Parliament of Worlds Religion 2009 Melbourne Australia

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

Page 314

PROGRAM
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
The Zoroastrian Ethos of Compassion
Dr Homi Dhalla
Dr Sam Kerr
Room 210
Lecture and Audiovisual Presentation
This presentation will begin with important references on the concept of compassion from the ancient Zoroastrian scriptures, which will demonstrate how the Zoroastrian religion has influenced the ethos of caring for members of society in distress, irrespective of their caste or colour. Speaker Homi Dhalla will then discuss the constructive role played by the industrial House of Tata through their various projects illustrating corporate social responsibility. The second part of this presentation will consist of fifteen slides that focus on the important role of Cyrus the Great in ancient history. This part of the presentation will be supplemented by a bas-relief description that reflects Cyrus' dedication to the philosophy of tolerance and multiculturalism in his vast domain with a widely contrasting diversity of peoples of differing culture and customs.
Homi Dhalla holds an MA from Harvard and a PhD from Mumbai University. He has represented the Parsi community at various international conferences, focusing on issues of peace, ecology, human rights, and interreligious dialogue. He was awarded the Mother Teresa National Award for Interfaith Harmony in 2007. As the Founder-President of the World Zarathushti Cultural Foundation, Homi has initiated various cultural projects for the Parsi community.
Sam Kerr was born in Bombay, India. He is an emeritus surgeon to the University of New South Wales and its College Hospitals, Sydney. Australia. Dr Kerr was initiated into the Australian Zoroastrian Association of New South Wales in 1969 as a founding member. In addition to his professional writings, he has published and lectured on the social, cultural, historical and scriptural aspects of the religion of Zarathushtra.
The Impact of Modernity and Climate Change in Oceania
Maria Tence
Emeretta Cross
Elaine Elemani
Tito Tapungao Room 211 Seminar
The people of the Pacific Islands are living on the front lines of climate change. They face the disappearance of culture, heritage and homeland in addition to land mass. In the first part of this presentation, panellists will discuss how they led a collaborative museum/community team to produce the exhibition, Waters of Tuvalu: A Nation at Risk, at the Immigration Museum in Melbourne. This exhibition eventually provided a model for better environmental practice in the museums sector. A further (but unexpected) outcome was interpretation and information that the community was able to supply to the museum about Tuvaluan cultural objects in its care. The second part of this presentation will explore the impacts of climate change and modernity in Kiribati. Discussion will centre
310 PWR Parliament of the World's Religions
9:30-11:00am INTRARELIGIOUS SESSION
on issues of sustainability, governance and belief. How can youth and other inhabitants of Kiribati maintain and sustain a cultural identity in the face of development and displacement? How does the changing climate affect Pacifica in terms of globalisation, economics, education and culture? What role can faith play in these developments?
Maria Tence was appointed by the Immigration Museum to develop a community consultation and inclusion strategy and to manage the museum's Community Gallery. During her tenure with the Immigration Museum, Ms Tence has worked with over 55 communities. She has also served as manager and co-founder of the Italian Historical Society where she was responsible for negotiating cultural agreements between Museum Victoria and the State Library of Victoria regarding the inclusion of Italian heritage material.
Emeretta Cross was born on Ocean island, next to the republics of Kiribati and Tuvalu in the Central Pacific basin. She has campaigned on the issue of climate refugees and the impact of climate change in the Pacific with Make Poverty History. She currently lives in Melbourne and works as a program administrator at Ernst & Young.
Elaine Elemani has spoken about Pacific Islander communities at numerous forums, including at Australian National University.
Tito Tapungao is a leader of the Tuvaluan community in Victoria and a key local spokesperson on the effects of climate change on Pacific communities. A past President of the Kaiga Tuvalu community association in Victoria, he was a key member of the community exhibition development committee for the Waters of Tuvalu exhibition and was the exhibition's main public spokesperson.
Women of Faith Network, Religions for Peace, Australia and New Zealand Patricia Blundell Anna Halafoff Rachel Woodlock Melanie Landau
Pushpa Wood Room 212 Seminar
The Women of Faith Network, Australia, was formed in 2007 to build partnerships for peace among Australian women from diverse faith traditions including Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, Islam and Hinduism. The Women of Faith Network has been an ardent supporter of all forms of social action, including those devoted to sustainable living and environmental justice. Each presenter will share insights and experiences on how her faith has inspired her to effect social change and to participate in interreligious initiatives. There will be time during this program to form new partnerships, providing an opportunity for everyone to interact with one another and to discuss how best to strengthen the Women of Faith Network in Australia and internationally.
Dr Patricia Blundell RSM is Co-Chair, Asia Pacific Women of Faith Network, Religions for Peace, and President of the Tertiary Campus Ministry Association (Australia), the professional association of Australian University Chaplains. She is Secretary of the international Association of Chaplains in Higher Education and is Co-ordinating Chaplain at Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia. Her doctoral dissertation is on interreligious dialogue and the public university.
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. She is a practising Buddhist in the Tibetan FPMT tradition.