Greetings Of Sincere Benevolence And Compassion, Dear Friends.
It is nice to see and talk with many of you during the Parliament. I join with family and friends in forwarding congratulations to all the organisers and attendees on such a successful endeavour.
And whilst we transition back into our regular routines, it seems appropriate for me to share oft repeated messages that are provided to me during the Parliament: Pluralism. Action. We want to see a greater mix of traditions and experiences at the forefront of plenaries and leadership positions. And we want to see a greater translation of these plenaries and leadership positions into tangible actions within our local and global communities during and after the Parliament.
We also recognise that the Parliament is other than a spectator sport, and that we must “be” as well as “see” the change. With that in mind, we humbly recommend that the next Parliament include an “Activists’ Assembly,” where attendees can gather and discuss the Problems, Solutions, and Actions/Strategies facing our global community.
Whilst this assembly can take many forms, we also humbly recommend some guidelines:
1. The assembly is convened in a moderated, “townhall” format, with perhaps 200 10-person roundtables to facilitate breakout discussions.
2. The assembly is convened in 1 day, perhaps with 4 2-hour sessions, before the opening plenary of the Parliament.
3. The Parliament partners with leading activist groups, within a comprehensive set of fields, to cultivate participation and buy-in from a broad spectrum of our global community.
4. The assembly provides a work-product that is shared as a dialogue-builder during the Parliament, and as a cooperative agenda after the Parliament.
5. The assembly is proficiently wired to facilitate the immediate transfer of emerging documents and information, within the physical confines of the assembly and with an extended, international network of participants that are able to connect live to the assembly.
6. The assembly, amidst the expansive numbers and abbreviated duration, utilises Appreciative Inquiry to generate the discussion.
7. The assembly includes a directory of all the individual and organisational participants.
8. The assembly accommodates, as much as possible, the different languages of our global community.
9. The Parliament includes follow-up caucuses during the days following the initial assembly.
We humbly recommend the proceeding, tentative, need-based categories for establishing roundtables and building the dialogue for the assembly:
Air
Water
Food
Shelter
Energy
Health
Education
Work
Mobility
Safety
Language/Communication
Family
Religion
Community
Native Interest
Arts
Culture
We also humbly recommend categories designated by religion, by ethnicity/nationality, as well as the provision of a “general” category and ad-hoc categories.
All of this is a quickly rendered consideration, based upon a modest amount of experience, and provided with the intention of generating further consideration and planning. Further consultation is available upon solicitation.
I thank you for your patience and consideration regarding this matter. I am also attaching 2 documents for your consideration: an address provided at the commencement of our Salt Lake City Parliament, and a response provided at the conclusion of our Salt Lake City Parliament. It is a substantial amount of material and you are welcome to proceed with it as you are so inclined.
May our diligence with the Parliament Of The World’s Religions continue to provide expansive and enduring benefit to our global community, with respect to our ancestors, and for many generations to come.
Love And Peace,
No comments:
Post a Comment