GPC-3 Opening Plenary: Interfaith Dialogue
Global Peace Conference Opening Plenary
Join us for the opening plenary with religious leaders from different faiths for an interfaith dialogue that spans across time zones! This will be a safe space for attendees to ask questions of each other in facilitated small group sessions while also reflecting on how we might collaborate for peace in a time of climate extremities. Representatives from the Hindu, Christian, Buddhist, Muslim and Jewish faiths will also lead us through short prayers of peace.
Featuring:
Dean Sahu Khan is the Deputy Chair of Religions for Peace Australia and Chair of Canberra Interfaith Forum. For 30 years he worked as a prosecutor with the Department of Public Prosecution’s Office in the ACT. He now continues to work as a lawyer. He holds a master’s degree in Islamic Studies from Charles Stuart University.
Swami Sunishthananda is the Resident Monk at the Vedanta Centre of Melbourne, which is part of a worldwide organisation known as the Ramakrishna Mission.
Anvita Bisaria has supported organizations as an environmental professional to make peace with nature. She has facilitated conversations between people from diverse faith, background, and perspectives toward a shared vision of a healthy planet and communities. Currently, she is involved with Alternatives to Violence, Initiatives of Change, and Together for Humanity.
Venerable Thubten Chokyi is the Resident teacher at Hayagriva Buddhist Centre and Tara Meditation Centre in WA. Chokyi has been a member of the Women’s Interfaith Network since 2006. Since 2010, Chokyi has been the International Director of Liberation Prison Project supporting men and women in prisons worldwide to transform their minds and lives. Chokyi is spiritual adviser to Sakyadhita Australia, representing women in Buddhism, vice-chair of the Australian Sangha Association and Buddhist chaplain for Multifaith Services, Curtin University. Before ordination, Chokyi was Academic Coordinator at Nura Gilli Indigenous Centre, University of NSW and holds a Masters degree in International Social Development.
Bishop Philip Huggins is an Anglican bishop. He understands peace to be both a divine gift and our task as peacebuilders.
Elaine Pratley (Rotary Peace Fellow, 2011 Chulalongkorn University) is a peace mobilizer and broker of partnerships in Melbourne, Australia. She developed her practice in partnerships in the government, corporate and not-for-profit sectors, and is completing a PhD at the University of Melbourne on youth peacebuilding and food. She was the co-chair of the 2021 Global Peace Conference (GPC-2) and Asia-Oceania Regional Lead in 2020 and 2023 (GPC-1 and 3). She has lived in Switzerland, Malaysia, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Australia, Thailand and China and loves working with inter-generational and intercultural teams.
Kate Baudinette has been working as a Salvation Army Officer since 2008. In that time she has had three Melbourne appointments; Richmond Chinese Corps, Reservoir Corps and her current appointment at The Salvation Army Camberwell. She has a double degree in Arts (Asian Studies) and Law. Having grown up in Hong Kong, Kate has always enjoyed learning about different cultures and religions. In recent years Kate has worked cross-culturally to establish mentoring programmes for vulnerable young people, and to provide welcoming spaces for people of all backgrounds to explore spirituality.
Facilitators:
Di Bretherton was the Founding Director of the International Conflict Resolution Centre, in the Department of Behavioural Science, at the University of Melbourne. She was seconded to UNESCO in Paris to work on the UN International Year of a Culture of Peace. She is an Adjunct Research Professor at Batchelor Institute and Convenor of Psychologists for Peace, an Interest Group of the Australian Psychological Society.
Daya Bhagwandas is a Neuro Educator, Speech Pathologist and Audiologist based in Melbourne. Daya served as a Board Director of Initiatives of Change, Australia and is currently part of an international committee organising Healing the Wounds of the Past in July 2023, at the Initiatives of Change Swiss centre.
Tanja Hagedorn is a senior professional with 25 years of experience in health, youth development, community & volunteer engagement in the USA, South Africa, and Australia. She is a skilled facilitator and mediator, committed to building inclusive processes in community settings with a special interest in inter-faith and inter-cultural dialogue. She currently is the Queensland Education Coordinator for Together for Humanity, facilitating diversity education through reflection, interaction and collaboration in schools and community organisations. She is also one of the Directors at Peace and Conflict Institute Australia (PaCSIA). As the director of a spiritual growth program at Riverlife Baptist Church, she developed programs for children and youth, recruited, trained, and supported volunteer teams and advocated for people with additional needs. Prior to moving to Australia with her family in 2007, Tanja practiced as an Occupational Therapist in the USA and South Africa for over 10 years.
Krissta Kirschenheiter is a US Citizen who spent her childhood growing up in Micronesia, first on the island of Pohnpei, Federated States of Micronesia and then on Saipan, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. She earned her bachelor's degree from the University of Hawaii, Manoa and her law degree from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Krissta is currently earning her master’s degree in Peace and Conflict Studies as a Rotary Peace Fellow at the University of Queensland. Krissta intends to explore global solutions to better address climate change, especially in regard to its implications on the people of Oceania.
Ginette Everest is the Executive Officer at the Jewish Christian Muslim Association of Australia (JCMA). JCMA is a not for profit member based organisation that connects people within the three faiths through a range of programs and conferences and provides community education programs including a primary and secondary schools program. Ginette’s previous experience includes working in the venture capital industry as Executive Officer of the Private Capital Council and consultant to startups in business planning and capital raising. Ginette has a broad base of experience in new product and new business development, market research, marketing and brand management.
Susan Ennis has been an ESL teacher all her professional life in Australia and overseas. Her Ph.D and book is on ‘Religion, Spirituality, and the Refugee Experience’. She is Secretary for Religions for Peace (RfP) Australia, represents Australia on RfP Asia Women’s Committee, and serves as an RfP Asia Deputy Secretary-General (Oceania). She is a member of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers).
Kate Baudinette has been working as a Salvation Army Officer since 2008. In that time she has had three Melbourne appointments; Richmond Chinese Corps, Reservoir Corps and her current appointment at The Salvation Army Camberwell. She has a double degree in Arts (Asian Studies) and Law. Having grown up in Hong Kong, Kate has always enjoyed learning about different cultures and religions. In recent years Kate has worked cross-culturally to establish mentoring programmes for vulnerable young people, and to provide welcoming spaces for people of all backgrounds to explore spirituality.
Athili Sapriina completed his Rotary Peace Fellowship at The University of Queensland. His work with indigenous peoples has taken him to Coast Salish territory, Sarawak, Cordillera, Chiang Mai, Kathmandu, New York and does independent work about his homeland in North East India where large swathes of the region is under de facto martial law. He has a firm belief that respect, dialogue and tolerance is the only way forward. This he knows is easier said than done.
Gabe Hau has been a Rotarian for nearly 25 years but has only focused on peace in the last 5 years. His passion is to spread the idea of peace to as many people as he can. Peace is like an infectious laughter: the more it spreads, the easier it is to catch it. We want everyone to find peace and laughter. Gabe is the District 9800 Peacebuilding Committee Chair, an IEP Ambassador and a member of the Rotary Action Group for Peace.
Rabia Raja is co-founder and managing director of Netkitaab, an educational initiative that introduces children of all ages to the concept of peace and conflict resolution through storytelling, identity, and varying perspectives. It uses digital platforms and other innovative methods to empower students to ask questions and look into all sides of stories before reaching a conclusion. The organization designs teaching material, training in person/online, research programs and equips libraries within the schools as “libraries are windows that open up new ideas, new worlds and new possibilities making us reimagine how life could be”.
Phasiree Thanasin, from Chiang Mai, Thailand is the Women Peace Makers in-country director for Thailand and consults for the Pacific Testing Center and Pacific Resources for Education and Learning (PREL) based in Hawai’i, USA. She works with Pacific Island communities in Hawai’i, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Republic of Palau, and the Federated States of Micronesia. A recent Asia Pacific Leadership Fellow at the East-West Center, her focus of expertise is on education and mental health. She is co-author of the recent publication Who’s Listening? Understanding ‘Us’ to know ‘Them.’
Ana Prada Páez is a Colombian activist. She has studied business administration and sociology at the Javeriana University of Bogota, and is also Alumni of the International Training in Dialogue and Mediation at the University of Uppsala, as well as the international course of Sustainable Food Systems offered by the University of Wageningen. She is the founder of 3Colibris media, and she is currently working for the Government Agency of Reincorporation and Standardization, advising former combatants in the development of marketing strategies for productive projects that are part of the economic reincorporation process. She has worked for Caritas Colombiana in relation to the implementation of ‘article one’ of the Peace Accords, and has worked on projects for UNDP, UNFAO, UE, and the Suyusama Foundation.
Pia Demsky comes to us through her Rotary connection where she is a Past President of the Rotary Club of Prahran in Melbourne, Australia. Professionally, Pia's background is in public relations and marketing communications, having studied Communications and Tourism at Monash University. Most recently Pia completed a Post Graduate Certificate in International Relations at Deakin, focusing on humanitarian issues. In the field of marketing communications she has worked on campaigns across consumer lifestyle brands, education, events, travel & tourism, foods & hospitality, finance and property. Pia is a confident communicator and presenter. She is an active member of various local community groups and enjoys bringing organisations together to realise meaningful partnerships. As a member of local Council-led environmental groups, Pia works cross-culturally with consideration of equality, equity and respect for Indigenous people and cultures.
2023 GLOBAL PEACE CONFERENCE (GPC-3): Over 24 hours of peace talks, skills-based workshops and networking
Do you care deeply about your community and looking for ideas to bring about positive change?
Join us on 4 March 2023 for the third 24-hour online Global Peace Conference: an exciting, interactive convergence of thought-provokers, peacebuilders and everyday people building peace in their spheres of influence.
CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE FULL AGENDA
The theme of this year’s conference is “Strengthening Our Peacebuilding Community”. This theme is an extension of our desire to connect our planet with people power, towards a peaceful and just existence for all. This year’s 24-hour conference has programming in four global geographical regions, with plenaries and skill-building sessions, covering all time zones across the globe and enabling anyone, anywhere, to participate.
This volunteer-led initiative of Rotary Peace Fellows and other members of the broader Rotary peace ecosystem is based on the premise that everyone has the power to change the world. We work in civil society, academia, and government. We work in conflict resolution, sustainable development, and business. We are change makers in our community wherever we are based across the globe, and have a passion to transform conflict into growth and potential.
This 24-hour Global Peace Conference is not a typical academic conference or business networking opportunity. Our value is in dialogue and in collaboration, so everyone—YOU included—has a part to play in making our conference meaningful.
The event will feature:
Local peacebuilders from all over the world
Interactive sessions at all time zones
Ample opportunity for training and networking
Join us by registering above! The conference is free of charge thanks to the generosity of volunteers and donors from the Rotary peace community, including Carol Fellows and Tim Bewley. The Rotary Peace Center at Chulalongkorn University also provided technical support to realize this session.
If you would like to make a donation to help keep future conferences free and inclusive, please click here. Thank you for your support!
WHAT ARE THE NEXT STEPS AFTER THE CONFERENCE?
During the inclusive, open planning meetings to prepare for the conference, it was decided to develop a conference declaration setting out positive peace as a unifying concept to unite Rotary Peace Fellows, other peacebuilders, and the Rotary family. The goal is also to articulate a vision for the conference as a vehicle to strengthen the Rotary peace ecosystem and to build relationships with and elevate grassroots peaceubilders. Please provide feedback on the draft conference declaration:
COMMENT ON THE DRAFT HERE
Thank you for your constructive input!