Initiative for a UN Decade of Interreligious Cooperation for Peace » Upcoming Events http://faithdecadeforpeace.net Mon, 02 Apr 2012 22:01:39 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.1 en hourly 1 April 2012: The Coalition for the “Initiative for a UN Decade of Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue, Understanding and Cooperation for Peace” redefines its strategy while keeping its core objective: partnering with the UN towards shared goals leading to sustainable peace. http://faithdecadeforpeace.net/2012/04/02/april-2012-the-coalition-for-the-%e2%80%9cinitiative-for-a-un-decade-of-interreligious-and-intercultural-dialogue-understanding-and-cooperation-for-peace%e2%80%9d-redefines-its-strategy-while-keepin/ http://faithdecadeforpeace.net/2012/04/02/april-2012-the-coalition-for-the-%e2%80%9cinitiative-for-a-un-decade-of-interreligious-and-intercultural-dialogue-understanding-and-cooperation-for-peace%e2%80%9d-redefines-its-strategy-while-keepin/#comments Mon, 02 Apr 2012 22:01:27 +0000 fenoco http://faithdecadeforpeace.net/?p=710 At the beginning of April 2012 the Steering Committee of the Coalition will start a consultation with all its member organizations about the future of the Coalition. Since the proclamation by the UN General Assembly of the proposed UN decade is not any longer a politically viable immediate objective, the Steering Committee is proposing for the consideration of the Coalition members:

  1. New name: That the Coalition, while keeping as its core aim strengthening and widening the cooperation between faith/value-based communities and organizations and the UN towards shared values and goals, contributing eventually to sustainable peace, changes its name to “Multi-Faith Coalition for Partnering with the UN” (provisional name).
  2. Membership: That all the Coalition member organizations be consulted about their willingness to continue their engagement to the Coalition, to remain associated only as observers, or to withdraw. No list of Coalition members will be published until this process of consultation has been completed.
  3. Steering Committee: That those which decide to remain engaged to the Coalition be requested to confirm the current Steering Committee until the end of 2012, authorizing it to replace those members that may withdraw from the Coalition and/or the Steering Committee during this transitional period, taking care of keeping its faith and geographic diversity.
  4. Activities: That those which remain associated to the Coalition be invited to
  • participate in the Working Group constituted already by members of the SC and coordinated by the Executive Secretary, which is outlining and exploring the viability of a possible “UN multi-faith global partnership”, inspired in the UN Global Compact as organizational model, as alternative umbrella arrangement instead of a “UN decade”. (See the summary outline Summary outline for a UN multi-faith global partnership MFGP and working document Looking for a new global vehicle by GG).
  • Participate in a social networking Internet facility to share information and engage in projects/activities related to partnering with the UN, which is being designed by the CPWR for the Coalition. (See outline UN Social Media Platform by Dirk 260312)
  • Promote and organize activities associated to the celebration every year of the World Interfaith Harmony Week.

A brief questionnaire will be sent to the Coalition members asking them to express their views and commitment on these matters.

]]> http://faithdecadeforpeace.net/2012/04/02/april-2012-the-coalition-for-the-%e2%80%9cinitiative-for-a-un-decade-of-interreligious-and-intercultural-dialogue-understanding-and-cooperation-for-peace%e2%80%9d-redefines-its-strategy-while-keepin/feed/ 0 Third Meeting of the Coalition will be again in Maryknoll, now on 7-9 March 2011 http://faithdecadeforpeace.net/2010/11/17/third-meeting-of-the-coalition-will-be-again-in-maryknoll-now-on-7-9-march-2011/ http://faithdecadeforpeace.net/2010/11/17/third-meeting-of-the-coalition-will-be-again-in-maryknoll-now-on-7-9-march-2011/#comments Thu, 18 Nov 2010 02:45:43 +0000 fenoco http://faithdecadeforpeace.net/?p=680 The Coalition supporting the Decade Initiative will have its third meeting on 7-9 March 2011 at the Retreat Center of the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers in Ossining, New York, where the Coalition was constituted in March 2009.

Two important developments in the UN have led to a change in the original agenda for this meeting. They are (a) the proclamation by the General Assembly in October 2010 and first celebration on February 2011 of the “World Interfaith Harmony Week” and (b) the announcement of the second consultation by the UN Secretariat to the member states on their views about proclaiming a “decade of interreligious and intercultural dialogue, understanding and cooperation for peace”. This is a crucial opportunity for lobbying to get the needed political support to have the proposed decade proclaimed.

Consequently the Coalition is expected to work on a double track strategic approach, dealing simultaneously with getting political support to the proposed Decade and continue exploring promising avenues for partnering with the UN towards shared goals.

(See agenda and program)

]]> http://faithdecadeforpeace.net/2010/11/17/third-meeting-of-the-coalition-will-be-again-in-maryknoll-now-on-7-9-march-2011/feed/ 1 Third Meeting of the Coalition will be again in Maryknoll, now on 7-9 March 2011 http://faithdecadeforpeace.net/2010/09/10/third-meeting-of-the-coalition-will-be-again-in-maryknoll/ http://faithdecadeforpeace.net/2010/09/10/third-meeting-of-the-coalition-will-be-again-in-maryknoll/#comments Sat, 11 Sep 2010 02:35:00 +0000 fenoco http://faithdecadeforpeace.net/?p=677 Main purpose of this meeting will be discussing, finalizing and eventually adopting an alternative strategic approach to face the delay in having the proposed Decade proclaimed by the UN General Assembly. The new strategy would allow moving to action and start implementing the Decade hopefully on the 2011 International Day of Peace.

While keeping the core elements of this initiative (DECADE, interreligious cooperation, partnership with the UN around some UN goals, seeking for sustainable peace), the new strategic approach means shifting from a “United Nations Decade of Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue, Understanding and Cooperation for Peace”, which needs to be proclaimed by the General Assembly and with the UN as main actor, to an “Interreligious Decade for Peace in cooperation with the United Nations”, in which the initiative would be mainly in the hands of the Coalition and the cooperation with the UN would be agreed through MOUs (Memorandum of Understanding) with the UN Secretary General and individual UN agencies on specific partnerships aimed at achieving shared goals.

This less formal and more flexible approach is being considered as alternative path because the UN General Assembly through its resolution (A/RES/64/81) labeled “Promotion of interreligious and intercultural dialogue, understanding and cooperation for peace”, adopted in December 2009, postponed any decision on a possible UN Decade in this field until its 66th session (Sept. 2011). Furthermore, it is uncertain that the consensus among the UN member states needed for having such a UN decade proclaimed by the GA may be attained in the near future.

The Steering Committee has been working since its Geneva meeting on May 2010 designing this new approach and drafting a new proposal, which will be shared with the Coalition members in October in order to be finalized in December 2010.

]]> http://faithdecadeforpeace.net/2010/09/10/third-meeting-of-the-coalition-will-be-again-in-maryknoll/feed/ 1 The Steering Committee of the Coalition which supports the proposed DECADE will have its fourth meeting in Geneva, Switzerland 2-3 May 2010 http://faithdecadeforpeace.net/2010/03/14/the-steering-committee-of-the-coalition-which-supports-the-proposed-decade-will-have-its-fourth-meeting-in-geneva-switzerland-on-2-3-may-2010/ http://faithdecadeforpeace.net/2010/03/14/the-steering-committee-of-the-coalition-which-supports-the-proposed-decade-will-have-its-fourth-meeting-in-geneva-switzerland-on-2-3-may-2010/#comments Sun, 14 Mar 2010 15:09:24 +0000 Eugenio Errázuriz http://faithdecadeforpeace.net/?p=651 This is the first time that the Steering Committee meets in Europe. Geneva, where the DECADE Initiative was launched on January 2008, is a strategic place because several UN agencies dealing with social issues (such as human rights, employment, health, refugees, international migrations) have their headquarters in that city, together with a significant number of Faith-Based Organizations (FBOs) and Value-Based Organizations (VBOs) associated to the Coalition which supports the DECADE Initiative. Most of the UN member states have permanent missions to the international organizations based in that city.

]]> http://faithdecadeforpeace.net/2010/03/14/the-steering-committee-of-the-coalition-which-supports-the-proposed-decade-will-have-its-fourth-meeting-in-geneva-switzerland-on-2-3-may-2010/feed/ 0 Second Meeting of the Coalition in support of the DECADE Initiative http://faithdecadeforpeace.net/2009/03/18/second-meeting-of-the-coalition-in-support-of-the-decade-initiative/ http://faithdecadeforpeace.net/2009/03/18/second-meeting-of-the-coalition-in-support-of-the-decade-initiative/#comments Wed, 18 Mar 2009 15:38:50 +0000 Gerardo http://faithdecadeforpeace.net/?p=310 The Second meeting of the Coalition would be held immediately before the 2009 Parliament of the World’s Religions in Melbourne, Australia, from 30 November to 3 December at the Holy Cross Retreat Center.

The first day would be only for the members of the Steering Committee.

Several new members of the Coalition are expected to participate in the meeting.

Main items for the agenda would be (a) reviewing the work done since the first meeting, (b) assessing the situation within the UN with regard to the DECADE proposal close to the end of the 64th session of the GA, and planning for 2010. Examining possible approaches for the “non-governmental arrangement” would be also in the agenda. Preliminary findings of the Review of partnership experiences between faith/value-based organizations, UN agencies and/or government bodies will be presented.

]]> http://faithdecadeforpeace.net/2009/03/18/second-meeting-of-the-coalition-in-support-of-the-decade-initiative/feed/ 0 Constituting Meeting of the COALITION http://faithdecadeforpeace.net/2009/01/19/constituting-meeting-of-the-coalition/ http://faithdecadeforpeace.net/2009/01/19/constituting-meeting-of-the-coalition/#comments Mon, 19 Jan 2009 17:59:12 +0000 Gerardo http://faithdecadeforpeace.net/?p=242 The COALITION of faith communities and civil society organizations supporting the DECADE Initiative will be constituted in a three-day meeting which will be held at the Maryknoll Center, near New York City, on 2-4 March 2009.

Objectives

This meeting is being convened for:

  • Briefing the participants on the progress made in the implementation of this initiative and the challenges ahead
  • Consolidating the shared vision for the DECADE and its expected outcomes
  • Formalizing the Coalition
  • Establishing a Steering Committee, taking into consideration the religious, cultural and geographical diversity of the Coalition
  • Better identifying the current and potential fields for cooperation around priority UN goals, in order to start outlining a “plan of action” for the DECADE
  • Adapting the proposal and the draft resolution to be offered as a resource document for a successful UN General Assembly resolution that launches the DECADE.
  • Agreeing on a strategy and work program for the period leading up to the expected launch of the DECADE on 21 September 2010.

Participants

  • Representatives of communities and organizations which have expressed their willingness of joining the Coalition and meet the conditions for membership: that operate at a global level or on an international scale, and that subscribe to the principles which inspire the UN Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, in particular respect for freedom of religion or belief and for cultural and religious diversity, and pursuit of a culture of peace. This category includes interfaith organizations, religious communities and/or organizations; organizations representing indigenous traditions; spiritual movements and value-based organizations focusing on youth, women, children, elderly, refugees and displaced peoples and other priority social groups for the UN.
  • Members of the Provisional Steering Committee, who are expected to work as the Secretariat of the meeting.
  • Some resource persons from key UN bodies

Provisional list of organizations being invited

Anglican Church

Hellen Wangusa Anglican

Observer to the UN in NY

.

Bahai International Community

Sarah Vader

Representative to the United Nations in Geneva.

.

Brahma Kumaris Spiritual University

Sister Gayatri

Representative in New York

.

Caritas International

Joseph Donnelly

Representative in New York

.

Chief Rabbinate of Israel

Oded Viner

General Director

.

CONGO Committee on Spirituality, Values and Global Concerns – New York

Audrey Kitagawa

Chairperson

.

CONGO Committee on Spirituality, Values and Global Concerns, Geneva

Trevor Davies

Chairperson

.

Council for  the Parliament of World Religions – CPWR

Dirk Ficca

Executive Director

.

Federation of Islamic Associations of Senegal

Serigne Mansour Sy

President

.

Focolari Movement

Christina Lee

Director, Interreligious Dialogue

.

GuruNanak Nishkam Sewak Jatha

Bhai Sahib Mohinder Singh

Chairman

.

Indigenous People’s Spiritual Ancestral Council

Beatriz Schulthess

Coordinator

.

Interfaith Encounter Association (IEA)

Dr. Yehuda Stolov

Director

.

Interfaith International

Dr. Charles Graves

Secretary General

.

Interfaith Youth Core

Dr. Eboo Patel

Executive Director

.

International Association for Religious Freedom – IARF

Dr. John Taylor

Representative in Geneva

.

International Jewish Committee for Interreligious Consultations IJCIC

Rabbi Richard Marker

Vice-Chairman

.

LGWPF

Isthar Adler

Representative to UN

.

Lutheran World Federation

Dr. Ishmael Noko

General Secretary

.

Minorities of Europe

Deepak Naik

Secretary General

.

Muhammadiya

Dr. Din Syamsuddin

President

.

Office of Interreligious and Intercultural Relations of the Ecumenical Patriarchate

Gary Vachicouras

.

Religions for Peace – WCRP

Stein Villumstad

Deputy Secretary-General

.

Representation of the Moscow Patriarchate in the USA

Rev. Alexander Abramov

UN Representative

.

Rissho Kosei-kai

Rev. Takeshi Kawabata

Director of General Affairs Bureau

.

Royal Institute for Inter-Faith Studies

Baker Al-Hiyari

Deputy Director

.

Russian Orthodox Church

Rev. Alexander Abramov

UN Representative, The Representation of the Moscow Patriarchate in the USA

.

Saint Egidio Community

Prof. Alberto Quattruci

Director, Interreligious Dialogue

.

Santi Pracha Dhaman International Network of Engaged Buddhists

Sulak Sivaraksa or Lapapan Supamanta

President and Founder or Executive Secretary

.

Shanti Ashram

Doctor Vinu Aram

Director

.

Shumei International

Ms. Koyama

President

.

Sikh Dharma International

(pending)

.

Temple of Understanding

Dr. Karan

Singh International Chair

.

Temple of Understanding

Sister Joan Kirby

Representative to the UN

.

The Union of Superiors General (USG – men’s congregations) and International Union of SuperiorsGeneral (UISG -Women’s Congregations) of the Roman Catholic Church

Father Francisco O’Conaire ofm

Executive Secretary, The Commission for Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation

.

The World Islamic League

HE Sayyed Mohammed Musawi

President

.

Union of Reform Judaism

Judith M. Hertz

Co-Chairperson Commission of Interreligious Affairs

.

United Religions Initiative – URI

Yoland Treviño

Chair, URI Global Council

.

Women’s UN Report Network (WUNRN)

(pending)

.

Women’s World Summit Foundation (WWSF)

Elly Pradervand

Executive Director

.

Won Buddhist International

Ven. Grace Chung Lee

President

.

World Alliance Reform Churches

WARC Setri Nyomi

General Secretary

.

World Alliance of YMCAs

Dr. Bart Shaha

Secretary General

.

World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scout

(pending)

.

World Congress of Faiths

Rev Marcus Braybrooke

President

.

World Council of Arya Samaj

Swami Agnivesh

President

.

World Council of Churches

Shanta Premawardhana

Director interreligious dialogue and cooperation programme,

.

World Council of Churches

Chris Ferguson

Representative to the UN in NY

.

World Fellowship of Buddhists

Fallop Thaiary

Executive Secretary

.

World Organization of the Scout Movement

Luc Panissod

Acting General Secretary

.

World Vision International

Philippe Guiton

Executive Director

.

World Young Women Christian Association – World YWCA

Nyaradzai Gumbonzvanda

General Secretary

.

World Zarathushti Cultural Foundation

Dr. Homi

Dhalla Founder-President

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