interreligious dialogue

Science, Spirituality, Solidarity: Weaving Interconnections for Change

On Oct. 20, you are invited to join the Temple of Understanding – in collaboration with Marble Collegiate Church – for FORUM2022!

FORUM2022 is a call to action on the global crisis facing humanity and all life on planet Earth. Connecting the variable causes of the climate crisis, our speakers bring together ancient wisdom and modern science to address this time of severe destruction with positive and effective solutions.

Program

Distinguished 19th Generation Keeper of the Sacred White Buffalo Calf Pipe, Chief Arvol Looking Horse, will open FORUM2022 with traditional Native American Sioux prayers.

“Earth Democracy: Sustainability and Justice” Keynote dialogue between Bill McKibben and Dr. Vandana Shiva will expound upon the era of unrestricted capitalism and inspire us to embrace a moral and spiritual perspective for restoring our bio-system.

Prayers will be offered for the global ecological crisis by several world religious leaders:

  • The Rev. Sally Bingham, Canon for the Environment for the Diocese of California, or you can use founder and President Emerita, Interfaith Power and Light. (Christian)
  • Imam Saffet Catovic, Director, Interfaith, Community Alliances, and Government Relations, Islamic Society of North America, Washington, D.C.(Muslim)
  • Rabbi David Rosen, KSG CBE, International Director of Interreligious Affairs, American Jewish Committee (Jewish)
  • Pandit Shukla Ji, Hindu Priest, Hindu Samaj Mandir Mahwah, New Jersey (Hindu)

“Sacred Soil & Sacred Forests” panelists examine the relationship between ancient knowledge and current scientific thinking and present practical solutions for the climate crisis. Ray Archuleta, an American soil scientist, is joined by Irish botanist and author Diana Beresford-Kroeger and Patricia Kombo, passionate environmentalist, founder of the PaTree Initiative, and she is a United Nation Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) Land Hero, to discuss the crucial importance of healthy soil and vibrant forests for life on our planet, balancing the climate, harnessing water and sustaining food supplies.

A short video will introduce Jerusalem artist Beverly Barkat’s “Earth Poetica,” a phenomenal sculpture constructed from plastic waste collected from around the world, which will be exhibited at New York City’s World Trade Center complex next year.

Panelists on “Caring for our Endangered Oceans and Waterways” analyze the many ways to address the trashing of our oceans, create an international water policy, and tackle ocean warming. Dave Ford, founder of the Ocean Plastics Leadership Network, USA, an activist to industry organization, is joined by David Helvarg, executive director of Blue Frontier, and Dr. Kelsey Leonard, a citizen of the Shinnecock Nation, who is a water scientist, legal scholar, policy expert, writer, and assistant professor, University of Waterloo, Canada.

Co-sponsors 

Interfaith Center of New York, Interfaith Power and Light, Islamic Society of North America, Parliament of the World’s Religions, World Interfaith Network

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the Committee of Religious NGOs at the United Nations, please visit rngos.wordpress.com. For more information on the NGO Committee on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, please visit facebook.com/NGOCoRIP. For more information on the NGO Committee on Financing for Development, please visit ngosonffd.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Sustainable Development/NY, please visit ngocsd-ny.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Sustainable Development/Vienna, please visit ngocsdvienna.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Human Rights, please email the co-chairs at bknotts@uua.org or bobbinassar@yahoo.com. 

Committee of Religious NGOs at the UN (CRNGO) Annual Membership Meeting

Venue: Online and Baha’i International Community (866 UN Plaza, Suite 120)

RSVP required: https://bic-org.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZEvf-uorDkuH9GvRCtVkcF-JfCsuk8EOTY5

As we emerge from a pandemic-induced hiatus during which the Committee of Religious NGOs at the UN (CRNGO) largely carried out its activities through the CRNGO Climate Working Group, the CRNGO Bureau invites its members to come back together, in community, in a moment of reflection, to be together for its first Annual Membership Meeting in three years. 

The event will be hosted in a hybrid format in recognition of the fact that the pandemic is still ongoing, and each individual’s comfort level with gathering in physical space is different. 

The purpose and objective of the Annual Membership Meeting is to help foster community and facilitate learning and interaction among religious and spiritual NGOs working at the United Nations as well as those interested in engaging with the UN.

The Annual Membership Meeting will open with welcoming remarks by members of the Bureau, followed by a consultative process where participants are invited to reflect on how their organizations have successfully engaged with the UN in the past three years, and share their perspectives on some of the challenges to creating change at the UN.

At the meeting, annual membership dues will be collected, the results of the election of the new Bureau will be presented and it will launch a process to create our 2022 to 2024 programme of work, striving to deepen the Committee’s religious community engagement with the UN. 

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CoNGO Notes: The Committee of Religious NGOs at the United Nations is a Substantive Committee of the Conference of NGOs in Consultative Relationship with the United Nations. Likewise, for more information on the NGO Committee on Spirituality, Values, and Global Concerns, please visit csvgc-ny.org.

[Webinar] Affirming an Interreligious Response to Supporting Peaceful, Inclusive, and Just Societies

Affirming an Interreligious Response to Supporting Peaceful, Inclusive, and Just Societies:                                                                Building on a Historic Interfaith Statement on ISIL Accountability in Iraq

Dear Esteemed Leaders and Partners of Religions for Peace, UN OSAPG and UNITAD,

We are pleased to cordially invite you to join the Webinar on “Affirming an Interreligious Response to Supporting Peaceful, Inclusive, and Just Societies: Building on a Historic Interfaith Statement on ISIL Accountability in Iraq”, co-hosted by Religions for Peace (RfP), United Nations Office on Genocide Prevention and the Responsibility to Protect (UN OSAPG) and the United Nations Investigative Team to Promote Accountability for Crimes Committed by Da’esh/ISIL (UNITAD) on Thursday, 16 July 2020 at 9:00 – 11:10 am EDT.

Please register here or by clicking on the following link by Wednesday, 15 July 2020: https://religionsforpeace.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Ej3s6SDORbCmLeulMT7fHQ

You will receive the link to join the Webinar after your registration. If you have any questions, please contact Ms. Sarah van Bentum at svbentum@rfp.org. The webinar will applaud the step taken by Iraqi religious leadership representing various faith traditions in adopting the historic Interfaith Statement on the Victims and Survivors of ISIL, while also addressing critical issues of interreligious collaboration around Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development and the promotion of accountability as a basis for reconciliation. The webinar will primarily be conducted in English. However, Arabic and Kurmanji simultaneous interpretation will be available. We warmly welcome you to attend this important webinar.

With respect and appreciation,

Prof. Dr. Azza Karam
Secretary General, RfP

Mr. Adama Dieng
UN Under-Secretary-General and Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide (UN OSAPG)

Mr. Karim Asad Ahmad Khan
Special Adviser and Head of the United Nations Investigative Team to Promote Accountability for Crimes Committed by Da’esh / ISIL (UNITAD)

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CoNGO Notes: For more information about the Committee of Religious NGOs at the United Nations, please visit rngos.wordpress.com. For more information on the NGO Committee on Freedom of Religion or Belief, please visit unforb.org.