AWAKENING THE MORAL IMAGINATION IN INTERFAITH PEACEBUILDING: A URI Public Forum in Manila (March 12, 2007)

On March 12, 2007 The Peacemakers’ Circle CC and the URI SEAsia-Pacific Regional Office hosted a public forum on Awakening the Moral Imagination in Interfaith Peacebuilding. This was held at the Balay Kalinaw (House of Peace) of the University of the Philippines-Diliman Campus. The event was attended by over a hundred people consisting of dignitaries, leaders and representatives of different faith groups, international agencies, government, civil society groups and local organizations, friends and supporters of The Peacemakers’ Circle. The team members from India, Ethiopia, Uganda and the USA arrived in the Philippines and met with the host delegates for the second workshop-seminar that was to be held in Antipolo City from March 8 – 12.

The forum was held after the 5-day peacebuilding training workshop. Early arrivals were treated with video clips that showed the beginnings of URI.

The program formally started with interfaith prayers, then a spirit-filled song number called, “Dream the Light” (composed by Dr. Herm Weaver--on the guitar) by the delegates of the URI peacebuilding teams.

This was followed by a warm welcome by Dr. Shakun Vaswani (URI SEAP Regional Coordinator) and Ms. Marites Guingona-Africa (Executive Director, The Peacemakers’ Circle) who also shared her personal experiences in establishing The Peacemakers’ Circle.
.

Other members of the welcoming panel of speakers were Archbishop Antonio Ledesma (President of the Episcopal Commission on Inter-religious Dialogue of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines), and Director Romulo Halabaso who represented the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP).

Rev. Canon Charles Gibbs (URI Executive Director), Ms. Barbara Hartford (URI Programs Director) and Ms. Sally Mahe (URI Director for Organizational Development) shared their URI experiences and their views on the importance of promoting peace and unity among people of diverse cultures and beliefs. Dr. Herm Weaver and Elizabeth Hoffman of the Organizational Learning Team also spoke of their hopes and aspirations for building a culture of peace through the success of the training program.

Representatives of each country team were also invited to share with the public stories of their work and their views on the benefits of the peacebuilding training workshop in their local contexts.

After the sharing, questions (mostly concerning religious conflict) were asked by some members of the audience. These were responded to with grace and aplomb by the concerned members of the panel. The closing synthesis was given by Dr. Abdulhusin Kashim.

(continued... please click on "older posts" for the rest of the write-up & photos)