In March 1997 the Oxford IIC conference, The Place of Dialogue in Halting and Healing Conflict, brought together activists from Northern Ireland and Bosnia to dialogue about the religious dimensions of those particular situations of conflict and to learn from each other's experiences and those of other conference participants, many also dealing with difficult changes in their own countries.
Cooperating with Others
Following this conference, the IIC began an initiative which came to be known as the
Religion, Community and Conflict series of conferences. We invited representatives
from other engaged organisations to cooperate in facilitating dialogue between people
who might usually find that difficult in situations of conflict in which religious
communities were involved or implicated. A small planning committee was formed from
the IIC, the World Conference of Religions for Peace (UK), Action for Peoples in
Conflict, the Northern Ireland Interfaith Forum and the University of Oxford, a committee
of seven persons who come from five faiths.
In the process of planning the first conference, in Northern Ireland, other organisations become vital parts of the local support, especially the Armagh City and District Council and the Armagh Partnership. In February 1998, the first ever international, interfaith conference in Northern Ireland took place at St Patrick's Trian in Armagh, an event involving Catholics, Protestants and religious minorities (Bahais, ISKON members, Jews, Muslims etc) from Ireland, and activists from Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim, Jewish, Sikh, Bahai, Christian and other religious communities from the UK, Europe, USA, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Israel and Palestine.
A special programme was held for local 16-18 year old students of Sociology, Politics and Religion. Overseas participants were offered a tour of Belfast after the conference to help contextualise what they had heard. Experiences and models of community building were mutually exchanged and the Proceedings of the conference will be published to enable a wider sharing of the perspectives given.
The 1998 Oxford conference also followed a similar theme: Building Community: Living Together, Working Together. Religious activists from the UK, South Africa, and India dialogued together and with participants from the Philippines, USA, UK, Romania, Holland and Germany on the national or communal efforts they are involved with for better integration and harmony in their respective countries.
Future
The next Religion, Community and Conflict conference is presently being planned,
possibly for Germany in 1999, with a focus on interreligious relationships in a wider
European context, including the Balkans and Eastern Europe. New local partners are
being sought so that the programme develops from within and is owned by all involved
in it. Further conferences of this kind may take place in Pakistan and the Middle East
where potential local partners have already been identified.
Although models of community building in situations of conflict have become an integral part of the IIC focus, they are not the only forms of expression. The next IIC Oxford conference, in March 1999, Facing the Past, Freeing the Future, will explore the visions of young people from various faith communities for the future whilst holding those in balance with the needs for reconciliation with religious injustices of the past.
Academic Input
The IIC Annual Autumn Lecture is another aspect of our programme which, each year,
provides an academic dialogue between two or three persons from different faith
traditions. This year, on 22 October at Mansfield College, University of Oxford, Dr
Elizabeth Amoah, University of Ghana, will discuss African Spirituality with Dr James
Cox, Westminster College, Oxford.
Previous lectures have been given by Prof Seyyed Hossein Nasr, Prof Paul Knitter, Dr Xingxong Yao and Dr Mischio Shinozaki. Respondents have included Dr Farid Esack, Dr Ram Prasad and Dr Elizabeth Harris. Topics have included the relationship between religions and ecology, Confucianism, and the Lotus Sutra.
Multi-disciplinary Seminars
Next year, in 1999, the IIC is also introducing the first in an annual multi-disciplinary,
multi-religious seminar series. The first of these will be The Nature of Religious
Fundamentalisms and their relationship with Interfaith Dialogue. Experts from different
faith communities will offer a paper on the topic which will be read in advance of their
meeting and used as the foundation for dialogue and expansion of the theme. Papers
and dialogues will be published on the internet as a useful research aid for others.
Networking
The IIC is committed to cooperation and networking with other organisations. In 1999,
a programme on The Healing of the Nations: Religious Communities Contributing to
Peace and Wholeness, led by the Rev Marcus Braybrooke, an IIC Trustee, will take
place at the Sorrento Centre, near Vancouver, immediately before the IARF Congress
in Vancouver.
In cooperation with the Council for a Parliament of the World Religions, the IIC is helping to enhance the networking between major international and national interfaith organisations for more effective and connected work by all. Many major interfaith events in the future will include space and time for representatives from organisations to meet and share ideas and programmes and plan joint efforts. The Centre will help plan and shape a meeting of representatives from such organisations at the next Parliament in Cape Town in December 1999.
In the UK, the IIC is also working with the Centre for Interfaith Studies and the Centre for Implicit Religion at Middlesex University on a conference in Cambridge in 2000. Trustees and staff of the IIC also try to ensure the Centre is represented in the development of interfaith work and at many interfaith events around the world. Workshops and dialogues involving the IIC will be held at the IARF Congress in Canada and the Parliament of the World Religions in South Africa.
Experiencing Other Traditions
The IIC co-operated with Rissho Kosei-kai by hosting an event in London to celebrate
the 1997 award of the Niwano Peace Prize which was given to the Corymeela
Community. This year, in April, in association with Rissho Kosei-kai who acted as
hosts, the IIC led a small group of interested persons on a Dialogue Tour of Japan.
Meetings took place at many Buddhist and Shinto centres and places of worship from
Tokyo to Osaka, introducing participants to the rich legacy of Japanese spirituality and
practice. A four hour dialogue was held in Kyoto with papers from leaders of many
traditions in Japan, including Christianity.
A second dialogue tour, in association with the Israel Interfaith Association and other supportive individuals and groups, is being planned for Israel, Palestine and Jordan.
Publications
At the 1993 Parliament of the World's Religions, A Declaration Towards a Global Ethic
was launched as the starting place for wider dialogue and debate in the search for a
consensus on ethical issues. The IIC is supporting this ongoing discussion through the
publication of Testing the Global Ethic, edited by Marcus Braybrooke and Peggy
Morgan, both IIC trustees. The contributors, from several faith traditions, were asked
to respond to the question: "Is there enough agreement in the teaching of the religions
for their members to have a common message to the world at the start of the new
millennium?" It is hoped the book will be a valuable resource for teachers, students and
everyone interested in the interaction between faith communities.
Copies of the Proceedings of the Armagh Conference will also be available from the IIC. The Annual Autumn Lectures, occasional lectures, Kyoto dialogue and other relevant papers are published on the IIC website: www.interfaith-center.org.
The Centre also publishes a bi-annual Newsletter with world-wide circulation. Copies of past newsletters can also be found on the IIC website. The newsletter includes conference reports, occasional papers, information about IIC programmes and those of other organisations, and general updates about the Centre.
Day to Day in the Office
In addition to its external programmes, the IIC office is kept busy with visitors from
many parts of the world calling in to see us, meetings of trustees and the Advisory
Committee, dealing with enquiries by mail, fax, e-mail and phone, the maintenance and
development of our internet presence, the administration and development of Friends
of the Centre, publication and distribution of the bi-annual newsletter, design and
production of publicity material, accounts and charity law management, conference
registrations, the search for participants and presenters in our programmes, keeping
in touch with what's happening in the interfaith world, the collection of interfaith and
faith journals from around the world, database management etc, and, most importantly,
remembering Who or What all this is for.
Resources
The IIC has one part-time paid employee, contracted until December, and four part-time
occasional volunteers. A webmaster is retained on a one day a month basis for the next
six months. We operate from a small room in offices shared with the International
Association for Religious Freedom, the World Congress of Faiths, and Rissho
Kosei-kai. The lease runs out in 2000 and is not renewable. We share a photocopier
and fax machine.
Request
The rapid development of IIC's work means we urgently require more resources. The
immediate priority is to maintain what we already have beyond the end of this year. The
next priority is to secure and expand our future. We are enthusiastic and committed but
we need your support.
|
Sandy Martin Coordinator International Interfaith Centre
e-mail: iic@interfaith-center.org |
International Interfaith Centre 2 Market Street Oxford OX1 3EF, UK
Tel: (+44 1865) 202745 |
