Sunday, May 29, 2005

UN Dialogue among Civilizations

This roundtable is a contribution to the UN Dialogue among Civilizations project that began in September 2000. At the first round table debate on Dialogue among Civilizations, Kofi Annan, Secretary General of the UN stated that, cultural diversity - in his opinion - is not only the basis for the Dialogue among Civilizations, but also the reality that makes dialogue necessary, since the perception of diversity as a threat is the very seed of war. [The role of religion in creating a culture of peace and moving on from a culture of fear.]

Final invite program UN Dialogue

Final Program and invitation to the UN Dialogue among Civilizations (UNDAC) Roundtable Dialogue 2005

Co-operating to Create a Global Culture of Peace and Non-Violence and to Move On from a Culture of Fear

Leura, Blue Mountains, NSW, Australia, June 4th to 5th 2005

9.00 Main speakers -
Stepan Kerkyasharian: Chairperson, Community Relations Commission
- Creating a culture of peace and moving on from a culture of fear
Wendy Sargent - Director of the UN Dialogue among Civilizations Forums Australia:
- Dialogue and DAC and how dialogue works
9.45 Dialogue One - Global Culture of Peace and Non-Violence and moving on from a culture of fear - identifying common interests and concerns

Saturday morning Discussion Stream One 11.45 - 1.00 in the tea room

The role of religion in creating a culture of peace and moving on from a culture of fear
Moderator: Robyn Horton

Speakers
Dr Marie Clugston: NSW convenor of Amnesty International Religious Network
Sally Segal: Head of the Interfaith Activities in Sydney: Brahma Kumaris Australia
Ian Fry: Pax Christi: Honorary Secretary Jewish-Christian-Muslim Conference of Australia
How to move on from a global culture of fear

Saturday morning Discussion Stream Two 11.45 - 1.00 in the main hall

Moving on from a culture of fear and starting to dialogue between civilizations
Moderator: Ruth Thompson

Speakers
NSW Council for Civil Liberties Representative
Natalie Doyle: Lecturer: Arts, Monash University: Civilizational Dialogue
John Mandalios: Lecturer: Griffith University

Saturday afternoon program 2.30 - 6.30

2.30 Interview with Dr Stella Cornelius OBE, Director Conflict Resolution Network by Ruth Thompson: Creating a Culture of Peace

3.00 Open Space - Moving on from a Culture of Fear - Identifying Issues - break off into issue groups
Feedback from issue groups: What are the issues?
3.30 - 4.30: Dialogue Two: Core Question: With all these common values and concerns :

Why isn't a global culture of peace happening? What are the obstacles to moving on from a culture of fear?

Saturday afternoon Discussion Stream One 5.00 - 6.30 in the tea room
Building a culture of peace in the community
Moderator: Sally Segal

Speakers
Susan Biggs: Former Deputy Chair NSW Premier's Council for Women
Women's role in encouraging dialogue in the community
Tim B. Cox : Involvement Volunteers Association Inc
Doreen Wainer: Director of Oplus - Strategy and Innovation consultant. And completing PhD in Social Ethics at UTS

Saturday afternoon Discussion Stream Two 5.00 - 6.30 in the main hall Human rights and creating a global culture of peace and moving on from a culture of fear
Moderator: Ruth Thompson

Speakers
Noel Winterburn: Director of Conversations for Futures
Melissa Conley Tyler: Senior Fellow, Faculty of Law, University of Melbourne
Greens speaker c/- Lee Rhianon MLC: globalisation based on "sharing" resources

Sunday

9.00 Main speakers: Global issues of culture of peace and culture of fear

Dr Richard Braddock: Director of APRIM Macquarie University
Dorothy Buckland Fuller: WILPF NSW
Different types of globalisation based on "sharing" resources.

10.20 - 11.30 Dialogue Three: Issue groups: Looking at solutions and strategies for the future

An Invitation

Knowing that in your activities you have peace building and community development as major concerns, it is our pleasure to invite you as a participant in the Fourth Dialogue among Civilizations Roundtable Dialogue.

The aim of this dialogue in 2005 will be examine contributions to furthering the development of a global culture of peace and non-violence and clarifying the methods that could prevent the further development of a culture of fear..

The inspiration is to create a firm foundation for the development of inter-communal and international co-operation.

This roundtable is a contribution to the UN Dialogue among Civilizations project that began in September 2000. At the first round table debate on Dialogue among Civilizations, Kofi Annan, Secretary General of the UN stated that, cultural diversity - in his opinion - is not only the basis for the Dialogue among Civilizations, but also the reality that makes dialogue necessary, since the perception of diversity as a threat is the very seed of war.

The roundtable will explore the meanings and outcomes of diverse civilizational understandings with the aim to create a better foundation for co-operation and relationship on an international and national level. Also explored is the presently evolving new global civilization founded on fundamental principles of the celebration of cultural diversity, tolerance of dissent, and universal human rights.

The roundtable dialogue will look at the following themes:

* The meaning of a culture of peace and non-violence: Diverse understandings and practices in different civilizations.
* How to move on from a global culture of fear.
* Future commitments: making the culture of peace and non-violence an international and intercommunal priority.

Those invited to the UN roundtable 2005 are representatives of religious, cultural and political institutions and communities, academics, politicians, and national and international agencies located in Australia and abroad.

Dialogue participants will come with some expertise or influence in a relevant area or come with special concerns about these issues.

The program is a participative event consisting of a few keynote speakers with the majority of the process run as a dialogue. For exact details of location, transport and accommodation and bookings please visit our web site or contact us and we will fax or email further details.

Looking forward to hearing from you

Regards Wendy Sargent
(co-ordinator of UNDAC Roundtable Dialogue)

Other information

The Organizers


This forum is being organized by Brahma Kumaris Australia. We are supporting the 'Dialogue amongst Civilizations' as a year declared by the UN General Assembly presently run by UNESCO. Visit UNESCO web site: The Brahma Kumaris is a non-governmental organization with general consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council.
Brahma Kumaris Australia, 78 Alt St, Ashfield 2031, Sydney NSW, Australia

Ethics Permission

Research aims and methods of documentation of UNDAC 2005: ethics permission conducted in accordance with university human research ethics community guidelines.

The roundtables and presentations are taped. We request permission from the relevant organization or participants for any quotes used for relevant university research () or the UNDAC web site or media use, if associated with the name of the individual or the name of the organization. A permission form will be handed on registration for the event.

Enquiries

For enquiries about the forum: Overseas and Australia contact:
Wendy Sargent, Mobile: 0417-241450, Email: soscnet@attglobal.net
ACT co-ordinator - Robin Horton - Ph: (02) 62315513
Bookings only: Ph: (02) 4784-2500, Email: leura@brahmakumaris.com.au

Web site for the event:

By Wendy Sargent posted 29 May 05

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