Events for the Heart and Mind – 11 November
In This Edition: Dayspring – November events and 2010 Short Courses; Saint George’s Cathedral Centre for Spirituality; Walk against Warming. Continue reading ‘Events for the Heart and Mind – 11 November’
Inside Detention Centres in Indonesia
A lawyer and human Rights activist has produced a report criticising the treatment of asylum seekers in Australian-funded facilities in Indonesia.
The report, Behind Australian Doors, details the complaints by asylum seekers about being beaten by guards in detention centres, of being forced to live in squalid residential accommodation with unclean water and little access to healthcare, even for women in childbirth.
Asylum seekers can spend years in Indonesia waiting for their asylum claims to be assessed by the UN Refugee agency – and then years more waiting for resettlement in a third country if they are found to be refugees.
ABC Radio National Presenter Peter Mares interviews Jessie Taylor, an Australian lawyer and human rights activist, and Christopher Lowenstein-Lom, the Asia Pacific spokesperson for the International Organization for Migration.
To Listen to the interview, go to the Radio National Website.
Parliament of the World’s Religions
The Parliament of the World’s Religions is the world’s largest global inter-religious event, held once every five years in a different city. The Melbourne Parliament will bring together more than 8,000 people from around the world for an inspirational program of 500 speakers, workshops, panel discussions, artistic performance, and art exhibitions.
Speakers and Performers include His Holiness the Dalai Lama – Tibetan Buddhist Leader; Fr Laurence Freeman OSB – Director of the World Community for Christian Meditation; Professor Joy Murphy Wandin – Senior Aboriginal Woman of the Wurendjeri People; Cartinal George Pell – Archbishop of Sydney; Rabbi David Rosen – Leader of International Jewish Committee on Interreligious Consultation; His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankar – Spiritual Leader of The Art of Living Foundation; Zain Bhikha – Muslim singer-songwriter; Natesan Ramani – flautist and Manjiri Kelkar – Singer; Heather Lee and Dr Kim Cunio – Jewish Vocalist and Ensemble; and more. Continue reading ‘Parliament of the World’s Religions’
Religious Leaders Meet with Penny Wong
A single prophetic stance unified leaders from six different religious traditions when they met with Penny Wong on October 27th. With the negotiations in Copenhagen around the corner, they advocated that Australia adopt courageous, ambitious targets for the sake of the world’s poor and for future generations.
“We share the moral values of justice, compassion and mutual responsibility for humanity and for the life that sustains us on this planet and the planet itself,” said Rabbi Jeffrey Kamins, Chairman of the Council of Progressive Rabbis. “We also share a belief that human contribution to climate change requires urgent and immediate attention.”
Among the “asks” were that Australia should set a target of emissions reductions of 40% from 1990 levels by the year 2020; and contribute in the range of $1-4 billion dollars annually to those affected by climate change in developing countries and who need assistance to adapt. Continue reading ‘Religious Leaders Meet with Penny Wong’
Resettlement Options Critical to Resolving Oceanic Viking Impasse: Refugee Council
Prompt resettlement options for refugees aboard the Oceanic Viking are crucial to finding a humanitarian resolution to the current impasse off Indonesia’s Bintan Island, the Refugee Council of Australia (RCOA) says.
“The Australian Government must act urgently to resolve this crisis humanely,” RCOA president John Gibson said. “This stalemate is achieving nothing and is, in fact, doing serious damage to efforts to find longer-term answers to the needs of refugees in the region.
“If a negotiated settlement cannot be reached in coming days, Australia must bring the Oceanic Viking to Australian territory to allow the processing of asylum claims to begin and to defuse a crisis which has damaged all concerned. Continue reading ‘Resettlement Options Critical to Resolving Oceanic Viking Impasse: Refugee Council’
Planet Prayer
The ecumenical Social Justice Roundtable in Perth, Western Australia invites you to join us in praying for positive outcomes at the upcoming UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen (Cop15).
From December 7-18, 2009, the city of Copenhagen will host the most important climate change-related meeting since the 1997 meeting at which the Kyoto Protocol was adopted.
The Kyoto Protocol expires in 2012, meaning that a new agreement needs to be reached at the Cop15 meeting if it is to come into affect before this happens.
Please join us as we pray that our world’s leaders will make good choices and come to a new agreement which is sufficiently bold enough to address issues of climate change. Continue reading ‘Planet Prayer’
