U.R.I. Southeast Asia-Pacific Online newsletter: THE COOPERATION CIRCLE: January 2009

Vol.III, No. 2 (Jul-Dec 2008)

Contents:

PILGRIMS OF PEACE gathered for the URI GLOBAL ASSEMBLY in MAYAPUR, INDIA

The United Religions Initiative (URI) held its second Global Assembly (GA08) on November 27^th to December 5^th, 2008 in Mayapur, West Bengal, India. The much-anticipated event brought together in one unprecedented grassroots global gathering some 200 global interfaith leaders and around 100 interfaith youth delegates representing diverse religions, spiritual expressions and indigenous traditions from 44 countries... read more

Editorial: SOWING PEACE

by Marites Guingona-Africa , URI Global Trustee & URI-SEAP Regional Council Chairperson

Last September, in the Southeast Asia Pacific region, the desire for lasting peace in the conflict-prone Mindanao region of the Philippines motivated the Peacemakers’ Circle to take the lead in bringing together peace advocates in Manila in support of those adversely affected by the conflict that had flared up in the wake of the aborted signing of the of the Memorandum of Agreement on the Ancestral Domain (MOA-AD) between the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP)... read more

LOVE IN LUJIANG: Finding the meaning of true love and healing through filial piety

Reflections by Dr. Amir Farid Bin Dato Isahak, URI - SEAP Global Trustee

My second trip to China this year was again at the invitation of the Most Venerable Master Chin Kung, founder and spiritual sifu of the worldwide Buddhist Amitabha society. In May, I went with him, his disciples and Malaysian religious leaders on an educational tour of Beijing and Xinjiang.

This time we went to Tangchi, a small rural agricultural town with about 50,000 residents. It is located in Lujiang county, Anhui province. The area is calm and serene, with padi and tea cultivation being the main economic activities. It has many hot springs that provide pure alkaline water, something we were able to enjoy since it was piped into our rooms. It was autumn and the cool weather was just pleasant. Now the town is also filled with love... read more

Updates from Manila: PEACE DAY 2008

FAITHS IN HARMONY SOWING PEACE THROUGH PRAYERS, LIGHTS AND SOUNDS

The Peacemakers’ Circle Foundation, Inc. (PCFI) and the United Religions Initiative Southeast Asia & the Pacific (URI-SEAP) Regional Office joined forces with the Sowing Peace for Mindanao network* in organizing a back-to-back peace event in Quezon City, Metro Manila on Saturday September 20, 2008, eve of the UN International Day of Peace.

Just before sunset a motley crowd of more than a hundred people lined the sidewalk along Katipunan Avenue-- in front of Miriam College-- to make a stand for peace and call for the cessation of violence in Mindanao. They were students, teachers, artists, lay and religious, members of the interfaith community, NGOs, and employees who took time from their busy schedule to gather together in order to make their voices heard. In solidarity, they wore white, and brought flowers, musical instruments and food to share... read more

Updates from Manila: SOWING PEACE CARAVAN & INTERFAITH EIDL FITR CELEBRATION

MANILA, PHILIPPINES -- An historic event took place in Metro Manila on Thursday October 2, 2008. About 30 motorcyclists and 12 vehicles carrying colored flaglets and banners of the Sowing Peace for Mindanao network drove through the streets in a Peace Caravan that called for a more intensified campaign for awareness and solidarity for the growing number of people affected by the conflict in Mindanao. Escorted by MMDA mobile traffic enforcers and several media crew, the convoy—composed of members representing the different peace organizations, religious communities and interfaith groups had earlier assembled at the Miriam College parking lot in Quezon City, and traveled all the way to Maharlika Village in Taguig City... read more

Updates from Manila: GRASSROOTS LEADERSHIP TRAINING WORKSHOP ON MUSLIM-CHRISTIAN DIALOGUE

MANILA, PHILIPPINES— The Peacemakers' Circle Foundation, Inc. (PCFI) CC, with the support of the Australian Embassy's Strengthening Grassroots Interfaith Dialogue and Understanding (SGIDU) Program, has been conducting a GRASSROOTS LEADERSHIP TRAINING WORKSHOP ON MUSLIM-CHRISTIAN DIALOGUE in four communities in Metro Manila since June 2008. The participating communities are: Maharlika Village in Taguig City, Salam Compound in Culiat, Quezon City, Quiapo in Manila, and Tala in Caloocan City... read more

Update from Manila: ENGAGING THE MORAL IMAGINATION IN THE SEARCH FOR PEACE IN MINDANAO

MANILA, PHILIPPINES-- The Peacemakers' Circle CC, with the help of its network of partners in SOWING PEACE FOR MINDANAO (SPM), the U.S. Embassy in Manila, and the Mindanao Peoples' Caucus, successfully followed up the series of projects and activities they conducted (from August to October) with a dialogue workshop-forum last October 23, 2008. This was entitled: IN SEARCH FOR PEACE IN MINDANAO: Engaging the Moral Imagination in Community Dialogue and Relationship- Building (a leaders' dialogue workshop-forum).

The October 23 workshop-forum was held at the Hotel Rembrandt in Quezon City and was hosted by Jasmin N. Galace of the Center for Peace Education of Miriam College. Over one hundred representatives of organizations from various sectors of society--government, media, civil society, academe, religious and interfaith institutions, and the diplomatic community-- attended... read more

Updates from Kalinaw CC - Cebu

Cebu holds big International Day of Peace 2008 celebration

CEBU, PHILIPPINES— On September 19, 2008 (Friday), Kalinaw (“peace”) CC collaborated with the University of Cebu’s Civic Welfare Training Service - National Service Training Program (CWTS-NSTP) and the Advocates of Living Values Education (ALIVE) in organizing one of the biggest UN International Day of Peace celebration in the SEAP region. With over 5,500 people gathered at the newly constructed Cebu Coliseum, the grand event saw the city’s largest participation and widest collaboration so far of multisectoral, multifaith and multicultural celebration of the UN IDP in one venue.

Around 3,000 NSTP-CWTS students from the University of Cebu (UC) were joined by 2,000 from ten other schools and colleges, plus about 500 participants from local government units, civil society groups and non-government organizations... read more

Updates from Cebu Youth CCs

CEBU YOUTH CCs ENGAGE IN PRAYERS FOR MINDANAO ON PEACE DAY

Reported by Jaimini dasi Araneta

CEBU, PHILIPPINES-- Youth for Peace (Prayers for Mindanao) was a very successful and very heartwarming event for all the participating youths. Giving, Respect, Opportunity, Wisdom, Transcendence & Harmony (GROWTH) CC, in cooperation with Mugna Kabataan (“youth…create!”) CC and supported by the Kalinaw CC, gathered together at the Multipurpose hall around 30-40 youths from the National Service Training Program (NSTP) of the Lyceum of Cebu (LC)... read more

Updates from Pakigdait CC- Mindanao

Updates from MALAYSIA CCs

International Day of Peace – Malaysia

PETALING JAYA & TAIPING, MALAYSIA--The 2008 International Day of Peace is commemorated in Malaysia in many fronts. In one of these celebrations the Interfaith Spiritual Fellowship (INSaF)/KLCC, and Malaysian Interfaith Network CC, joined partners--the Service Civil International (SCI)-Malaysia, Malaysia for World Peace (M4WP), and Malaysian Indian Youth council -- in a 2-day event aimed at touching the hearts of the participants with peace activities that involved children, youth, schools, non-government organizations (NGO), and local council units... read more

Updates from COMMON CC - Australia

Sharing our Space: Multi-faith Healing Conference held by COMMON CC

VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA-- In celebration of the UN International Day of Peace 2008 Center for Melbourne Multifaith and Others Network (COMMON) CC successfully organized the annual MULTI-FAITH WEEK that kicked off with a Multi-faith Healing Conference entitled: SHARING OUR SPACE—held on its first day on September 21, 2008... read more

URI BOWES AWARD 2008 in SEAP

The Bowes Awards were established by the URI to recognize and catalyze innovation and cooperation among Cooperation Circles and the individuals and organizations in their communities. CCs are doing amazing interfaith work throughout the URI community, and the Bowes Awards is to lift up model action projects in each of the eight regions, all which embody the Preamble, Purpose and Principles of URI.

The Bowes Award Project, Leadership Training in SEAP Region will be conducted on March 16-18 in conjuction with the next Regional Meeting which will be held in Lanao del Norte, Mindanao (Southern Philippines)... read more

HONORING MOVERS in the Southeast Asia & the Pacific

by Marites Africa & Shakun Vaswani

As we take the next steps forward in our journey towards building and strengthening URI in our region, some of us who have journeyed the longest--and have seen how URI in our region has grown through the years-wish to express our gratitude to all the wonderful people in the region who have helped give birth to URI in our part of the world.

In the spirit of gratitude, joy, and love, we have humbly attempted to recognize and honor them--the MOVERS of URI in Southeast Asia-Pacific--by presenting each one of them to the URI global list serve (one person a week in the past few months) with a brief write-up on their invaluable contributions to the URI in our region. We hope you will be inspired, as we have been, by the beautiful and colorful tapestry of diversity and uniqueness that is being created by the efforts and contributions of each precious MOVER in our part of the world. We give you a glimpse of a few of these MOVERS here—the past and present Global Trustees of SEAP…read more

Reflections/Quotes on Mayapur GA08 from SEAP delegates

Padmini Solomon (Nur Damai CC - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia)

In a world where there is much religious exclusivity and negative religious fundamentalism, the fact that ISKCON opened its doors to the URI GA is amazing and impressive. It shows what friendships across religious barriers can achieve as well as how the “moral imagination” of URI’s global and regional leadership enables diversity to thrive and be honoured and celebrated...

... read more quotes

CATHARSIS OF THE SOUL: A Young Leader's Experience in Mayapur

YLP delegates sharing on the role of the youth in global interfaith action

Reflections on the Young Leaders Program & GA08

By Sharon Danisha M. Vaswani*

Who would have thought that a short stay in a little rural town with a population of just over 9,000 in West Bengal, India would have such a profound effect on me?

Not that long ago, my world was amazingly cosmopolitan in comparison to the outlying villages around Mayapur but, I must admit that when I first arrived in Sri Mayapur Dham last November 24, I was surprised at the big complex of the Temple and buildings, all painted pink & white in a garden setting and at the bare foot ISKCON pilgrims walking across the campus silently chanting the Hare Krishna mantra with their prayer beads. Mayapur Dham, 130km north of Calcutta across the Ganges River, is the Spiritual Capital of ISKCON. Considered as one of the most holy and peaceful places in all of India, it amazingly houses over one million pilgrims each year.

Mayapur Dham was also the venue for the Young Leaders Program and the 2^nd Global Assembly of the United Regions Initiative held from November 24 to December 6, 2008 where I was privileged to be part of the delegation from the Philippines and experience beautiful and enriching moments... read more

A message from the URI hub: Mayapur GA08 Reflections

a letter from URI Executive Director,
REV. CANON CHARLES P. GIBBS

The Global Assembly that once unimaginably far off is over. The seeds planted here in these two weeks will grow and bear fruit for decades to come. None of the pilgrims who were privileged to pass this time in Mayapur will ever be the same. And neither will URI. We will be challenged, grow and flourish in ways we can't begin to predict because of all the connections that have been made here by URI's pilgrims of peace from many paths with one purpose.

At one point in our closing ceremony, I found myself in a large circle 300+ people of diverse religions, spiritual expressions, and indigenous traditions from throughout the world as we honored the pilgrims from each region by calling them into the center of the circle, where they were graced by a special song sung by a fellow pilgrim from a different region... read more

Prayer Song for Peace

This is the third prayer from the eight prayers of Lord Chaitanya sung by devotees. See Lyrics

Editorial: SOWING PEACE

Last September, in the Southeast Asia Pacific region, the desire for lasting peace in the conflict-prone Mindanao region of the Philippines motivated the Peacemakers’ Circle to take the lead in bringing together peace advocates in Manila in support of those adversely affected by the conflict that had flared up in the wake of the aborted signing of the of the Memorandum of Agreement on the Ancestral Domain (MOA-AD) between the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP).

The long years of building relationships between the grass roots Muslim, Christians and Lumads communities came to nothing and once again attitudes of mistrust and fear were awakened and began to create divisions among peace loving people in the different communities.

We laud the Peacemakers’ Circle CC for taking the timely lead to bring together peace advocates to join forces to sow seeds of peace for Mindanao through prayers, press conferences, meetings and various peace building activities. Likewise, we commend the work of URI Cooperation Circles all over the country and around the region that celebrated the UN International Day of Peace 2008 in September, and including in the heart of their interfaith prayers the peace in Mindanao and the whole of Southeast Asia-Pacific.

Under the prevailing situations of violence, strife and injustice in many countries of the world—like the bombing in Mumbai and the uprising in Bangkok-- it was also an opportune time that in November, over 300 youth and adults from over 40 countries journeyed to India as “Pilgrims of peace” to participate in the 2nd URI Global Assembly in the Mayapur. This was a time to celebrate our diversity, deepen our community and to engage in mutual learnings, trainings and make action plans for the next three years.

During the assembly it was heart warming to see youths and adults from different faiths engage in conversations in friendship and respect and enjoying the experience of being together and inspiring each other with their stories.

These are challenging times and as people of faith let us continue to engage in interfaith dialogue and plant seeds of hope for peaceful and harmonious societies in our countries.

Yes, let us all unite in the URI global family in the spirit of kinship and love to sow seeds of peace, justice and healing in our region and indeed the whole world!

May 2009 turn out to be a more Peaceful and Productive Year for All!

Love,

Marites Guingona-Africa
Chairperson, URI-SEAP Regional Council
Vice-Chairperson, URI Global Council

LOVE IN LUJIANG: Finding the meaning of true love and healing through filial piety

Reflections by Dr. Amir Farid Bin Dato Isahak, URI - SEAP Global Trustee

We were there to observe for ourselves how the teaching of traditional Chinese morals, values and ethics transformed the townsfolk, with the hope that we can emulate their methods and transform our own society too. We were also to give input from our own cultural, religious and spiritual perspectives and offer comments and suggestions to improve the effectiveness of the programs, and on how to apply them to our own communities.

Master Chin Kung has given talks on peace, loving kindness and harmonious living on numerous occasions to audiences throughout the world. He has shared his wisdom with laymen, academicians, bureaucrats and world leaders. Often he is asked whether it is at all possible to change people from being quarrelsome and crime-prone to kind, respectful and peace-loving citizens. If that is possible, then we will see happier families, and harmonious communities. There will also be less crime, less conflicts, and less wars.

Master Chin Kung believes that the nature of mankind is kindness. It is improper and incorrect upbringing and education that make us otherwise. He decided to prove beyond words that this is true, and that it is possible to change families and communities to become good. The ultimate aim is to achieve world peace through moral and ethics education. This must start with the children, but their parents and elders must also be involved so that the children will not be confused by the conflicting morals and behaviours of the adults.

So with the support of kind donors, he built the Lujiang Chinese Culture Education Centre ( CCEC ) to revive the good traditional teachings to children, adults and parents in the belief that the families and communities that live by these teachings will become peaceful, successful, and prosperous. Tangchi was chosen as the venue as it was his birthplace, and this was one way of honouring it.

Lessons from the Sage

The syllabus is based on the teachings of the great sage Confucius (Kung Fu Tzu, 551-479 BCE), as simplified in the Di Zi Gui booklet, which teaches the “Standards of Being a Good Student and Child”, and other books of morals, good conduct and character.

The project started in 2005. The first task was getting teachers who believe in the same dream and aspirations, and were willing to become models to the students and the community. Fortunately, there were enough committed people who were willing to be trained, led by Teacher Cai and Teacher Chou, who all along believed in the teaching of the traditional values as a means of transforming the world for the better, and were willing to dedicate their lives to this noble cause.

It is under their leadership, with the guidance and wisdom of Master Chin Kung, that the first batch of teachers was intensively trained for 2 months until they became models of good values, virtues and character. By 2006, CCEC was ready to spread its teachings. Only then did the centre invite children, parents and everyone from the town to become students, free of charge, courtesy of generous donors.

The teachers also went out to the community, giving lessons in the homes, village halls and courtyards, and schools. There is a permanent open-air classroom (which also doubles as a theatre) on the park by the riverside right in town, to make it convenient for the people to attend classes.

The lessons are always enjoyable and practical. Starting from teaching children to love, respect and honour their parents and elders (which the latter should reciprocate with love and care), the lessons for adults include values, virtues and morals regarding relationships between husbands and wives, within the family, among friends, in the neighbourhood, community, workplace and in dealing with the authorities, among others. Lessons also include singing, acting, arts and craft, and other activities that can instill good values, encourage usable and valuable skills, and uplift their earning potential at the same time.

Much emphasis is placed on filial piety, something that is established in all Eastern cultures, but is being gradually eroded as the younger generation gets influenced by the western norms that come through the media and TV, and their parents are too busy chasing money and worldly comforts.

Children are taught to bow to their elders, and on certain occasions, to wash their parents’ feet as a mark of love and respect. Everyone is taught to greet others with kind words, a smile, and a bow. So it was a delightful experience as we happily greeted, smiled and bowed to all the people we met, and received their greetings, smiles and respectful bows in return. How wonderful and harmonious the world can be if we all love and respect one another like this!

Values and virtues like love, forgiveness, kindness, trust, justice, integrity, shamefulness and others are painstakingly explained through examples and actual stories of people who have found imbibing these principles into their lives beneficial and life-changing. There are many such examples, of saved marriages, reconciliations, and even reformation of convicts, through the practice of these teachings. On several occasions my eyes were teary listening to these heartwarming lessons.

Amazingly, within only 3 months of the teachers reaching out to the community, there was noticeable change. People became more honest, courteous, and kind. Less rubbish was being thrown around, and people actually started to help clean up should they stumble upon such rubbish. After one year, the authorities reported that the divorce rate was reduced by 48% and the crime rate was down by 47%! As the whole town continues to transform as more and more people learn and practice the good traditional teachings, Tangchi town will indeed become a “Model Township of Harmonius Society”. It is Master Chin Kung’s dream to see the success of Tangchi being replicated in other places, including in Malaysia.

A Harmonious World Begins With Me

This method works because the emphasis is first in transforming the teachers themselves. So it is appropriate that the theme of this study tour was “A Harmonious World Begins With Me”. As Mahatma Ghandi said, we must be the change we want to see. So if you want to see a harmonious world, you must first have a harmonious personality and live a harmonious life. Then the family, community and world around you will benefit and improve a certain degree because of you.

At one interfaith meeting recently, I was asked by a non-Muslim why the Malay/Muslim community here is burdened by many social problems like truancy, poor academic performance, drug addiction, high divorce rates, etc. even though all the children go thorough religious lessons (which also teach similar good values and ethics) throughout their formative primary school years, since it is part of the school curriculum for Muslims ?

My answer was - it is not enough that the content of the lessons are good; the teachers, parents and adults around the children must themselves be living examples of what is being taught so that the children fully understand the goodness, and know how to put the teachings into practice by observing the teachers and elders. That is, the teaching method must be theory combined with living example.

Updates from Manila: PEACE DAY 2008

FAITHS IN HARMONY SOWING PEACE THROUGH PRAYERS, LIGHTS AND SOUNDS

The Peacemakers’ Circle Foundation, Inc. (PCFI) and the United Religions Initiative Southeast Asia & the Pacific (URI-SEAP) Regional Office joined forces with the Sowing Peace for Mindanao network* in organizing a back-to-back peace event in Quezon City, Metro Manila on Saturday September 20, 2008, eve of the UN International Day of Peace.

Interfaith prayers were said amid the din of the careening traffic. But the energy around the circle was high. A fellowship Iftar (breaking of the fast) was offered in solidarity with the Muslims with everyone sharing the potluck food.

Torches were lit for the peace walk that followed with all marching to the beat of the drums, ringing of chimes and gongs and voices raised in a chorus of chanting - “Stop the war in Mindanao! Give peace a chance!” The traffic on the street kept going but it was heartwarming that many cars stopped and blew their horns in support.

Around 7:00 o’clock in the evening the crowd proceeded to the Environmental Studies Institute inside the Miriam College campus for the FAITHS IN HARMONY, SYMPHONIES OF PEACE, an interfaith concert. Hosted by Ms. Marites Africa of PCFI, the musical celebration offered an array of creative peace presentations – meditation, chanting, songs, dances and prayers-- from the various spiritual groups and partner organizations.

The program was opened by Dr. Shakun Vaswani (URI SEAP regional coordinator) who welcomed everyone to the familiar hall that gets to be annually decorated with the colors of diversity through the flags of various faith symbols and the UN flags of the different countries in the world. Meditation & silencing was led by Mr. John Dowling of Brahma Kumaris. This was followed by an opening dance of peace & blessing offered by the KaliPiMu Innerdance group with musical accompaniment provided by SangHabi, Inc.

An inspirational peace song was rendered by Ms. Mirma Tica of Pax Christi – Miriam College, while chanting and peace prayers were heard from Mrs. Tomomi Shima and members of Shinji Shumei Kai (Japanese spiritual organization) ; Babaji Surinder Singh Ragi of Guru Nanak Mission (Sikh); and Mahraj Prem Shanker Pandey of the Hindu Temple-Manila.

The Self-Realization Fellowship (Paramahansa Yogananda-founded group) presented a song and engaged everyone in a healing action prayer.

Other body movement arts were demonstrated by Step Universe – International (Indonesian energy exercise); the Byakko Shinko Kai –Phils. (with their Divinity-In body prayer); and T’ai Chi master Mr. Ed Sevilla.

A loose-group of interfaith performers called Higher Chakra, led by Ramesh Balgos, offered a musical poetry reading number.

Some of the more modern numbers include a Samba dance from PCFI’s Ms. Judy Banu and partner; and peace songs from an all-female rock group, Velvet band —led by Ms. Tet Gallardo, who represented the Unitarian Universalist Community – Manila.

But definitely the crowd’s favorite was the most joyful and entertaining presentation from the cute and adorable pre-school pupils of the Creative Space Center for Integrative Learning for Children who performed a song and dance number entitled: “Mapayapang Mundo” (peaceful world).

Mr. Mario “Toots” Fungo of the World Peace Prayer Society-Phils. read the United Nations’ official message for IDP ’08 and led the peace prayer for each country by distributing flag-cards of the different nations.

During the program, an intensified campaign for A Million Signatures for Yes! We Unite in Sowing Peace for Mindanao was launched.

The evening was capped off with the ever-lively music and chanting by the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON/Hare Krishna) that led to community jamming as everyone pushed their seats to the side and, hand-in-hand, formed a big dance circle across the hall.

It was a wonderful sight to behold as people from different faiths and cultures sang, chanted and danced together in joyful harmony and celebration as we continue to demonstrate solidarity in sowing peace in the country and the whole world!

See more photos here

*The Sowing Peace for Mindanao network

Since the first outbreak of violence that followed the aborted signing (last August 5, 2008) of the Memorandum of Agreement on the Ancestral Domain (MOA-AD) between the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP), over 500,000 innocent civilians, mostly women and children, in over 66 municipalities in 11 provinces across Central Mindanao continue to suffer displacement from their homes and are living in difficult conditions in evacuation centers or makeshift evacuation sites in their areas. Homes, schools, mosques and chapels in those areas have been burned during the fighting between the renegade factions of the MILF and the government troops.

Concerned peace advocates in the country called for the cessation of violence and the resumption of the peace talks, but their calls largely remained unheeded. In Metro Manila, those of us who have been engaged in peacebuilding work realized that we needed to join forces if we were to hope for some gains in our efforts. In this spirit, we--representatives of various NGOs--got together and called our collective endeavors SOWING PEACE FOR MINDANAO (SPM).

Among the organizations represented in SPM were: The Peacemakers' Circle Foundation, Inc. (URI CC), Binhi ng Kapayapaan, Inc., Center for Peace Education of Miriam College, Balay Rehabilitation Center, Gaston Z. Ortigas Peace Institute, Anak Mindanao (AMIN), Pinay..Kilos (PINK), Moro Human Rights Center, and Interfaith Center for a Culture of Non-Violence (ICCN). Together they engaged in various forms of collaborative action in partnership with and support of the Mindanao Solidarity Network and Mindanao Peoples' Caucus (through the help of Atty. Mary Ann Arnado).

For more info, please check out: www.sowingpeace.multiply.com

Updates from Manila: SOWING PEACE CARAVAN & INTERFAITH EIDL FITR CELEBRATION

Awaiting them at St. Joseph Catholic Church was a contingent of about three hundred parishioners from the community led by their parish priest, Fr. Victor Virtudazo. Joining together in a Peace March the two groups filled the streets to the beat of a local drum-and-lyre marching band, interspersed with drumming and harmonium music (provided by the ISKCON) while everyone chanted, “Peace in Mindanao… Now!”-- as they made their way to the Blue Mosque. Here they were welcomed by the Muslim community led by young boys and girls who received the white flowers offered to them by their Christian neighbors and the visiting interfaith community.

Beside the mosque, everyone gathered under the sun in a circle where the interfaith manifesto for peace was read aloud and interfaith prayers for peace were offered by leaders and representatives from the Muslim, Catholic, Protestant, Indigenous, Hare Krishna and Hindu faiths. Concluding the ceremony was the planting of a “Tree of Peace” at the center of the circle around which each faith representative put a peg to fence the seedling —symbolizing the concerted effort of protection and continuous nurture that peace would require from each of the stakeholders.

Right after, a celebratory cultural program was held in a tent area nearby where everyone enjoyed musical entertainment from the Muslim community and listened to the solidarity messages and Eidl Fitr greetings from the different participating groups.

Also held there was a symbolic offering of food from the Christian and interfaith community which was received by the Muslims led by their respected leader, Sultan Pangandaman.

A simple but harmonious feast was shared as a general feeling of hope filled the air and the promise for peace had been planted in each one’s heart through this fresh, new kind of interfaith Eid celebration that has been started.

The event was featured in several national newspapers the following day.

See more photos here

On behalf of the conveners of Sowing Peace for Mindanao network (Binhi ng Kapayapaan, Inc., GZO Peace Institute, Anak Mindanao, Moro Human Rights Center, Center for Peace Education - Miriam College, The Peacemakers’ Circle Foundation, Inc., Balay Rehabilitation Center, Mindanao Solidarity Network, Interfaith Center for a Culture of Nonviolence), we heartily thank all groups and individuals who have participated and contributed to the success of the event: Aksyon para sa Kapayapaan at Katarungan (AKKAPKA), Initiatives for International Dialogue (IID), Motorcyclists Assoc. of the Phils., International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), SangHabi, Inc., KaliPiMu Inner Dance group, Environmental Broadcast Circle-PeaceComm., Third World Movement Against the Exploitation of Women, St. Joseph Parish - Taguig.

Updates from Manila: GRASSROOTS LEADERSHIP TRAINING WORKSHOP ON MUSLIM-CHRISTIAN DIALOGUE

Weekly training workshops have been conducted by the PCFI facilitating team (composed of Lee Collano, Imam Kazir Bensani, and Marites Africa) with the team of community-based coordinators in the four areas. The trainings that started in June will continue for nine months and are based on a syllabus that was carefully designed and crafted by the PCFI with respected Muslim leaders (headed by Dr. Abdulhusin "Jo" Kashim, PCFI Board member and Muslim scholar responsible for providing it with Islamic grounding on peace).

Despite the difficulties of the work, the efforts are yielding heartwarming results. Muslim participants are deepening their understanding of peace in Islam through the study of the teachings in the Holy Qur'an. The moral imagination is being awakened and they are expressing the desire to respond to the challenges of their times and help bring about social change through peaceful dialogue with their Christian neighbors.

To date the training workshop is ongoing in the four areas, this time focusing on Christian grassroots leaders.

Update from Manila: ENGAGING THE MORAL IMAGINATION IN THE SEARCH FOR PEACE IN MINDANAO

The forum was inspired by the two-year training that some members of The Peacemakers' Circle underwent as representatives of the Philippine Team to the Peacebuilding Training Program of the United Religions Initiative (URI). The training was designed and conducted by Dr. John Paul Lederach and Dr. Herm Weaver. Dr. Lederach was the author of the book (entitled, "Moral Imagination: Art and Soul of Building Peace") that inspired the two-year training under him. He is one of the world's foremost experts on Conflict Transformation and Peacebuilding, and he pioneered the Conflict Transformation Program of the Eastern Mennonite University.

The October 23 workshop-forum was held at the Hotel Rembrandt in Quezon City and was hosted by Jasmin N. Galace of the Center for Peace Education of Miriam College. Over one hundred representatives of organizations from various sectors of society--government, media, civil society, academe, religious and interfaith institutions, and the diplomatic community-- attended.

It started with a solemn interfaith opening prayer ritual led by Orlan de Guzman, Jr (indigenous tradition), Shakuntala Vaswani (Hindu), Fr. Leonardo Mercado, SVD (Catholic Christian), Aleem Said Basher (Muslim), and visiting Australian Jessiee Kaur Singh (Sikh).

Welcome remarks were given by Marites Africa, followed by an introduction to Dr. John Paul Lederach's book on the Moral Imagination by Dr. Abdulhusin "Jo" Kashim.

The workshop-forum aimed to help participants awaken to and engage the moral imagination in the endeavor of building lasting peace in Mindanao. It was emphasized that the moral imagination focuses on the centrality of relationships, and these relationships can be built through deep dialogue and heart listening.

Marites Africa gave an introduction to interfaith dialogue, and guidelines to heart listening (based on the book of Kay Lindhal). This was in preparation for the Listening Circle with Atty. Mary Ann Arnado of the Mindanao Peoples' Caucus, Musa Sanguila of Pakidgait in Kauswagan (Lanao del Norte), and three evacuees--Samira Usman (Pikit), Mashod Salik (Datu Piang), and Brenda Alvarico (Midsayap)--sharing their experiences of the war in Mindanao. Angelina Herrera of the Binhi ng Kapayapaan, Inc. facilitated the circle.

The stories shared by the Mindanaoans were heart-rending and the reflections and responses that followed affirmed the difficulties of their plight, and reiterated the general concern to help address the challenges to peace in Mindanao.

The afternoon session brought groups of people sitting around the table together to share their thoughts and reflections on what struck them most from the sharings, and about ways to collectively respond to the challenges and contribute towards peace in Mindanao.

After Dr. Kashim synthesized the presentations made by each group, Sr. Arnold Maria Noel of (Balay Rehabilitation Center) and Djalia Hataman (Anak Mindanao) of the Sowing Peace for Mindanao network presented to the assembly the SPM contributions to the endeavor of promoting ways forward for peace in Mindanao.

Before the afternoon ended, a brief inspirational message from Dr. John Paul Lederach himself (who flew in earlier from Nepal for a brief visit to the Philippines) energized the assembly.

It was a moment of heartwarming synchronicity for the Peacemakers' Circle and this augured well for the training workshops on ENGAGING THE MORAL IMAGINATION IN GRASSROOTS COMMUNITY DIALOGUE AND PEACEBUILDING that the Peacemakers' Circle is hoping to conduct for various communities in Mindanao (and elsewhere in the country) in its effort to help bring forth a transformative cultural force for lasting peace in the country.

A Million Signatures for "Yes! We Unite in Sowing Peace for Mindanao"

We, people for peace of diverse cultures and beliefs from different walks of life in the Philippines, unite in the endeavor to support our brothers and sisters who are being adversely affected by the escalation of conflict in Mindanao.

We unite because we are concerned that the renewed fighting between the renegade factions of the MILF and government troops is awakening old fears and attitudes of mistrust, and fomenting division among peace-loving Muslims, Christians and Lumads in the war-torn grassroots communities in central Mindanao. This is polarizing our people and creating huge obstacles to our path to peace.

We unite in the belief that peace is possible. But peace can only come about if we look at one another anew as brothers and sisters and see the same hopes, dreams and aspirations reflected in each other's eyes; and if we begin to listen more deeply to each other and hear our pain echoed in each other's heart.

We unite in our appeal to all those who are concerned for the peace and wellbeing of our country—our leaders of government, the military and armed forces, the rebel groups, and the various sectors of our society including the media, and the religious and academic institutions—to join us in sowing peace for Mindanao.

We unite in the endeavor to sow the seeds of peace, justice, and healing for our ailing brothers and sisters in Mindanao and to tend to the wounds that are alienating us from each other in our country.

We unite with all individuals, groups and organizations in the country whose efforts for peace are in keeping with the spirit of mutual respect, understanding and cooperation…

To read full version and to support the campaign please log on to http://www.sowingpeace.multiply.com/

Updates from Kalinaw CC - Cebu

Cebu holds big International Day of Peace 2008 celebration

The event featured songs, dances and cultural performances from many different groups—students, children, choirs, bands, government officials, and even some foreign guests like the Koreans who rendered a musical number with local police officers!

Among the special guests of honor who graced the occasion were Hon. Gwen Garcia, governor of Cebu and the President of Cebu Normal University.

One of the main highlight of the program was the prayers for peace in each country. World Peace Prayer Society Philippine representative, Mr. Mario “Toots” Fungo who led the students and the audience in performing the Divinity-In body prayer movement as the flags of each country was honored. Special prayers were offered for peace in Mindanao where currently there is unrest.

The finale for the evening was the interfaith prayers and lighting of a thousand candles for peace, and lively community singing and dancing while video clips were presented and also a thousand butterflies were floated to signify the rise of hope and peace in the hearts of all.

Updates from Cebu Youth CCs

CEBU YOUTH CCs ENGAGE IN PRAYERS FOR MINDANAO ON PEACE DAY

Reported by Jaimini dasi Araneta

The event started with an inspiring invocation from Ms. Evelyn, one of the students from LC, and followed by a Welcome address from their campus Guidance Counselor, Mr. PJ Calliao.

That 20th day of September 2008 was very memorable because we learned a lot of things. GROWTH CC members and officers presented a Yoga Dance, and some musical numbers.
Meanwhile, Akmad—a Muslim member of Mugna Kabataan CC shared about the Islamic practice of Ramadhan. He explained the basic teachings and purpose of this tradition and how it is being practiced by all Muslims everywhere in the world. It was very inspiring for everyone to hear from the Muslim community.

Mr. Rene Araneta of Kalinaw CC and adviser of GROWTH CC also gave a short message and shared on WHAT IS REAL PEACE? As a youth we were so enlightened by his words of wisdom.

The youths then gathered together and each lighted their candles to silently pray for Mindanao. Youth representatives from different religions and faiths, namely: Catholic, Born again Christian, Muslim, Chaitanya Mission—each shared their own prayers for peace.

As the program drew to a close the participants had a WONDERFUL and JOYFUL chanting for PEACE and singing of the Prayer Peace Song (see lyrics here).

With this great experience we learned that we—even as youths-- can make this world a better place and that PEACE is POSSIBLE.

view more photos here

Updates from Pakigdait CC- Mindanao

Pakigdait CC Leads the 27th International Day of Peace

LANAO DEL NORTE, Mindanao -- The civil society organisations of Iligan City and Lanao del Norte gave recognition to a member of the peace panel, Prof. Rudy Rodil, at the celebration of the International Day of Peace (IDP). The network of civil society organisations of Iligan City and Lanao del Norte, through the initiative of Pakigdait, Inc. CC-- in partnership with the Catholic Agency for Overseas Development (CAFOD-UK)-- commemorated the Peace Day on September 21, 2008 at the Balay Mindanaw Peace Centre in Bulua, Cagayan de Oro City.

According to Mr. Musa Sanguila, Pakigdait CC leader and Chairperson for the Civil Society Organisations of Lanao del Norte Partnership for Peace and Development (CSOLNPPD), the major challenge encountered in planning the celebration was the safety and security of Prof. Rudy Rodil whom the civil society awarded with a special tribute during the celebration for his dedication and contribution to peace in Mindanao.

Among other guests present in the celebration and awarding were: Ms. Jo Andot – Programme Manager for the ACT for Peace Programme, Mr. Carino V. Antequisa – Country Accompanier for CAFOD-UK, Ms. Jane Bernardo – the Chairperson for the Civil Society Organisations Forum for Peace, Ms. Regina Salvador-Antequisa – the Secretary-General for the CSOLNPPD, members of the civil organizations in Iligan and Lanao del Norte, and Cagayan de Oro media members.

We Continue Interfaith & Cultural Solidarity Amid Armed Conflict in Lanao

KOLAMBUGAN, LANAO DEL NORTE, MINDANAO-- It was a moving moment. Christian leaders waited outside the town’s main Mosque in celebration of solidarity with Muslims on the last day of Ramadhan. Muslims were greeted outside the Mosque after they completed their worship (Sambayang) by the Christian leaders with offering of warm embrace, flowers, garlands, and fruits. It highlighted the celebration of the Eid’l Fit’r, the feast signifying the end of the month-long fasting.

The Christian community led by Rev. Fr. Reggie R. Quijano (Parish Priest of Kolambugan and Chairman of the Board of Pakigdait, Incorporated), Sr. Jen-Jen Aligdo, RSM, Hon. Lorenzo V. Manigos (Vice-Mayor of Kolambugan), Sr. Helen Liboon (Directress for the Holy Cross High School), Ms. Jovy Abesola (Principal of the Holy Cross High School), and teachers joined our Muslim brothers and sisters in this special occasion.

The Muslim community led by Datu Tannie Marambon warmly received the Christian community in a spirit of understanding and unity and celebrated the most special day in the life of Muslims in a feast where Maranao food and delicacies were shared by the Muslims and the Christians. The celebration affirmed that the destruction brought about by the August 18 MILF attack to the municipality has not conquered the peace between Muslims and Christians. Peace ultimately reigns among the people of Kolambugan.

Since 2001, Pakigdait CC has been conducting interfaith dialogues and multi-cultural activies. The “Panagtagbo sa Panaghiusa ug Kalinaw” (Coming to Meet for Unity and Peace) – the annual theme of the Ramadhan greetings was initiated by Pakigdait. It has grown to be the venue to foster unity, reconciliation and conflict resolution in the war-ravaged and conflict-ridden towns of Kolambugan and Kauswagan.

Updates from MALAYSIA CCs

International Day of Peace – Malaysia

The main feature of the event is a Peace Convoy that traveled some 330 kilometers from Petaling Jaya to Taiping. Held for a third year in a row, the travel to its destination (Taiping means “peace” in Mandarin) symbolizes a journeying together towards peace. The motorcade, which consisted of 15 cars and 50 NGOs, was launched with interfaith prayers where representatives from Islam, Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikh, and Taoism recited prayers for peace and safety of the trip.

At the launch of the event at the Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) headquarters, PJ mayor Datuk Mohamad Roslan Sakiman announced its city council Local Agenda’s set priority on peace-building wherein workshops and speeches regarding the ‘alternative disputes resolution’ had been organised for community leaders to learn various techniques and approaches to solve community conflicts. As a peace gift from one Council to another, Roslan presented to chief delegate Sanggat Singh two Petaling trees which were then planted as Peace Trees at the ‘peace pole’ monument in Taiping.

Some of the other various activities for the event in Taiping include: Buka Puasa (breaking of the fast), peace video presentations, peace essay competition, peace art competition and exhibition, and launching of ‘1 Minute of Silence’ campaign and the Rakan Cop project.

They also conducted a visit to two famous of places of worship, launched the Peace One day campaign, viewed Special Olympic's film, and conducted a Signing of the Peace Declaration. The finale activity which concluded the event was the Lighting of Candles for Peace.

Chief High Priest of Malaysia Venerable K. Sri Dhammaratana Maha Nayaka Thera hoped that more organisations and people would organise such activities to foster good relationships. “This is a unique event to promote peace and harmony among Malaysians. Being a multiracial country, we should find ways to be united,” he said.

Updates from COMMON CC - Australia

Sharing our Space: Multi-faith Healing Conference held by COMMON CC

Held: 21st September 2008: 1:30 pm – 4:30 pm

Venue: Aboriginal Advancement League, 2 Watt Street, Thornbury, Victoria

VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA-- In celebration of the UN International Day of Peace 2008 Center for Melbourne Multifaith and Others Network (COMMON) CC successfully organized the annual MULTI-FAITH WEEK that kicked off with a Multi-faith Healing Conference entitled: SHARING OUR SPACE—held on its first day on September 21, 2008.

Sharing Our Space was a free event held at the Aboriginal Advancement League in Thornbury, Victoria. It aimed to demonstrate the support of the interfaith community for the Commonwealth Government’s apology to the members of the Stolen Generation and to build on the foundation laid down by Australian Prime Minister Hon. Kevin Rudd.

Organized in cooperation with the Victorian Multicultural Commission and AALI, the multi-faith healing conference was a process of recognition, reconciliation and learning between indigenous and non-indigenous Australians. The conference featured interfaith prayers and solidarity messages from leaders and representatives from different religions and spiritual traditions (Aboriginal, Native American, Muslim, Christian, Jew, Sikh, Hindu, Baha’i, and Buddhist). Together the community recognized what they all have in common and shared the sacred space with each other.

The Multi-faith Week 2008, which ran from the 21st to the 27 of September, featured open house invitations to a particular place of worship of a different faith for each day of the week. Among the activities and faith communities that opened their doors to the public were: Langar (communal kitchen) and congregation at the Sikh Gurudwara Sahib in Blackburn; Buddhist meditation at the Fo Guang Art Gallery in Melbourne; Catholic mass and prayer service at the St. Francis Church in Melbourne; Soul-food meditation and devotional gathering at a Baha’I house in Hawthorn; Islamic weekly prayer at the City Mosque in West Melbourne; Hindu Pooja at the Murugan Temple in North Sunshine; Jewish Shabbat at the Temple Beth Israel in Melbourne; and an Aboriginal culture, spirituality and art tour at the Koori Heritage Trust Cultural Center in Melbourne.

URI BOWES AWARD 2008 in SEAP

The Awards are made possible by a generous financial gift from John and Frances Bowes, in honor of William K. Bowes, brother of John and noted venture capitalist, philanthropist and major supporter of URI.

Beginning in 2008 in Mayapur, India, the Bowes Awards will be given at URI’s Global Assembly. The award is a financial gift to support the project and provide scholarships to attend the URI Global Assembly and will be presented to the 8 applicants (one from each region) whose proposals stand out and can be a model of interfaith cooperation for others to replicate.

The 2008 Bowes Award for the Southeast Asia & the Pacific region was awarded to the Peacemakers’ Circle for its project on leadership training in the region. Ours is a region with clusters of island-countries separated not only by bodies of water, but by diverse cultures and beliefs of their people. Although there are numerous interfaith activities and initiatives already going on in various parts of this region, there is a need to build bridges that would connect people and help them to be agents of change. The Peacemaker’s Circle CC project would fulfill this need by providing a URI leadership training program that would create a core team of leaders who would help deepen and strengthen the sense of being URI among CC members, uniting all parts of the region to realize its vision to create cultures of peace, justice and healing for the Earth and all living beings in this part of the world.

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE URI-SEAP BOWES AWARD WINNER—THE PEACEMAKERS’ CIRCLE CC and the SEAP region!

HONORING MOVERS in the Southeast Asia & the Pacific

by Marites Africa & Shakun Vaswani

As we take the next steps forward in our journey towards building and strengthening URI in our region, some of us who have journeyed the longest--and have seen how URI in our region has grown through the years-wish to express our gratitude to all the wonderful people in the region who have helped give birth to URI in our part of the world.

We recognize MARIO "TOOTS" FUNGO (of World Peace Prayer Society- Phils. and Byakko Shinko Kai) and SR. LILIAN CURAMING,FMM (Franciscan Missionaries of Mary) who first brought the seed of URI to the Philippines. Toots Fungo had attended the Global Summit at Stanford University in 1997, and Sr. Lilian in 1998. They shared the good news about an upcoming new kind of interfaith organization with friends in Metro Manila.

MARITES GUINGONA-AFRICA was so inspired by the URI vision that she volunteered to bring together an interfaith group and spearheaded the "72 Hours Project," an unprecedented interfaith peace gathering in Metro Manila at the turn of the millennium. They were joined in this endeavor by a fellow visionary

BRO. ELI ANDRADE and a quiet and passionate Hindu peace builder SHAKUNTALA VASWANI. This eventually led to the formation of the Peacemakers' Circle CC in Manila and the rest, as they say, is history.

Here we also recognize the serene yet cohesive energy of ORLAN DE GUZMAN, JR., our Regional Information and Communications officer who served as the "center of gravity" of all activties of the region in the last three years.

We acknowledge all the "MOVERS" who have been drawn to the URI by their ideals and the largeness of their vision, who have subsequently inspired the creation of their own CCs (and other CCs), and who continue to provide URI leadership in one way or another in their respective locales. In their hearts, minds, and ways of being with one another they hold the life, vitality and hope of URI in our midst.

In the spirit of gratitude, joy, and love, we have humbly attempted to recognize and honor them--the MOVERS of URI in Southeast Asia-Pacific--by presenting each one of them to the URI global list serve (one person a week in the past few months) with a brief write-up on their invaluable contributions to the URI in our region. We hope you will be inspired, as we have been, by the beautiful and colorful tapestry of diversity and uniqueness that is being created by the efforts and contributions of each precious MOVER in our part of the world. We give you a glimpse of a few of these MOVERS here—the past and present Global Trustees of SEAP…

REV. GEORGE ARMSTRONG may well be the "Father of URI in Southeast Asia." He has always been inspiring in his passion for action even since the URI Summit at Stanford University in 1999 where his energy and enthusiasm was already evident.

A respected Anglican religious leader in New Zealand, Rev. George served as member of the Interim Global Council and his involvement in the early processes of building the foundations of the URI is a building block of URI in SEAP. When URI SEAP was separated from the rest of the URI Asia region sometime in 2002, his leadership became pivotal. He was elected as Member of URI's first democratically elected Global Council. As one of the founding fathers of URI in SEAP, he continues to serve as an inspiration to all of us here!

He is known to us simply as Boni. If George Armstrong is the "Father of URI in SEAP," Bonifacio amado M. Quirog, Jr. is the brother to us all. Fueled by Boni's passion and vision, Bohol Goodwill Volunteers CC-- a Founding Member of the URI-- shone like a jewel of good will in that quaint island in the Central Visayas region of the Philippines.

Despite the many responsibilities as Provincial Secretary in the local government of Bohol, Boni devoted time and energy to the challenging endeavor of encouraging interfaith participation and collaboration in the local gatherings. His critical mind and talent for planning and organizing people are the gifts that he brings to URI in SEAP.

From 2002 to 2005, Boni, together with George Armstrong and Shakun Vaswani, served as member of the first Global Council representing the region. His involvement in the URI so inspired his son Ludwig that soon, this passionate and intelligent young man decided to bring together his friends--youths of different religions in Bohol-- to share the spirit of the URI PPP there. In 2007, the TULAY ("bridge") CC came to be!

He stood out in the crowd, a stunning dusky figure in white traditional Balinese finery trimmed with gold. The Balinese headgear, destar, wrapped around his head accentuated the air of royalty about him, and his startling white smile was a picture perfect "Bali high" moment for URI pilgrims arriving Denpasar for the 1^st URI Asia Regional Assembly in December 2001. Agus Indra Udayana, worthy kin and successor of the late Ibu Gedong Bagus Oka (whose legacy of URI leadership in Southeast Asia continues to inspire us), has been a moving force in the awe-inspiring Bali gathering.

Earlier in 2001, the Gandhi Puri Ashram CC was established in Denpasar by Ibu Oka with Indra as its Chairman. When Ibu Oka passed away in November 2002, Indra took on the responsibilities of running the ashram and engaged fully in promoting interfaith dialogue activities and organizing prayer gatherings. Soon, Indra was inspired to create another CC in Denpasar, the Ahimsa Satya Karuna CC. He then became a Trustee At-Large during the first Global Council.

Indra is a veritable "mover" in the region. He is highly connected politically and his influence in the inter-religious sphere has enabled him to contribute immensely to the endeavors for peace in Bali.

He is a leader among men and a healer of women. Dr. Amir farid bin dato isahak is a gracious Malaysian Muslim whose presence in URI SEAP is a source of inspiration, hope, and encouragement to this fledgling team of URI "movers" in these parts of the world. His talents are multifaceted, and his leadership in various fields of endeavor makes him a valuable asset to the URI. Not only a well-known and respected figure among leaders of all religions and leaders of government in Malaysia (he serves as Adviser to several Islamic organizations), Dr. Amir is also a senior medical consultant with over 25 years of practice. Although trained in Modern Medicine (practicing Obstetrics/Gynecology,Anti-Aging and Aesthetic Medicine), he is a firm believer and practitioner of Holistic Health, Alternative/Complementary Therapies, Integrative and Preventive Medicine, Nutritional and Spiritual Healing.

It was in 2005 when he was unanimously elected as a URI Global Trustee for 2005-08. In March 2007, he led the Interfaith Spiritual Fellowship (INSaF) CC--with the support of the Pure Life Society and the Malaysian Interfaith Network CC—in organizing the successful regional meeting in Kuala Lumpur where a huge gathering of religious leaders of Malaysia attended the interfaith forum that concluded the historic event. Today, Dr. Amir continues to serve the region as a leader with a healing heart. With him as continuing GC Trustee until 2012, may our passion for URI remain forever young!

She brims with vivacious energy and it is not easy to miss her in a crowd. SR. Sandra Gonzales Clemente, a Catholic nun of the Religious of the Sacred Heart of Jesus Congregation (RSCJ), thrives in the hustle and bustle of her busy life as “formator” of hundreds of students of the University of Cebu. As the university’s Director of Community Extension Service and Development and National Service-Civic Welfare Training program, she has about 100 student volunteers and about 4000 students under her care every semester!

Sr. Sandra’s energy is constantly fueled by her engagement with young adults on a daily basis as she moves about the corridors and hallways of the university; and this energy she has a lot of to spare for her other passions—caring for the environment, and promoting interfaith awareness among the predominantly conservative Catholic populace of Cebu.

In 2002, Sr. Sandra and the Kalinaw (“Peace”) CC came to be and grew in vitality through the years. During the SEAP regional meeting in Manila in 2005, Sr. Sandra was elected as URI Trustee of the region. Her membership in different NGOs and her budding partnership with government in some of the university’s projects are giving her enough opportunities to promote URI in her part of the country. This includes leading the city in organizing and launching its first ever interfaith council earlier this year last June.

DR. RATNAM ALAGIAH was like a beam of light that suddenly appeared at the horizon from that place "down under" signaling the presence of life force in what was once a distant and unexplored territory in the URI SEAP region. Hearing so much about the URI from his brother, Sabapathy Alagiah (an active URI leader in Mozambique), he was inspired by him to join URI. Being a member of the faculty of Griffiths University-- specializing in teaching Theoretical and International Accounting-- he was able to inspire youths to become members of the Unity Peace and Multiculturalism CC in Gold Coast of Queensland where he initiated interfaith celebrations on the International Day of Peace with the multi-faith devotional group on the campus. He also encouraged his nephew, Nemat Sabapathy, to participate in the URI and soon the Peace Justice Harmony CC was created in Sydney.

As a Baha’i, Dr. Ratnam’s passion for interfaith dialogue and collaboration is fueled and was further ignited as he was elected as a URI Global Trustee in 2005. He recently moved from Queensland to Adelaide. He is now connected with the University of South Australia and there he plans to start another CC!

He is often mistaken for an American Indian, but when Musa Mohamad Sanguila plays the guitar and sings, Filipinos take pride in claiming him as their own. He is a remarkable Muslim whose long hair and colorful ethnic-inspired shirts accentuate his passion for building peace among his people in conflict ridden Mindanao.

Musa’s passion to serve his people is well recognized. He is a member of the Council of the National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC); Member of the Board and Vice-Chairperson of the Consortium of Bangsamoro Civil Society Organizations (CBCSO) and a member of the Local Monitoring Team (LMT) representing the Civil Society in the Monitoring Body for the ceasefire agreement between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

In 2001 Musa helped to found PAKIGDAIT, Inc. ("reaching out in the way of peace") which brings together Christian and Muslim leaders from five religious denominations, all of whom are united in their desire for peace. Under his leadership, Pakigdait became a URI CC in 2006. For Musa peacebuilding is a career and a way of life. Currently, he is an upcoming GC Trustee from our region.

PILGRIMS OF PEACE gathered for the URI GLOBAL ASSEMBLY in MAYAPUR, INDIA

With the theme 'Pilgrims of Peace: Many Paths, One Purpose' the assembly bore witness to members of Cooperation Circles from around the world meeting face to face, sharing with and learning from one another's successes in their respective interfaith grassroots work, and strengthening alliances within the URI network, as well as forging friendships with new contacts, to further worldwide interfaith cooperation and peacebuilding.

A perfect setting for such an event was the holy land of Sridham Mayapur --renowned spiritual center of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON). Along with the support of the Bhaktivedanta Institute in Kolkata, ISKCON played host to the global delegates with exceptional hospitality and warm accommodation.

The leaders and representatives of Cooperation Circles from the Southeast Asia & the Pacific Region who attended were: Dr. Shakuntala Vaswani (URI-SEAP Regional Coordinator - from Manila); Ms. Marites Guingona-Africa (Regional Council Chairperson & The Peacemakers’ Circle CC leader – from Manila); Dr. Amir Farid Isahak (Global Trustee, Interfaith Spiritual Felowship CC leader & Malaysian Interfaith Network CC representative – from Kuala Lumpur); Bro. Musa Sanguila (Global Trustee & Pakigdait CC leader – from Mindanao); Sr. Sandra Clemente, RSCJ (Kalinaw CC leader – from Cebu); Sis. Jessiee Kaur-Singh (Center of Melbourne Multifaith & Others Network CC leader – from Melbourne); Ms. Cora Ponteres (Bohol Goodwill Volunteers CC representative – from Bohol); and Ms. Padmini Solomon (leader of the up and coming Nur Damai CC).

Also part of the SEAP delegation who arrived a week earlier (November 25^th – 29^th, 2008) in Mayapur to attend the URI Young Leaders Program (YLP) were: Mr. Sam An Ros (Interfaith Youths of Cambodia CC leader – from Svey Rieng); Ms. Elyse Rider (COMMON CC youth member – from Melbourne); Mr. Orlan de Guzman, Jr. (URI-SEAP Regional Information & Communications Officer, Peacemakers’ Circle CC youth member, & Youth for Unity/Y4U member – from Manila); Mr. Ramesh Balgos (YLP logo design contest winner – from Manila); Ms. Sharon Vaswani (Y4U representative – from Manila); Mr. Agus Indra Udayana (Ashram Gandhi Puri CC leader – from Bali); Mr. Gede Suwantana (Ahimsa Satya Karuna CC representative – from Bali); Mr. Ketut Suwidiarta (Ashram Gandhi Puri CC youth member – from Bali); and Mr. Sidon Sok (Youth Council of Cambodia - soon to be a CC from Phnom Penh). (See related article on the Young Leaders Program here)

Aimed as “a vibrant gathering where people can deepen their experience of living into the URI Preamble, Purpose and Principles, address visions of collective actions, and celebrate the totality of URI”, the GA08 provided a rich program which consisted of an array of sacred practices, ceremonies across traditions, capacity-building workshops, thematic plenary sessions and community-building interactions, knowledge cafes & exhibit booths, local tours and community outreach, as well as affinity dialogues, global council and regional meetings.

Some of the highlights of the event was a beautiful and solemn ritual opening at the banks of the sacred Ganges River and solidarity procession around the pilgrimage campus. This was then followed by a ceremony for URI’s Celestial CC to honour and remember the respected URI leaders who have passed on—including ISKCON’s very own Dr. T. D. Singh who was the visionary behind the whole Mayapur assembly.

Colorful and spectacular performances were offered throughout the week as the delegates were treated to music, songs, dances, story-telling and poetry not only from the local Indian traditions but also from all over the world as talents and creative presentations were shared with one another through cultural showcase sessions.

The outgoing Global Trustees (2005-2008) were honoured while the new Global Council (GC) was inaugurated. From the SEAP region, Ms. Marites Africa, Dr. Amir Isahak and Mr. Musa Sanguila stood before the global assembly along with the other incoming Global Trustees and took oath as they declared their commitment for their term of service from 2008 to 2012. The officers of the new GC were also elected and inducted. Among them is SEAP’s very own Trustee, Ms. Marites Africa, who was elected as Co-Vice Chairperson. (Congratulations, Marites!)

The GA08 also featured the formal presentation of the Moral Imagination (MI) Peacebuilding Training Program to the URI community. The URI MI learning team and MI representative trainees from India, Philippines, Uganda, and Ethiopia shared about their work not just through speeches but also with songs and creative drama. Throughout the week they have also conducted seminar workshops on engaging the Moral Imagination for grassroots peacebuilding in their respective areas.

The presentation of the Bowes Award to the winners from each region was another highlight in the GA08. Upon receiving the award for the SEAP, Ms. Marites Africa (newly-elected Co-Vice Chairperson of the Global Council) of The Peacemakers’ Circle CC called up to the stage the rest of the delegates from the region-- to emphasize that the winning proposal was a project which is not just for their own CC but for the whole SEAP region (see article on page __).

Indeed another golden mark was etched in the pages of history for URI as its second Global Assembly was a big success in Mayapur. Likewise, golden sparks of inspiration, learnings and wonderful memories of friendship and kinship, old and new-- crossing the boundaries of generations, cultures, and creed-- have been etched in the hearts, minds and souls of around 300 pilgrims of peace of diverse faiths from around the world journeying through many paths but together sharing the same one purpose.

Reflections/Quotes on Mayapur GA08 from SEAP delegates

Padmini Solomon (Nur Damai CC - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia):

I was struck particularly by the voice of the indigenous people who were present and given the spaces to teach us their ancient wisdom. I hope that their voices will grow and that their empowerment will be an ongoing process within the URI.

I met so many unique individuals, especially women. I was very impressed by the work of the young people present and the contributions of these 2 groups to the future of URI is absolutely vital.

It was wonderful to hear that URI is making a commitment to build peace proactively in the years to come. Ways of engaging global policy and decision-makers is the next logical step for URI in its evolution. Teaching “Conflict Transformation Across Cultures” is wonderful! These, for me, are the most significant outcomes of the Mayapur GA.

While quality leadership is essential at all levels, it is obvious that URI lives the dream through the vision, commitment and hard work of the whole worldwide community and not by a few individuals alone. My concern is that as URI grows worldwide, if the Charter is not closely adhered to, it will weaken the community. What drew me and my group to join the URI was the Charter. It is important that each of us makes a personal commitment to uphold the wholesome principles that underlie the idea of URI and that we examine and evaluate ourselves at each step in order to face the challenges ahead.

Sam An Ros (Interfaith Youths of Cambodia CC - Svey Rieng, Cambodia):

“I am very happy to personally meet everyone. I now feel confident in continuing my work and relationship with all of URI. Spending two weeks for YLP and GA08 was very beneficial and happy to me, I got many experiences and I learnt from all of people alot. I hope this experiences will apply for my group for growth. Thanks for your encouragement and support.”

Sidon Sok from Pnohm Pehn, Cambodia (no CC yet):

“I am happy so much to be a part of URI 's work for Peace and I will do my best with you and all URI Activist to achieve URI 's goal.”

Sr. Sandra Clemente, RSCJ (Kalinaw CC - Cebu, Philippines)

“Mayapur is an experience of heaven where you only feel and see beauty, quietness and happy people --each respecting one another, singing and dancing. There was absence of war or violence.

There was perfect weather: cool morning and evening. There was abundance: a lot of food, and no one got hungry everybody are concerned with everybody.

It was NIRVANA. No negative news. Everything seemed to stop for awhile. You have people of different faiths sharing their own traditional rituals, prayers, while where everybody had a place to worship. Everyone was living a very simple lifestyle. No competition.. etc..

That is what Mayapur place was for me...and to add to that the presence of the world religions in one place... I agree with the vision of the founder of iskcon.... one day there will come a place where all the different religions will come and converege an give a glimpse of what the vision of also which is.. that all maybe one... I am privilege to be in that moment of time.. at least i had the experience of the glimpse of heaven..Nirvana...URI is possible and even in a short moment we had experience and taste of it.. URI had come and it will be there whether we like it or not... it is the work of the spirit not ours..let us just be open and allow ourselves to make that happen...whatever we can contribute to make that happen is already our share to the mission...

Cora Ponteres (Bohol Goodwill Volunteers Inc. CC - Bohol, Philippines):

The whole of Mayapur experience was most meaningful to me! The warmth exuded by every participant was very heartwarming and revitalizing!

I was struck by the merging of dynamic and selfless people whom I met during the workshops that I attended; who inspired and opened our minds to do more our share of work for the growth of URI. I was moved by the humility and the nobility of the top URI echelon and how they have patiently listened, encouraged and motivated the youths! I also admired the deep commitment of all other URI Leaders.

It was a rare privilege to be a room-mate of New Delhi's famous woman, Mohini Giri whose generosity in caring for the plight of hundreds of widows and her other countless efforts in lifting up her people's unfortunate predicament have touched my soul!

The inspiration of the Work of URI is something that gives us hope so that the achievement of PEACE which is very elusive in this mundane world will be hastened; by also creating linkages and working hand-in-hand with all other organizations whose aim is also geared towards the same direction.

Learning from each other during the GA was an added blessing that enriched our experience, my sincerest thanks to all our benefactors and all URI people who assisted us and worked hard for the success of this gathering! The warm hospitality of the ISCKON people and our hosts is greatly appreciated and deeply treasured. At the same time, the experience gave us the opportunity to become more aware of how great is the TASK and RESPONSIBILITY that lie before us.

The great spiritual surrounding of ISKCON community was an EXTRA BONUS!

Interfaith Prayer

by Dr. Amir Farid Isahak (Interfaith Spiritual Fellowship CC / Malaysian Interfaith Network CC - KL, Malaysia)

I recently spent nearly two weeks as a vegan, interfaith explorer and peace-pilgrim at the world headquarters of ISKCON (International Society for Krishna Consciousness, more popularly known as the Hare Krishna movement) at Sri Mayapur, West Bengal, India...

... The vegetarian food was always delicious. I had never seen more varieties of fruit and veggie dishes, and enjoyed all of them. Many of us became sluggish in the first few days because we ate too much, trying to savour every dish that was new to us...

... You can imagine how fun and activity-filled it was when 300 of us gathered for the Global Assembly at Mayapur. There were songs, dances and story-telling from the Sufis, Native Americans, indigenous South Americans and others, interspersed with prayers, plays and performances from every region of the world...

... And probably for the first time, the Jewish Sabbath, Christian Mass, and Muslim azan (the call to prayer) and Friday Prayer were held in Mayapur. The prayers of all the other religions were also heard as our programme was full of such prayer occasions. We have proven that the people of all faiths can unite for peace, and have fun together, while keeping true to their respective beliefs... read full article here

CATHARSIS OF THE SOUL: My Experience in Mayapur

By Sharon Danisha M. Vaswani*

Who would have thought that a short stay in a little rural town with a population of just over 9,000 in West Bengal, India would have such a profound effect on me?

During this period, Mayapur Dham became a melting pot of people – both young and not so young- from various faiths and cultures from across the globe. Once, to my left there was a delegate from Ethiopia and to my right, another from Italy and I was chatting with someone from Iran! Although we were from different backgrounds, countries and continents, we were all united in our purpose as Pilgrims of Peace, and Taking the Initiative in seeking ways for a more peaceful and harmonious world.

Each day of our program was filled with learnings and invigorating activities - from the solemnity of the sacred practices in the morning, to the adrenaline rushing activities such as football with a very interfaith team, and mural painting with the local children at a school, as well as the exquisite cultural performances at night! Truly, it was a unique feeling with the elegant and creative initiatives from people of diverse faiths and nationalities at one of the most vibrant places of spirituality in India!

The workshops and the sharings ranged from topics such as peace, sports, the environment, healing, and CC empowerment among a few, which covered a wide range of topics and were food for the soul. One very inspirational workshop I attended was on spiritual leadership or leadership from the self given by someone from Argentina. Despite us all being natives of different countries, speaking different languages; this did not act as a barrier at all. We transcended this difference, and focused on other commonalities that went beyond understanding words, that even got me learning quite a few more phrases in other languages!

Unity is great, but diversity is even better! This was the sentiment as various youth from all the seven different continents of the world came together and taught each other dances from their native places! Even more interesting is that each one taught their fellow dancers the steps and we all took part in performing it in unison! So I was not only performing mudras and traditional Indian steps, but incorporated the stylish beats of the Native American, African and also the tangy Samba in to my routine!

This was accompanied by indigenous music such as the nose flute, and traditional drums! It all ended as we came into a circle, and each one chanted the name of God in his/her own language, which the whole group echoed. This was symbolic of the whole notion of the conference, which was to take the initiative, in leading others towards the path of interpersonal and interfaith dialogue, mediation, and conflict resolution and project management.

It was a very enriching two weeks. I got to forge bonds and create ties with a lot of people. Many of them are very memorable for several reasons ranging from the most obvious to the obscure. For example, there was Yaser from Egypt, who's ever friendly face turned any hint of frown into a grin and brightened one's day, Nagmeh from Iran whose demure movements filled us all with a sense of grace and understanding, my fun loving and ever adventurous roommate Elyse from Australia, with whom I discovered the various streets of Mayapur, in all different modes of transport, from a bus, steamboat engine, to even a human-powered rickshaw (three wheeled cart which seats 2 persons) and the list goes on and on… Out of the unique assortment of memorable people during my trip, trying to choose one of them is rather like trying to select my favorite strand of hair – an impossible feat!

But if I there was one person, however, who had quite an unexpected and significant impact on my life – that would be my dear friend Abrar from Egypt. Despite not even being in one single photograph (as in her Muslim family, she is not allowed to do so), the memories of the times I shared with her echo and reverberate in my heart. Ever thoughtful and caring, she is very simple yet sublime. In the simplicity of her heart, she is the pearl, the precious pearl filled with love and concern for others. I have fond memories of the various shopping escapades we had together around Mayapur and also the time when she took time to help me prepare for my solo dance number. Funny, how we only realized how close we were (spatially speaking, as her room was right next to mine!) on our last few days together, and it is my fervent hope that our friendship blossoms even more despite the miles that separate us in our current homelands.

And so while, history might remember those two weeks, as the time when some people wreaked violence in Mumbai, I will forever remember it as the incredible, amazing, and awe-inspiring time when pilgrims all over the world journeyed to Mayapur in the endeavor of promoting enduring, daily interfaith cooperation, to end religiously motivated violence and to create cultures of peace, justice and healing for the Earth and all living beings…

*Sharon is a Hindu youth from Manila, Philippines. She is a core group coordinator of the Y4U (youth for unity) – the interfaith group of The Peacemakers’ Circle CC. She is also the daughter of URI SEAP Regional Coordinator, Dr. Shakun Vaswani.

This colorful URI Young Leaders Program (YLP) 2008 logo was the winning entry for the logo-design contest conducted by URI. The prize--which was a full scholarship to attend the YLP and the Global Assemby 2008-- was awarded to a young artist from the SEAP region by the name of Mr. Ramesh Balgos of Manila. He is a long-time member of The Peacemakers’ Circle CC family. During the YLP, he led the youth delegates in facilitating the Mural Painting community service project with the local primary school in Mayapur.

CONGRATULATIONS, RAMESH! We are proud of you!

A message from the URI hub: Mayapur GA08 Reflections

a letter from URI Executive Director,
REV. CANON CHARLES P. GIBBS

December 6, 2008

Dear Friends,

Greetings of love and peace from Mayapur.

The Global Assembly that once unimaginably far off is over. The seeds planted here in these two weeks will grow and bear fruit for decades to come. None of the pilgrims who were privileged to pass this time in Mayapur will ever be the same. And neither will URI. We will be challenged, grow and flourish in ways we can't begin to predict because of all the connections that have been made here by URI's pilgrims of peace from many paths with one purpose.

At one point in our closing ceremony, I found myself in a large circle 300+ people of diverse religions, spiritual expressions, and indigenous traditions from throughout the world as we honored the pilgrims from each region by calling them into the center of the circle, where they were graced by a special song sung by a fellow pilgrim from a different region.

I was holding hands with an Iranian Muslim on my left and Israeli Orthodox Jew on my right while a Buddhist monk, who grew up as a Methodist in Toledo, Ohio and now leads a global community of Chinese Buddhists, sang in celebration of the pilgrims of Asia - "She carries me, she carries me; she carries me to the other side." - an invocation of the sacred feminine which has the power to transport and transform us. Let this be a symbol of URI's diverse community and of the surprising connections that have been made here.

Indeed, we all have been transformed. For many of the pilgrims here, this was their first experience of such a beautifully, wildly diverse and loving gathering of URI colleagues.

Inspiration these pilgrims found expression in the big ideas they shared this afternoon with the Global Council, including –

Creating a special Multi-Region whose purpose would be to catalyze a spiritually based culture of the environmental care flowing through every aspect of URI’s work and out into the world – locally, regionally and globally.

Establishing a URI traveling and inclusive Peace University that would be a resource to URI’s global community and to the larger world.

Creating a URI Youth Council, with representatives from each region, to carry out an ambitious agenda to develop youth leadership in URI in service to our world.

We heard visions of URI communications, including our website, in many languages. Of a comprehensive CC capacity building program, including ensuring that every CC is deeply rooted in the Preamble, Purpose and Principles. Of a website that would enhance connections between CCs and create a means for resource sharing.

We heard up visions to enhance URI’s fundraising, locally, regionally and globally; and how a shared commitment to spiritual depth could provide a potent foundation for successful fundraising.

So many visions of the future of a transformed URI that has grown enormously in reach and effectiveness. As I heard them I found myself sensing that these bold visions are not unreachable, and not really even so far off, if we maintain the depth of our commitment and work cooperatively in planning, raising resources, and implementing our plans. The future is not far off.

Toward the end of the afternoon, after the Global Council had listened to the community’s big ideas, and shared some positive reflections about how these ideas would guide their deliberations in the months and years to come, Yoland Trevino announced the newly elected Global Council officers:

Yoland was elected to serve a second term as Chair. Shlomo Alon, from Israel, and Marites Africa, from the Philippines, were elected as Vice-Chairs.

Bishop Swing was elected to serve another term as President.

Rabbi Doug Kahn was elected to serve another term as Treasurer. Anas al Abadi, from Jordan, was elected Assistant Treasurer.

P. K. McCary was elected to serve a second term as Secretary. Pelecinah Josiah Pele, from Nigeria, was elected Assistant Secretary.

I had previously been affirmed to continue serving URI as Executive Director.

Earlier in the day, we heard Puroshottama Swami speak of the power for the ISKCON community of having the URI pilgrims in this place. “Flowers from different parts of the world,” he said, “have blossomed in Mayapur.”

As I spoke with many pilgrims, who were offering thanks for the privilege of this experience, I heard that they were returning home filled with gratitude and inspiration. That they would forever see and be in the world in a new way that came from experiencing the depth of URI’s potential in person.

The seeds from all the flowers that blossomed in Mayapur – seeds of interfaith cooperation to end religiously motivated violence, and to create cultures of peace, justice and healing for the Earth and all living beings – are already being sown and soon will begin to bloom in the farthest reaches of our Earth.

May it be so.

Love,

Charles

Prayer Song for Peace

One should chant the Holy Names of the Lord

In a humble state of mind

Feeling one self to be lower

Than the straw in the street

One should be more tolerant than a tree

Devoid of all sense of false prestige

And ready to offer all respects to others.

In such a state of mind one can chant

The Holy Names of the Lord constantly.

(This is the third prayer from the eight prayers of Lord Chaitanya sung by devotees)

URI Statement on the Crisis in the Middle East

(Approved by the Standing Committee on behalf of the Global Council of
the United Religions Initiative)

As trustees of the Global Council of the United Religions Initiative, we write to urge an immediate and complete ceasefire of violence that is currently happening in the Middle East, and a commitment by all parties, including the international community and the world's religions, to find the will to complete, implement and invest in a comprehensive peace agreement that will allow current and future generations of Palestinians and Israelis to live their lives in peace.

We write as leaders of the URI, a global interfaith organization active in 70 countries, through the work of 400 member Cooperation Circles. URI's purpose is to promote enduring, daily interfaith cooperation, to end religiously motivated violence and to create cultures of peace, justice and healing for the Earth and all living beings. We have many members in the Middle East, including Palestinians, Israelis, Jordanians and Egyptians. The URI has consultative status at the UN through ECOSOC.

As leaders of an interfaith organization dedicated to resolving conflict without resorting to violence, we recognize and laud the heroic work of Palestinians, Israelis and peace advocates all over the world who are dedicated to rising above the violence and working for peace, justice and healing.

We believe that a new day is possible when a comprehensive, just peace will allow current and future generations of Palestinians and Israelis to live their lives in peace.

We call on all involved - Israelis and Palestinians, people of other nations, international bodies, religions, and grassroots groups working heroically for peace - to take the following steps to speed the dawning of that day:

* To stop the violence immediately.

* To supply immediate humanitarian aid to address urgent suffering and long-term aid to rebuild.

* To commit to negotiate, invest in and implement a comprehensive peace agreement that will allow current and future generations of Palestinians and Israelis to live their lives in peace.

* To invest in every means possible to weave a fabric of genuine, mutually honoring community among Palestinians and Israelis at the grassroots level.

* To invest less in armaments and more in social and economic infrastructure.

We commit to do all we are able, beginning with support for URI member Cooperation Circles in Israel and Palestine, and engaging our members around the world to help these steps be fulfilled.

And we commit to pray and meditate that violence will cease, peace prevail and a life of hope be restored to the long-suffering people of this region.

URI Global Youth CC Statement on the current situation in Gaza.

We, the members of the Global Youth Cooperation Circle of the United Religions Initiative, wish to express our concern at the current situation in Gaza. Conflict creates hardship and fear for people on both sides and takes its toll on civilians, both young and old, and the livelihood of communities and economies.

As a youth network we sympathise with our fellows, the young people who are caught up in the crisis, in both Gaza and in the Israeli communities that live in fear of rocket attacks. Young people are the future of any community and we feel that they should not have to live amidst a cycle of violence and hardship. In order for young people to make meaningful and healthy contributions to society, it is imperative that they grow and develop within a space of security and integrity.

We are also concerned about those who are vulnerable in these times, such as the elderly and the sick. They need access to medical resources and clean, safe environments. In times of crisis these people suffer the most because basic facilities are less accessible.

They also need to live without the fear created by constant attacks. This situation is robbing people on both sides of basic human rights that are theirs by international law.

We implore both sides to pursue the path of peace and reconciliation and reduce hostilities so that aid and supplies can reach the people of Gaza to alleviate their suffering and so the Israeli people can live without fear. It is our hope that both sides can cooperate in order to achieve a lasting peace and quality of life for all people. Our goal, as members of a global interfaith community, is to achieve this all over the world.

Interfaith Prayer

URI Statement on the Crisis in the Middle East

URI Global Youth CC Statement on the current situation in Gaza.

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