Council for a Parliament
of the World’s Religions
2004 Parliament News
August 20, 2003
Greetings of Peace! It is with great excitement that we send this most
recent email update on the Council for a Parliament of the World’s
Religions. In preparation for the 2004 Parliament, the Council will
be holding several pre-Parliament events in cities throughout the world.
We are sending you this email in the hopes that you will be able
to attend one of these wonderful events. If an event is not being
held in your area, but you would be interested in exploring the possibility
of holding a pre-Parliament event in your town, please contact CPWR staffmember
Sheila Thornton at (312) 629-2990 ext. 242 or email her at sheila@cpwr.org.
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Before we list the dates and locations of each pre-Parliament event, we’d
like to provide you with some background on the UNESCO Centre of Catalonia,
one of the Council’s two primary partners for the 2004 Parliament
of the World’s Religions.
The UNESCO Centre of Catalonia, based in Barcelona, Spain, seeks to contribute
to international peace and cooperation through the promotion of dialogue
and collaboration in the fields of education, science, culture and communication.
The UNESCO Centre of Catalonia has a long history of working in the area
of human rights, and regularly sponsors conferences and dialogues on the
role of religions in creating cultures of peace.
For more information about the international publications, conferences,
and local community-building efforts of the UNESCO Centre, please visit
their website at www.unescocat.org.
The staff of the UNESCO Centre work to extend the interreligious movement
in Barcelona, engaging with religious and spiritual communities to build
interreligious understanding and cooperation. It is their coordination,
along with the local religious and spiritual communities, that will enable
the 2004 Parliament to have a positive, community-building effect on the
larger metropolitan area, as well as Spain as a whole.
In order to better understand some of some of the local dynamics and issues
related to Barcelona's local religious and spiritual communities,
we recommend that you read "What will the 2004 Parliament of the
World’s Religions Mean for Barcelona?, an article written by Francesc
Rovira of the UNESCO Centre of Catalonia and published in a terrific interreligious
journal entitled Interreligious Insight. You can find a copy of
this article online at http://www.cpwr.org/new/insightvol1.htm.
And now, for the listing and descriptions of the upcoming pre-Parliament
events for this Fall.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA (USA) -- AUGUST 22-24, 2003
Nurturing Interfaith Opportunities: From
Southern California – To the World
Join more than 55 Southern California interreligious organizations as
they hold a retreat to celebrate the interrreligioous movement in Southern
California, and to prepare for the 2004 Parliament of the World’s
Religions.
The Los Angeles Pre-Parliament event will be held from Friday, August
22, 5 pm until Sunday, August 24, 2003, 4 pm at Hsi Lai University (www.hlu.edu)
which is located at 1409 N. Walnut Grove Ave, Rosemead, California, USA.
The weekend will include opportunities for participants to do the following:
* Share interreligious highlights, successes, and best practices
* Enjoy interreligious dialogue, fellowship, music, information, and resources
* Experience diverse worship and meditation practices (optional participation)
* Share our experiences, visions, and hopes
* Learn details about the 2004 Parliament in Barcelona, Spain
For further information on the Los Angeles pre-Parliament event, please
contact Sandra Comeau at (760) 941-7022 or by email at scomeau@earthlink.net.
BARCELONA, SPAIN -- OCTOBER 16, 2003
In preparation for the 2004 Parliament, the religious and spiritual communities
of Barcelona will be hosting their first pre-Parliament event on
Thursday, October 16, 2003. An expected 1,000 people from
throughout Spain, including participants from every major local religious
and spiritual community, are expected to attend this exciting one-day
event. The program will include opportunities for intra- and inter-religious
dialogue, prayer and reflection, as well as music and dance from many
of Barcelona’s diverse communities. Participants will learn
about the 2004 Parliament event and the many lead-up activities during
the coming year.
The event is being planned by one of the Council's partner organizations,
The UNESCO Centre of Catalonia, in conjunction with the religious and
spiritual communities of Barcelona. For more information, please
contact the Centre at (34) 93 458 95 95 or via email at centre@unescocat.org
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS (USA) -- NOVEMBER 16, 2003
The Chicago pre-Parliament event will take place at the State of Illinois
Center, Sunday afternoon, November 16, from 12:30 to 5:30pm. The
program will include reflection and ritual, programs and dialogues and
performances of music and dance. Information about plans for the
Barcelona 2004 parliament and how to get involved in the work of the Council
will be available.
For more information on the Chicago pre-Parliament event, please contact
CPWR staff member Sheila Thornton at (312) 629-2990 ext. 242 or via email
at sheila@cpwr.org
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA (USA) -- NOVEMBER 16, 2003
The second pre-Parliament event in the San Francisco Bay Area, co-sponsored
by the Bridge Cooperation Circle and Pathways to Peace, will take place
November 16, 2003, at St. Aidan’s Church, 101 Gold Mine Drive, San
Francisco. The day will include opportunities for you to:
* Participate in diverse communities’ reflection and ritual
* Explore the teachings of your own traditions that bear on the situation
of refugees locally and around the world
* Share insights from various religious and spiritual traditions
* Hear about the latest plans for the 2004 Parliament and how you can
become involved
* Share a meal with all participants to break the fast of Ramadan.
A third Bay Area pre-Parliament event will take place February 29, 2004
in the South Bay. Save the date and plan to attend!
For more information or to register for the November event, please contact
Rowan Fairgrove at rsvp@uribridgecc.org
DELHI, INDIA -- DECEMBER 7-10, 2003
The New Delhi pre-Parliament event will be a four-day conference, including
opportunities for intrafaith and interfaith discussions, the signing of
a declaratory statement, visits to religious sites, and meetings with
community leaders. A valedictory address will be given by H. H.
the Dalai Lama, and the inaugural address will be given by the President
of India. Over 300 concerned and committed people from all over India
and the world will attend. Please note that reservations and a fee
are required for the pre-Parliament event in Delhi. The deadline
for registrations is August 31, 2003. You may download a registration
form from www.cpwr.org.
For more information on the Delhi pre-Parliament event, please contact
Sheila Thornton at (312) 629-2990 ext. 242 or via email at sheila@cpwr.org
OTHER CITIES IN THE PLANNING STAGE INCLUDE...
* Brussels, Belgium
* Cape Town, South Africa
* 25 in Catalonia
* Denpasar, Bali
* Detroit, Michigan, USA
* London, England, United Kingdom
* Seattle, Washington, USA
* Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
* Montreal, Quebec, Canada (Post Parliament event)
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ADDITIONAL NEWS AT CPWR...
If you are interested in offering a presentation, workshop, or performance
at the 2004 Parliament, you must complete a Call for Programs. This document
was issued early in July and is now available on the CPWR website (www.cpwr.org)
in English, Spanish, and Catalan. We are exploring translations into other
languages, including French, German, Arabic, and Hindi.
Programs of many types will be considered, including lectures, academic
papers, seminars, panel discussions, religious or spiritual observances,
workshops, training sessions, and artistic performances. All proposals
will be evaluated by a panel of international advisors and recommendations
will come to a task force composed of staff and advisors from CPWR and
the UNESCO Centre of Catalonia.
Programs and presenters will be evaluated according to the following criteria:
* Does the program explore or relate to the theme of the 2004 Parliament
-- Pathways to Peace: the wisdom of listening, the power of commitment?
* Does the program contribute to the overall balance of the Parliament
event in terms of religious and spiritual traditions, new and well-known
voices, gender, region, and academic and experiential formats?
* Does the presenter demonstrate the capacity to successfully engage participants
in the topic?
All presenters must agree to adhere to the principles of the Parliament
and of respectful dialogue, which include non-proselytizing, a willingness
to engage in interreligious dialogue, and a commitment to present potentially
divisive topics from a variety of viewpoints.
Regular programs will be 90 minutes in length, although a limited number
of other time formats are possible. In addition, a limited number of symposia
(1–3 day series of programs exploring a particular topic in depth)
will also be considered.
The first review panel will meet in September, with ongoing reviews until
the final submission deadline of February 15, 2004. The finalized
program will be available on-line in June 2004 to enable registered participants
to review the full offering before they arrive in Barcelona.
If you wish to submit a program proposal, you can download the Call for
Programs from the website, print it and send it in by mail or fax to one
of the addresses below. For more information, please read the full
Call for Programs or contact the program staff at the following addresses
(depending on your location)
Outside Spain:
Council for a Parliament of the World’s Religions
P.O. Box 1630
Chicago Illinois 60690
USA
Fax: (312) 629-2991
E-mail: program@cpwr.org
Website: www.cpwr.org
Within Spain:
UNESCO Centre of Catalonia
Mallorca, 285
08037 Barcelona
Spain
Fax: (34) 93-457-5851
E-mail: parlament2004@unescocat.org
Website: www.unescocat.org
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We hope you've enjoyed receiving this CPWR electronic update. Your
comments, questions, and suggestions are always welcome.
P.S. The next deadline to register for the 2004 Parliament is November
1, 2003. After this, the individual and group fees will increase.
Please register to attend the 2004 Parliament before November 1,
2003 to take advantage of the lower registration rates!
In Partnership......
The Council for a Parliament of the World’s Religions (CPWR)
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The Council for a Parliament of the World's Religions (CPWR)
70 E. Lake, Suite 205
Chicago, IL 60601
(312) 629-2990 ext.
info@cpwr.org
The mission of the Council for a Parliament of the World's Religions
is to cultivate harmony between the world's religious and spiritual communities
and foster their engagement with the world and its other guiding institutions
in order to achieve a peaceful, just, and sustainable world.
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