DI Hosting Middle Eastern Students for 2016 SUSI

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Summer 2016 SUSI students gathering with staff and program associates at Pendle Hill (July 12).

The Dialogue Institute (DI) is hosting another cohort of 20 young adult students from Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon and Turkey, July 9-August 13, 2016, for its 12th Study of the U.S. Institute (SUSI) for Student Leaders on Religious Pluralism. The DI, in partnership with the International Center for Contemporary Education, has hosted more than 220 young people from the Middle East and Southeast Asia since 2010.

The five-week Institute, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State (Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs), introduces students to central elements of U.S. history, society, institutions, and democracy through a focus on American religious freedom. The DI/ICCE program consists of a four-week residential component in Philadelphia—including various religious, historical and cultural site visits—as well as trips to New York City, Washington, D.C. and other parts of the country.

Topics include: religious pluralism, the relationship between religion and state, freedom of religion, separation of powers/checks and balances, one person/one vote, rule of law, the nature of American citizenship, volunteerism in civil society, protection of minority rights (including LGBTQ and disabilities concerns), interfaith dialogue, critical thinking, nonviolent conflict-resolution, civil rights, ethnic diversity, women’s rights and immigration.

Click here to learn more. Or check out the DI Facebook page to see recent pictures from the 2016 Institute.

DI/JES Co-Sponsoring Two International Interfaith Conferences

The Dialogue Institute/Journal of Ecumenical Studies is co-sponsoring two major international, interfaith conferences this spring and summer.

The first, Sacred Texts and Human Contexts: Nature and the Environment in World Religions, is being held May 23-25, 2016, at Nazareth College in Rochester, New York. DI Founder and President Leonard Swidler is scheduled to offer an address on "Mother Earth: Where All Religions Meet in Loving Dialogue” as part of the second day's activities.

The conference will elaborate how world religions have viewed and interpreted their sacred texts throughout their histories with reference to nature and the environment, and how people are reconsidering their religious and spiritual teachings about nature and the environment in light of the increasing threats to the environment. The conference is sponsored by Nazareth College's Hickey Center for Interfaith Studies and Dialogue and the Department of Religious Studies at Hobart and William Smith Colleges, in Geneva, New York.

The second conference, The Dynamics of Religious Pluralism in a Changing World: The Philadelphia, United States and International Contexts, will be held July 10-13, 2016, at St. Joseph's University in Philadelphia. It is the annual conference of the International Council of Christians and Jews (ICCJ), this year organized in cooperation with the ICCJ's member organization, the Council of Centers on Jewish-Christian Relations (CCJR).

This conference will provide people from around the world with manifold insights into the complex and diverse experiences of religious pluralism, freedom and tolerance of Christian, Jewish and Muslim communities in the Philadelphia region, the United States and global contexts.

The deadline for online registration is June 6.

NAAE Announces Student Prize

The North American Academy of Ecumenists (NAAE), affiliated with the Journal of Ecumenical Studies, announces The 2016 Student Prize / The Brother Jeffrey Gros Memorial Fund for current undergraduate and graduate students with an interest in Christian unity.
 
APPLICATION: Describe (2 pages maximum) your academic studies, your involvement in the church and how you envision greater realization of Christian unity, including specific suggestions for unity which churches might employ. Email your text or attached file, in English or in French, to naae.prize@gmail.com no later than June 15, 2016. Applicants will be notified of results by August 1, 2016.
 
PRIZE: The prize is valued at $500 each. The students selected will have their registration fee and accommodations paid entirely by the Academy, and part or all of their travel expenses to participate at the 2016 NAAE conference at Candler School of Theology, Decatur, Georgia, September 23-25, 2016. The theme of this year’s annual conference, is “Commemorating the Reformation: Churches Looking Together Toward 2017 – and Beyond.”
 
ABOUT THE ACADEMY: The NAAE groups together leading scholars and church leaders from colleges, universities and seminaries throughout North America. The Academy meets annually in September.

DI Co-Sponsoring Teach-in on Uprising in Lebanon

Click image to view or download the event flier.

The Dialogue Institute, along with the Temple University Departments of History and Religion, is sponsoring a teach-in at Temple focused on Lebanon's uprising, its socio-political impact and the ensuing rise of grassroots journalism, on March 17, 2-3:30 pm.

The teach-in, part of Temple's ongoing Dissent in America Teach-in series, will feature a panel discussion with Sarah Shmaitilly, a 2010 alumna of the DI's first Study of the U.S. Institute (SUSI) on Religious Pluralism, and Kareem Chehayeb. In April of 2015 Sarah and Kareem co-founded Beirut Syndrome, an independent website that gives different perspectives on social, economic and political issues in Lebanon, as well as arts and culture. Its content ranges from commentary and analytical pieces to feature stories and reviews.

The free event will be held on Temple's main campus in Philadelphia, Anderson Hall, Room 821 (Polett Walk, between 11th & 12th Streets - click here for campus map and directions). All are welcome to participate, though photo ID is required to enter the building. Click here to see the Facebook event.

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PLEASE NOTE: The DI is also hosting a related (and free) event later that afternoon, March 17, 4-5:30 pm, at Temple University—a lecture and discussion with Dr. Ziad Fahed on “Fostering Youth Resilience to Counteract Extremism: Grassroots Experience from Philadelphia to Lebanon.” Click here for details.

DI to Host Lecture on Youth Resistance to Extremism

Dr. Ziad Fahed

The Dialogue Institute is hosting a free* lecture and discussion with Dr. Ziad Fahed, “Fostering Youth Resilience to Counteract Extremism: Grassroots Experience from Philadelphia to Lebanon,” on Thursday, March 17, 4-5:30 pm, at Temple University.

The event will be held on Temple's main campus in Philadelphia, Kiva Auditorium (Ritter Hall Annex, 1301 Cecil B. Moore Avenue - entrance on Cecil B. Moore just west of 13th). Click here for campus map and directions.

RSVP is requested to info@dialogueinstitute.org (please note that photo ID is required to enter the building). Light refreshments will be provided. Click here to see the Facebook event.

Dr. Fahed is Dean of Students and Professor at Notre Dame University-Louaize, Lebanon, and Founder and President of Dialogue for Life and Reconciliation in Beirut, a nonprofit, non-governmental organization promoting interfaith dialogue and building bridges between different communities. He is also a Fulbright scholar alumnus, and in that context participated in a three-week program on religious pluralism hosted and facilitated by the Dialogue Institute in 2008. He is a member of the American Academy of Religion, the International Association of Sociology of Religion, the International Society for the Sociology of Religion and the Justice and Charity Movement, whose main mission is to study the social doctrine of the Church in the Middle East, as well as several NGOs working on sectarianism.

* the event is free but donations (at the door or online) are much appreciated to support the ongoing work of the Dialogue Institute

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PLEASE NOTE: The DI is also co-sponsoring a related (and free) event earlier in the day on March 17, 2-3:30 pm, at Temple University—a teach-in and panel discussion focused on the uprising in Lebanon, its socio-political impact and the rise of grassroots journalism. Click here for details.

DI Co-Sponsoring One-Man Show on Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

The Dialogue Institute is co-sponsoring a special performance of "In Between," a one-man show that portrays the complexities inherent in Israeli-Palestinian identity, on April 9, 2016, 8:15-10:30 pm, at the Ethical Society of Philadelphia (1906 S. Rittenhouse Square).

The show explores writer/actor Ibrahim Miari's grappling with the many—and sometimes contradictory—aspects of his identity as an Arab-Israeli raised by a Muslim father and Jewish mother, as he and his Jewish fiancee prepare to marry. His play recalls his childhood in Acco, memories of his Jewish and Palestinian grandmothers, of war and of the struggle to shape and understand his own multi-faceted identity. Miari uses an astonishingly creative combination of Sufi dance, larger-than-life puppets, humor, pain, anger and deep compassion to tell this story.

The performance will be followed by a discussion with Miari and an analyst member of Philadelphia Association of Jungian Analysts (PAJA)/Philadelphia Jung Institute, which is presenting the event.

Tickets are $25 - click here to purchase. Discounted parking is available for lots at 1845 Walnut Street and 2101 Chestnut Street. Click here to see the event flier. Questions about the event should be directed to PAJA's Director of Public Programs, Sarah Braun.

DI Staff Headed to the Philippines for Asia Interreligious Development Network Gathering

AIDN participants during the initial gathering in Hong Kong, December 2014.

Dialogue Institute Founder and President, Leonard Swidler, and Executive Director, Rebecca Mays, will be in the Philippines, February 29-March 1, 2016, to join the second gathering of the recently formed Asia Interreligious Development Network (AIDN).

In partnership with Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU), and with three-year funding provided by the United Board for Christian Higher Education in Asia, the DI launched AIDN in December of 2014 with an initial meeting in Hong Kong of 13 Asian scholar-activists from eight different countries.

This second gathering will be held at De La Salle University in Manila. AIDN participants from China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand will share progress on their individual pilot projects related to interreligious/interfaith dialogue and engagement, and also meet with other United Board-funded scholar-activists who are doing similar projects in the region. Plans will be made to publish a set of "best practices" for teaching and practicing interfaith engagement in colleges and universities in Asia (to be published in the Journal of Ecumenical Studies).

The overall purpose of the AIDN is three-fold:

          1) To build an effective network of academics and practitioners across Asia (East,            Southeast and South Asia) who work in the area of interreligious dialogue, in order to develop and share best practices in the field;

            2) To develop curricula for interdisciplinary General Education courses and modules, adapted to the needs of each particular country context, through which the values and skills of interreligious engagement can be taught to undergraduate students and others; and

            3) To publish an edited volume presenting network members’ interreligious projects –   challenges overcome, theoretical questions, lessons learned – that will foster wide-scale replication and innovation in the field.

DI Receives Doha International Award for Interfaith Dialogue 2016

The 12th Doha Conference for Interfaith Dialogue in Doha, Qatar.

The Dialogue Institute (DI) has been named one of three organizational winners of the 3rd Doha International Award for Interfaith Dialogue 2016. The award, which came with a $15,000 prize, is presented annually by the Doha International Center for Interfaith Dialogue (DICID) to honor and appreciate prominent, productive and creative individuals and organizations for their work in the field of interreligious/interfaith dialogue.

The winners were officially announced during the opening ceremony of the 12th Doha Conference for Interfaith Dialogue, held February 16–17, 2016 in Doha, Qatar. DI Founder and President Leonard Swidler was on hand to accept the award and share a presentation about the DI and its accomplishments over the past 35-plus years.

"On behalf of the Board of Directors and staff at the Dialogue Institute, we are grateful to DICID for choosing the DI and for honoring its programs and the work of Professor Swidler in this way," said DI Board Chair Majid Alsayegh. "The award will provide the DI with meaningful additional resources to continue its efforts to educate leaders from around the world in the skills of dialogue, critical thinking and global citizenship—skills that are much needed today."

The theme of this year's Doha Award was "Strategies for Protecting Spiritual and Intellectual Freedom and Security in a Society." In that spirit, the DI's application emphasized its Study of the U.S. Institutes (SUSI) for Student Leaders on Religious Pluralism, a core program it's been running since 2010 in cooperation with the U.S. Department of State. Highlights of some of the DI's other programs and activities—including the Asia Interreligious Development Network—can be found in the most recent annual report.

DI Wraps Up Winter 2016 Institute on Religious Pluralism

Click above to see additional pictures!

The Dialogue Institute (DI) concluded its Winter 2016 Institute on Religious Pluralism on February 13, with a final session in Washington, D.C. Twenty students from the Southeast Asia (Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand) returned to their home countries following an intensive five-week program focused on religious pluralism and democracy in the United States—including four weeks in Philadelphia and a nine-day study tour in Arizona and Washington, D.C.

They join a group of more than 200 alumni who have participated in the DI's Institutes on Religious Pluralism for students from the Middle East and Southeast Asia since 2010.

"It is such a privilege to work with these courageous and intelligent young adult leaders," said Rebecca Mays, DI Executive Director and Institute Co-Director. "We look forward to supporting them as they apply what they've learned about dialogue and religious pluralism in their home contexts, and are proud to think that we have encouraged future ambassadors, prime ministers, school teachers, religious leaders and business people to carry respect for diverse religions and some better understanding of the United States."

As part of the program, participants go back to their home countries having developed individual action plans, plans which they commit to implement within the first six months of their return. One student, Rahman "Mimie" Norsyamimie, wasted no time.

Mimie arrived in Philadelphia with talent and an aspiration to promote peaceful interfaith dialogue in Malaysia. She is a founding member of Komuniti Muslim Universal (KMU), a newly established Muslim community group with links to the American organization, Muslims for Progressive Values USA (MPVUSA). KMU advocates for liberal values and tolerance among the Malaysian Muslim community.

Her position as Media Marketer for KMU allows her to advocate for religious tolerance though it also puts her at some risk in her own Muslim community. In just over a week after returning to Malaysia, she helped organize an informal dialogue with a local Christian organization, the Kairos Dialogue Institute. She writes, "The discussion was great. We shared and listened to each other about the similarities, differences and challenges that we have in Malaysia, and I managed to apply Professor Swidler's first nine principles of dialogue. Then at the session's end, we achieved a great thing: to do site visits in each other's places of worship. The tenth principle I learned in the U.S. was to work to understand 'the other' from within and on the ground. Everyone was ready to try."

Interfaith dialogue between Muslims and Christians in Malaysia, organized by Winter 2016 YSEALI alumna, Mimie Raman - just over a week after her return home!

The DI’s Winter Institutes, run in collaboration with the International Center for Contemporary Education (ICCE), are part of the U.S. State Department's Study of the U.S. Institutes for Student Leaders and Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative (YSEALI) Academic Fellowship, which brings exceptional young leaders ages 18-25 to a U.S. university or college campus and includes an academic residency, leadership development training, an educational study tour, community service and collaboration with American peers. The YSEALI Academic Fellowship is President Obama’s signature initiative to strengthen leadership development across ASEAN countries, deepen engagement with young leaders on key regional and global challenges and strengthen people-to-people ties between the United States and Southeast Asia.

The DI/ICCE program introduces students to central elements of U.S. history, society, institutions and democracy through a focus on American religious freedom. It consists of a four-week residential component in Philadelphia, including various religious, historical and cultural site visits, as well as trips to New York City, Washington, D.C. and other parts of the country. Topics include: religious pluralism, the relationship between religion and state, freedom of religion, separation of powers/checks and balances, one person/one vote, rule of law, the nature of American citizenship, volunteerism in civil society, protection of minority rights (including LGBTQ and disabilities concerns), interfaith dialogue, critical thinking, nonviolent conflict-resolution, civil rights, ethnic diversity, women’s rights and immigration.

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A Few YSEALI Highlights:

• Two YSEALI participants from Malaysia, Daniel Mahalingam Owen Devan and Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahaman, took initiative beyond the demands of the program to meet with fellow Malaysian students in the U.S. On January 30, Syed served as a panelist at the National Assembly of Malaysian Students in America TPAA Forum held at Drexel University, "The Malaysian Dilemma: A Blessing or a Curse?" And on February 3, he addressed Temple University students focused on combating youth apathy in Malaysia.
• Interview with two of our YSEALI students (Daniel Mahalingam Owen Devan, from Malaysia, and Maryam Hisham Casimiro, from the Philippines) on The Nick Taliaferro Show, WURD - 900 AM (February 3, 2016)
• Article in the Jewish Exponent (January 27, 2016)

Public Invited to Upcoming DI Events

The Dialogue Institute is inviting the general public to two upcoming events related to its Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative program on religious pluralism, which concludes February 13. Twenty young adult students from Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines and Thailand have been in Philadelphia since January 9 for the five-week program, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State. They will wrap up the residential portion of the program on February 3, and then depart for Arizona and then Washington, D.C. for a concluding study tour before returning to their home countries.

Tuesday, February 2, 5:40-9 pm: Keeping the Dialogue Alive - Dinner and Interfaith Panel Discussion
Daylesford Abbey
20 S. Valley Road - Paoli, PA

The evening begins with dinner, followed by a presentation and discussion at 6:30 pm with DI staff and the 20 YSEALI students. Cost is $25 for both the dinner and program ($15 for presentation only); space is limited for dinner. Click here for details and to purchase tickets.

Wednesday, February 3, 9 am-2 pm: Festival of Country Presentations
Temple University
Tuttleman Learning Center, #300AB
13th & Montgomery - Philadelphia, PA

Students will present research on each of the five participating countries related to the themes of the program - religious freedom and pluralism, democracy, human rights, etc. The presentations will also include brief summaries of YSEALI students' newly developed action plans as they prepare to return to their home countries. Presentations will be approximately 40 minutes for each of the five countries and shared in the following order: Thailand, Myanmar, the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia. The program will conclude with a community lunch at 1 pm (RSVP requested; ID is required to enter the building).

For questions or to RSVP: info@dialogueinstitute.org.