United in Diversity: Preservation of Cultural and Religious Sites
United in Diversity: Preservation of Cultural and Religious Sites
This webinar is hosted in partnership with World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM) and UNESCO
Living together in peace is all about accepting differences and having the ability to listen to, recognize, respect and appreciate others, as well as living in a peaceful and united way.
Ahead of the International Day of Living together in Peace, in partnership with UNESCO and WOSM, KAICIID will host a webinar addressing the preservation of the religious and cultural sites. Raising awarness and preserving religious and cultural sites significantly contribute to building solidarity and social cohesion, in particular where a community is involved in its restoration and protection.
The International Day of Living together in Peace encourages reconciliation towards peacebuidling, including working with different communities, faith leaders and other relevant actors, through reconciliatory measures and acts of service and by encouraging forgiveness and compassion among individuals. There is the need to go beyond seeing heritage sites as belonging to one faith or belief, being mindful of a balance between the right of private property, cultural heritage and religious autonomy.
The United Nations Plan of Action to Safeguard Religious Sites provides concrete recommendations to support Member States in their efforts to ensure that religious sites are safe, that worshipers can observe their rituals in peace, and that the values of compassion and tolerance are fostered globally.
The aim of this webinar is to bring together faith and community leaders to share their ideas, visions, and concerns, providing insights from their practice, experience and scholarly perspectives on the preservation of cultural and religious sites. Every individual must be allowed to observe and practice their faith in peace. Religious sites and every place of worship should be a safe haven. Speakers shall address the responsibility of communities to address the protection of their religious and sacred sites as religion plays a fair role in cultural heritage and the historical experience.
SPEAKERS
PROF. PAUL MORRIS
Professor at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand, UNESCO Chair in Interreligious Understanding and Relations in New Zealand and the Pacifics
Prof. Paul Morris is Emeritus Professor of Religious Studies at Victoria University of Wellington where he holds the UNESCO Chair in Interreligious Understanding and Relations in New Zealand and the Pacific. He taught at Lancaster University before returning to New Zealand and has held visiting appointments at universities in Australia, USA, France and the UK. Professor Morris is a New Zealand Literature Mon-tana prize winner and received the 2007 International Council of Christians and Jews Gold Medal for Peace through Dialogue (Heppenheim, Germany). His publications also include books and articles on religion in the Pacific, religion and law, theology, citizenship and religion, religion in New Zealand, and religion and poetry.
RABBI IONI SHALOM
Latin American world Jewish Congress
Rabbi Ioni leads the Bet Hilel community, a central Jewish community in the heart of Palermo, Buenos Aires. Rabbi Ioni has served in several communities and schools since 2002 and he also has been teaching Torah, Liturgy, Exegesis and Jewish Law at the Latin American Rabbinical Seminar, Marshall T. Meyer in Argentina. Rabbi Ioni works in interfaith dialogue for the Latin American Jewish Congress since 2008 and for the World Jewish Congress since 2014 representing Latin America and as a lecturer for interfaith issues and government actions.
Rabbi Ioni’s initiative on the Kristallnacht, (The name Kristallnacht ("Crystal Night") comes from the shards of broken glass that littered the streets after the windows of Jewish-owned stores, buildings and synagogues were smashed on 9-10 November 1938), his initiative aimed to commemorate Kristallnacht and to raise awareness on prevention of similar atrocities.
LERTCHANTA ALLY SEELUANGSAWAT
Scouts of the World Award (SWA) Coordinator for Thailand Kaengkrachan Riverside Scout Camp
Fatima Madaki has more than 12 years of experience in a multi-organizational context, with partners, stakeholders and clients in the area of youth, education, gender, leadership, economic empowerment, peacebuilding, conflict management and research. She currently works with Search for Common Ground Nigeria as a senior project coordinator, implementing and managing peacebuilding programs in the Northeast region of Nigeria focusing on human rights. She previously managed the project, ‘Building Consensus on the Protection of Holy Sites,’ an interfaith peacebuilding project promoting the protection of holy sites from destruction and desecration in northern Nigeria. Fatima is the founder of the Education & Sustainable Livelihood Youth Initiative (ESLYI), a not-for-profit organization that promotes youth engagement in peacebuilding, education, and enterprise development. Her interests are in supporting women-led peace initiatives to promote religious tolerance, inclusion and social cohesion through dialogue, field visits, conferences and seminars. She holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology, a certificate in civic leadership from Rutgers University, New Jersey, and is a Fellow of the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) Generation Change Program. She believes that building a network of empowered citizens would transform systems and societies through leadership and enterprise with an emphasis on developing capacity in strategic analysis, planning, program development, implementation and management for early stage leaders, social enterprises and those looking to grow.
CHETHAN MOGRAL
Protection of Cultural Traditions: Barathyanatyam Dance
MODERATOR(S)
NOUR ELHOUDA MAHMOUDI
WOSM Global Youth Representative
Nour serves as one of the youngest executive board members in the history of the Algerian Muslim Scouts, she is a WOSM global youth representative and is co-leading the Human Rights advocacy area and advocating for better human rights education for young people. A Scout since the age of eight, she is now proud to be part of the planning team of the 14th World Scout Youth Forum, which is World Scouting’s flagship youth decision making forum. Nour is 25 and holds a Master’s degree in Landscape Architecture from the National Institute of Urbanism and Architecture in Batna, Algeria.
