G20 interfaith summit at PTC

The College hosted an important summit meeting this week. In preparation for the G20, a group of interfaith scholars and champions met here, at the invitation of our Faculty colleague the Revd Dr Upolu Luma Va'ai. Click here to see Dr Upolu's Facebook summary of the event, It aimed to do the following and you can find out more and discover outcomes at the G20 Interfaith Summit website in due course.

Conference Background

Rationale

Based on the very successful annual G20 Interfaith Summit initiative, a group of universities, faith groups, academic experts, and government officials will convene a Pacific Region pre-conference meeting with the aim to highlight the key role that religion plays in contributing to sustainable development and to achievement of the United Nation’s post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals. This Regional Interfaith Summit will bring together experts on religion and the economy, religion and law and Pacific leaders from various religious and professional backgrounds to explore ways that religious actors and communities can work together to enhance positive relationships and contribute to achievement of sustainable development goals.

Objective

The objective of the G20 Interfaith Summit is to facilitate peace and respect between people of all religious and philosophical traditions while exploring ways to work together to strengthen economic development. This is important because religion plays a  major role in global events today, including issues from medical ethics to cross-border conflicts to macroeconomic trends. However, religion can be misunderstood or even overlooked as a factor on the global stage, and thus, the contributions faith and religion make to social well-being and policies, which impact national and international communities, often go unrecognised.

Expected Outcomes

• Exploration through informed, scholarly discussion of links between religious practice, social cohesion and sustainable development.
• Promotion of research and dialogue on ways that a vibrant religious sector characterized by tolerance and mutual respect contributes to achievement of sustainable development goals.
• Demystification and opening up of communication channels between different faith traditions.
• Sharing ideas, experiences and “best practices” in building peace and respectful relationships. Exploring and affirming common values, virtues and principles among diverse faith and philosophic tradition.
• Production of a consensus statement that includes policy insights and strategies, and lessons learned.

Those of us who weren't actually participants in the Conference were still caught up in the community momentum of it all as our guests were received. Monday's classes were all cancelled. Students and support staff worked tirelessly to deliver the necessary Pacific welcomes and protocols, plus hosting and serving a hugely elaborate welcome feast. Here, Rev Taniela Balenaikorodawa offers chief guest Dr Brian Adams the Fijian tabua - tooth of the sperm whale - the highest token of respect a person can be offered from the Vanua - the people and land of Fiji.

The sacred root of the pepper plant yaqona is also presented in the sevusevu ritual, and then mixed ceremonially into the earthy, traditional drink offered in coconut shell cups. Below, the Methodist Church in Fiji's youth department carry out the traditions with solemnity, respect and precision.

Traditional woven mats are presented too. Here's Salome, our Education by Extension administrator fulfilling the task ascribed  to her. 

And the massively talented PTC Youth Group can be seen here

And so we pray...

Interfaith Prayer: Save us from weak resignation

Eternal God
Save us from weak resignation to violence
Teach us that restraint is the highest expression of power
That thoughtfulness and tenderness are marks of the strong.

Help us to love our enemies
Not by countenancing their sins,
But by remembering our own
And may we never for a moment forget
That they are fed by the same food,
Hurt by the same weapons,
Have children for whom they have the same high hopes as we do.

Grant us the ability
To find joy and strength not in the strident call to arms
To grasp our fellow creatures
In the striving for justice and truth.

~ prepared by a Christian, a Jew and a Muslim, August 1990.  In A Collection of Prayers for Peace, 2005
Posted on the Decade to Overcome Violence website of the World Council of Churches