Universal
Forums of Culture -- Barcelona 2004:
"The first world event will be held in Barcelona May 9th through September 26th,
2004 with expected attendance of five million people to the forty-four symposium
and conferences and the hundreds of entertainment and cultural events being held.
Through television broadcasts throughout the world as well as web casts and ongoing
interactive web sites at least 500 million people will participate at some level
in this unprecedented world event to bring attention to the most pressing issues
of the Twenty First century. The Universal Forum of Cultures will be held very two
years, with many countries already bidding for the 2006 and 2008 Forums. UNESCO
is the holder of the mark and the lead organization in the development of the ongoing
Forums."
Our Mission:
"...to raise the awareness of and to promote and create action to support the highest common good, and the
interconnectedness of all. Us Foundation serves as a network and consultant for people, organizations and businesses that are aligned with this mission, so they can unite their energies to further the transformation to a mutually responsible and cooperative global society. Our focus is on the rebalancing of our values, to encourage the integration of head, heart and spirit in all our interactions."
Parliament of World Religions
2004 Parliament of the World's Religions:
"Through a variety of partnerships between the religious and spiritual communities of Barcelona, a growing network of partnering cities, the UNESCO Centre of Catalonia, the Universal Forum of Cultures, and the Council for a Parliament of the World's Religions, we will create an experience that will model various pathways to peace:"
- personal transformation;
- harmony in the midst of
diversity
- the conditions for
community
- commitment to [vision of] a better world
"With great hope we will seek to play our part in the pursuit of peace, by making this event a source of inspiration for all who join with us and a catalyst for
transformation in the world."
How we do it:
"CPWR works in partnership with individuals, communities and institutions, that they might embody the
religious and spiritual aspirations that inspire them, and manifest the
ethical values that guide them, in order to... Foster understanding and cooperation between diverse peoples, communities and cultures."
Process of Transformation:
"Interreligious encounter and dialogue between diverse religious and spiritual communities, leading to mutual cooperation and wider engagement with the world, offers a powerful and proven way to make a world of difference. In the process,
communities themselves are transformed, as is the world around them. This is the principal mission of the Council, and it works in this way:
- When we inquire in an open and appreciative way about the beliefs and practices, visions and aspirations of others, tolerance becomes understanding....
- Religious and spiritual communities stand in solidarity with each other in times of crisis....
- A global ethical framework is the basis for commitment and common action across religious and spiritual communities."
How we do it - Principles:
1. "...seek to promote interreligious harmony, rather than unity.
...seeking unity among religions risks the loss of the unique and precious character of each individual religious and spiritual tradition. Interreligious harmony, on the other hand, is an attainable and highly desirable goal....
2. "CPWR's work is based on convergence rather than consensus.
Consensus between religious and spiritual communities on matters of beliefs, practices and engagement with the world cannot be attained. There are, however, significant areas in which key convictions, commitments, aims and purposes of various groupings of communities
converge. The Council has identified several of the most common areas of convergence. They are:
- Respect for religious and spiritual identity
- Awareness and appreciation
of religious and spiritual diversity
- Interreligious dialogue for the purpose of mutual understanding and personal growth
- Collaborative service
- Capacity building through advocacy, community development and public policy
- Conflict resolution between religious and spiritual communities and other types of communities
3. CPWR works according to a methodology of
facilitation. In a facilitation model, individual religious and spiritual communities are not required to join an organization. Instead, facilitation emphasizes relationships and cooperative projects. In this way, each community enjoys the freedom to choose its own partners for
encounter and dialogue.... Nearly every community is cautious about joining an interreligious organization with
'everyone else religious and spiritual' in the world.... Working within this facilitation framework allows CPWR to relate to each religious and spiritual community at its own level of comfort and interest, while promoting the positive and potentially
transformative impact of religion and spirituality on the world."
How we do it - method:
"CPWR's role as a facilitator of interreligious encounter, dialogue and cooperative common action puts it in a unique position to encourage and enable the religious and spiritual communities themselves to address the critical issues in meaningful and powerful ways. CPWR does this by:
- Working to establish respectful and trusting relationships with each religious and spiritual community
- Providing models for encounter, dialogue and cooperation
within and among religious and spiritual communities
- Providing models for, and access to, creative engagement between religion and spirituality and other guiding institutions
- Assisting individual
religious and spiritual communities, and "communities of communities" in
developing their own visions of possible futures....
"CPWR provides ways for religious and spiritual communities themselves to serve as advocates. The CPWR does this by creating a forum for religious and spiritual communities to
- present their views and concerns
- engage in dialogue with other concerned parties
- advocate for their preferred solutions and outcomes
- achieve solidarity with others in understanding and action.
Conference dialogues
Cities: Living Together:
The mission is to halt urban decay and instead create vibrant urban centers that
serve all constituents. Whether you’re a city dweller, a country inhabitant, a city
planner, or an architect, the issues surrounding public space and collective space
affect us all.
Spirituality:Whether
you are spiritual, deeply religious, or seeking to develop a more meaningful belief
system, this is your opportunity to join 10,000 people of faith, spirit and goodwill
to personally promote harmony and peace in this troubled world.
Freedom, Security and Peace:
Learn firsthand from people on the frontlines of the international justice and peace
movements how to restore and protect human rights, civil rights, demand disarmament...."
The Role of Education and Culture in
Development: "...we must provide
numerous forms of learning and cultural stimuli to ensure all people are able to
actively develop and participate in society. What roles and responsibilities should
institutions play—schools, the arts, media, government, commerce, religion—in supporting
the various developmental processes of people as we strive to lead productive, fulfilling
lives? ...These dialogues are designed for… Educators and administrators Professional
trainers and associations Curriculum developers Educational software programmers
Behavioral experts... Ministers of education
Cultural Diversity and the Media:
At no time in human history has the issue of Cultural Diversity and the Media been
so critical. Technology and globalization have placed us at a crucial crossroads.
Media conglomerates are gobbling up print, radio and television enterprises, threatening
local programming and diversity of views. The advent of the Internet has caused
an explosion of worldwide communication, yet there are those who would exploit and
control the Web stifling its great potential for free speech and democracy.
Science, Knowledge and Sustainable
Development: The best minds
in the world will be present in Barcelona to discuss the social, political, cultural
and structural factors that affect people locally, regionally and globally. But
it’s more than just talk and position papers, the Barcelona Forum promises to deliver
substantive recommendations for the long-term betterment of our planet and its people.
Leadership
Board of Advisors:
- Robert Muller, former assistant secretary general of the United Nations, renowned
peace and education activist
- Rodrigo Carazo, former president of
Costa Rica, environmentalist and peace activist
- Alan Cranston,
(1914-2000), former U.S. senator 1969-93, former chair of Gorbachev Foundation USA,
Chair of U.S.-Kyrgyz Business Council, and former peace activist....
- Arun Gandhi, founder of the M.K. Gandhi
Institute of Non-Violence and the grandson of M.K. Gandhi.
- Barbara Bernstein, director of the 1993
World Parliament of Religions and executive director for the Partners for
Global New Thought
- Jodi Taylor, vice president Center for
Creative Leadership, leadership training expert and humanitarian.
[See next 3 links]
Center for Creative Leadership:
The Center for Creative Leadership is a nonprofit, educational institution with
international reach. For more than three decades its mission has been to advance
the understanding, practice and development of leadership for the benefit of society
worldwide. Center staff members conduct research, produce publications, and provide
programs and assessment products to leaders and organizations in all sectors of
society. Headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina, the Center also has locations
in Colorado Springs, Colorado; San Diego, California; Brussels, Belgium and
Singapore,
as well as Network Associates around the world certified to offer selected Center
programs. ....The Center annually serves leaders from more than 1,000 organizations
– both public and private, including two-thirds of the Fortune 500. Each year, approximately
20,000 individuals participate in a Center program and 100,000 professionals complete
a Center assessment.
CCL Clients:
(a small sample:) Prudential Insurance... United States Air Force, United States
Army,
United States Navy, United States Postal Service, Verizon Communications, Inc.... Whirlpool Corporation,
Women in Cable and Telecommunications, Xerox Corporation...
CCL Network Associates:
The Center also licenses programs to following organizations for internal training
only: Canadian Centre for Management Development, Ontario,
- Defense Systems Management College, Ft. Belvoir, Virginia, USA
CCL Publications: Overview:
Improving the practice of leadership involves more than just changing behavior. It also requires changing perspectives. Through our publications, the Center for Creative Leadership aims to advance the current understanding, practice, and development of leadership by disseminating the latest practical insights gained in the course of CCL's research and educational activities.
We primarily publish in two ways:
independently through the CCL Press, which issues guidebooks, fieldbooks, sourcebooks, and reports, and
in alliance with Jossey-Bass, a Wiley Imprint, which issues books and a bimonthly periodical, Leadership in Action.
Jossey-Bass Company Profile:
Mission. We publish books, training
materials, periodicals, and other media for people interested in developing themselves, their communities and the organizations.
Core purpose. Developing healthy and responsible leaders,
communities, and organizations.
Core Values. Passion -
Teamwork - Authenticity.
Small Groups and the Dialectic
Process includes these paragraphs:
Leading Congregational Change (LCC) was written by James H. Furr,
Mike Bonem, and Jim Herrington in 2000. Its publisher, Jossey-Bass, has been
working closely both with the
Peter Drucker
Foundation (now called Leader to Leader)
and the "Christian"
Leadership Network
founded by Bob Buford. The latter serves as an international tool for guiding large churches through the process
of "congregational transformation." Its references to
Rick Warren include these comments:
"We thank Rick Warren... for the opportunity to reach and refine our
understanding of congregational transformation as part of Saddleback
Valley Church's Purpose-Driven Church Conference. We are also grateful
to Bob Buford.... and others at Leadership Network for the many ways in
which they have stimulated and facilitated our work.
"We were deeply influenced by Bill Hybles and
Rick Warren and the successes of their congregations. We also saw many
applications in Peter Senge's The Fifth Discipline (1990) and in
John Kotter's Leading Change (1996)."
[3,
Acknowledgements]
"Pastor Russ
Osterman... had an
opportunity to attend a seminar at Saddleback Community
Church in California. Seeing and experiencing the model of a dynamic
congregation that was truly reaching uncharted people had a deep
impact on Russ, and he returned to Glenwood a changed person. He had
no experience in change leadership and no road map for how to lead
congregational transformation.... [he] began to lead his church to
embrace a new model based on what he had learned."
[3, page 28]