices, community collaborations, and a vision for the international high school interfaith movement that is built upon teens analysing barriers to cooperation and creating solutions. Kathleen Engebretson is a lecturer, researcher, writer and doctoral supervisor in the School of Religious Education at Australian Catholic University. She is the author of the recently published In Your Shoes: Inter-Faith Education for Australian Religious Educators (Connor Court and one of the editors of the International Handbook on Inter-Religious Education Janet Penn is the Founder and Director of Interfaith Action, Inc. (IFA) in Sharon, Massachusetts, USA and the creator of IFA's Youth Leadership Program and the Sharon Pluralism Network, an innovative collaboration among town departments to foster a town-wide culture of pluralism, Janet is passionate about empowering teens to lead interfaith work, inspiring adults with their example. She has worked in the nonprofit sector for over 30 years.
Best Practices in Interfaith Youth Work: Religious Schools and Community-based Programs Respond Kathleen Engebretson Janet Penn Room 207 Interactive Workshop This workshop will establish conceptual models for best practices in interfaith work with youth, both in the religiously-affiliated school and in a dynamic, communitybased program. Prof Engebretson will explore interfaith education at the primary and secondary levels as a conversation between life worlds. The pedagogical implications of the model will be developed in discussion and through the use of up to four different approaches to pedagogy for interfaith education. In learning about other religions, children and young people develop a sense of justice. As they learn about various religious traditions other than their own, they recognise the humanity of those who practise them. Through such study their own spirituality is nurtured and expanded through being brought into conversation with the spirituality of others. Ms Penn will present the core principles and methodol ogy that guides Interfaith Action's successful, teen-led Youth Leadership Program, including the multi-layered training that empowers high school students to plan and facilitate interfaith dialogue, school programs, national
Blogistan: Muslims Dialogue through New Media Hussein Rashid Wajahat Ali Haroon Moghul Room 208 Panel Discussion In the last several years, Muslim Americans have become increasingly active online. More and more, they are har nessing the full potential of New Media to combat stereotypes, racism and ignorance. They have built followings among Muslims and non-Muslims, and their efforts serve as resources for education about Islam and Muslims. This panel will discuss a variety of Muslim-American presences on the Internet (individual blogs, group blogs, and online magazines) and the use of Web 2.0 applications such as Facebook and Twitter to impact conversations not only within the Muslim community but also about the Muslim community. These traditions allow Muslims to represent themselves but also to continue the age-old Muslim traditions of arguing and discussing the major issues of the day. Hussein Rashid is a PhD candidate at Harvard University. He has an MTS from Harvard Divinity School and a BA from Columbia College. In 2006, he became one of the Muslim Leaders of Tomorrow. He is a frequent speaker and television and radio guest and is currently a visiting faculty member at Hofstra University. Rashid is the author of the blog islamicate (www.islamicate.com. His current research interests include the representation of Muslims in graphic novels. Wajahat Ali is a playwright. journalist, humorist, blogger and attorney. He is an Associate Editor of Altmuslim.com, the leading American Muslim online magazine, and a contributing editor to the award winning Illume Magazine (http://www.illumemagazine.org). His blog. "Goatmilk: An Intellectual Playground' Igoatmilk.wordpress.com is ranked in the top seven percent of all political blogs. Ali is the 2009 recipient of Muslim Public Affairs Council's prestigious 'Emerging Muslim American Artist Award Haroon Moghul is director of Public Relations for the Islamic Center at New York University and is a PhD candidate at Columbia University A contributing editor and end-page columnist for Islamica, Haroon also maintains a popular blog, Avari, which has won several Brass Crescent Awards. Haroon has been selected as one of 300 Muslim Leaders of Tomorrow.
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