Parliament of Worlds Religion 2009 Melbourne Australia

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

Page 318

PROGRAM DESCR
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Faith-based Education in Human Values for a Sustainable Future
Neville Fredericks
Dharam Pal Dhall Room 101 Seminar
In a technological and materialistic world burdened with ethnic, religious and political conflicts, the role of spirituality and religion in restoring a positive future needs re-examination. Sathya Sai Education in Human Values (SSEHV) is a faith-based approach, both formal and informal, to personal transformation. Through age-appropriate multi-faith teachings, it supports spirituality through the practice of five universal human values of love, peace, truth, right conduct and non-violence. Most countries in the world have embraced SSEHV because of its universal appeal and compatibility with all religions and cultures. Some aspects of global experience with SSEHV relating to education reform, positive youth development, community building and sustainable future will be reviewed. Experience with the Indigenous communities in several countries will also be shared.
Neville Fredericks, a self-employed businessman, is currently the Central Coordinator of the Sathya Sai Organisation of Australia and PNG. He has had a lifelong involvement in community service, including fourteen years as an elected member of local government (seven years as mayor of Kiama) and fourteen years as a Salvation Army Advisory Board Member. Neville became interested in eastern spiritual philosophy in 1985, through the inspiration of Sathya Sai Baba, an Indian spiritual teacher.
Dharam Pal Dhall is a surgeon and academic who has published over fifteen books on human values and on the teaching of Sri Sathya Sai Baba. He was the director of the Institute of Sathya Sai Education in Human Values, Australia, a member of the Education Committee of Sri Sathya World Foundation, and an adjunct professor of Bioethics at the University of Canberra.
Darwin in the Dreaming
David Tresemer
Lila Sophia Tresemer
Brian Lipson
Room 102
Artistic Performance
This year marks the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin. In this staged reading of a play by Lila Sophia Tresemer and David Tresemer, Charles Darwin is a restless spirit, seeking unsuccessfully to find the lecture hall where he can confront a major exponent of Christian theology who opposes his theories. In his wandering, Darwin comes upon the hospital room of his distant descendant, Sarah, who is dying and can now see into other worlds. Sarah had been an anthropologist, observing the ill effects of her great-great-great grandfather's theories. Also present is Sarah's mentor, an Indigenous woman whose culture was destroyed by those who manipulated Darwin's ideas to their own ends. The result is a dramatic confrontation between science, 19th-century orthodox religion, and Indigenous wisdom that plays across the boundaries of this world and spirit worlds. Four actors
314 PWR- Parliament of the World's Religions
and the powers of spirit-which are expressed through music and the beautiful dance-form eurhythmy-bring these issues to life for our time.
11:30am-1:00pm
INTERRELIGIOUS SESSION
David Tresemer, PhD, has written many books, most recently 'One-TwoOne: A Guide to Conscious Partnerships, Weddings, and Rededication Ceremonies. He has also released the DVD, Couple's Illumination", available from www.DavidAndLila Tresemer.com. He has taught groups in Australia, Israel and the USA. He also founded and co-designed the StarHouse in Colorado (www.TheStarHouse.org), inspired by the sacred geometry of the cathedrals. David also counsels couples on relationship as a sacred path of development.
Lila Sophia Tresemer is co-founder and facilitator of The Path of Ceremonial Arts (www.PathOfTheCeremonialArts.org) and Women of Vision (www.TheWomenOfVision.com). She has created programs for sacred living and remembrance, primarily in Boulder, Colorado, in Australia and in Israel/Palestine. She is dedicated to building a global community that honours the feminine, supports sacred union, and celebrates the divinity in all beings. She has produced three DVDs, 'Re-Discovering Mary Magdalene, Brain Illumination' and 'Couples Illumination'.
Brian Lipson acted in experimental theatre in London and appeared at National Theatre, Old Vic, Royal Court, etc. He moved to Melbourne in 1997 and has acted in many venues there. His solo show 'A Large Attendance in the Antechamber travelled internationally. He is also a director, appears on TV, and teaches at Victorian College of the Arts [Melbourne). He has won three Green Room Awards.
The Changing Shifts in Religion
and Spirituality on the Asia-Pacific Rim
Des Cahill
Dr Jan Sihar Aritonang James Haire
Siti Musdah Mulia
Dr Kyoichi Sugino Anwar Ibrahim Dr Sunggong Kim Dr Lilian Sison Dr Tu Weiming Room 103 Panel Discussion
This regional conversation will focus on the Asia-Pacific Rim, comprised of Asia, South-East Asia and Oceania. This includes Australia, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, North and South Korea, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam, representing almost one third of humanity. It is probably as diverse religiously as any other region with large groupings belonging to Buddhism, Christianity, Islam and Shintoism as well as those practising the Indigenous religions. This panel will provide details of the very different shifts in religiosity and religious resurgence across the regions, not least in the Confucian-heritage countries, as well as the growth in secularism, the attraction of Buddhism, the growth in and measures taken in response to terrorism and the strength of the interfaith movement. Also addressed will be the contribution that religion makes to the social capital or social wealth of a nation and what the future holds in a region that is growing economically strong and increasingly interdependent.
Desmond Cahill, Professor of Intercultural Studies at RMIT University in Melbourne, is chair of Religions for Peace Australia and deputy moderator of Religions for Peace Asia. He is the Melbourne program director for the current Parliament.