Animating the Golden Rule

in the Middle East, Africa, North America

03 November 2009

     In our globalized world, everybody is fast becoming our neighbor.
     To be treated well.
     Forever.

Making history November 12, 2009, the CHARTER FOR COMPASSION -- http://charterforcompassion.org/ -- will be unveiled for humankind.
     The Charter seeks to remind the world we already share the core principles of compassion.
     It is a call to finally and always respond by The Golden Rule -- treat others as you would want to be treated in every situation -- in this 21st century an urgent necessity.
     It is about making the first move, not waiting for "someone else" to go first.
     For example, Rabbi Hillel, an older contemporary of Jesus, was asked to sum up the whole of Jewish teaching while standing on one leg.
     He replied: That which is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbor. That is the whole of the Torah. The rest is commentary.

The Golden Rule is best illustrated at http://www.scarboromissions.ca/Golden_rule/ including in multiple languages, and with teaching tools, beautiful posters, and Canadian film maker Tina Petrova's ( Visionary_Mediainc@yahoo.ca ) how-to, inspirational 23-minute video for teachers - Animating The Golden Rule.
READ more about the 2009 film at http://www.scarboromissions.ca/Golden_rule/animating_gold.php .
VIEW the 5-minute trailer:

Animating The Golden Rule

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ewp4k4-X_E8

     Newly posted are useful Guidelines for Designing a Multifaith Prayer Service -- a lifelong dream and project of Paul McKenna ( interfaith@scarboromissions.ca ) at Scarboro Missions, Toronto,Canada.

http://www.scarboromissions.ca/Interfaith_dialogue/multifaith_prayer_service.php

Exemplars of compassion

     At http://traubman.igc.org/messages.htm reside over 500 messages with several thousand of human success stories of Palestinian-Jewish and interfaith compassion, communication, and cooperation.
     Below are more people and their every-day activities.
     They change lives and re-direct history.
     Emulate them in your city, on your campus.
Animate the Golden Rule where you live and learn.

                        -L&L

~  ~ ~  ~ ~  ~ ~  ~
NORTH AMERICA

     In 2010, CHILDREN AT THE WELL: Youth Interfaith Storytelling in New York State will enter its 5th successful year bringing young people (and their families) of different faiths together by developing and sharing stories from each young persons own tradition.
     They experience the truth that "a story is the shortest distance between people."
     In 2005, the Interfaith Story Circle of the Tri-City Area (Albany, Schenectady and Troy, NY) launched this interfaith, inter-generational community to involve youth in learning the art of storytelling to:

- Deepen their knowledge and understanding of their own faith tradition and that of others

- Get to know people of other faiths

- Participate in the local Interfaith Story Circle meetings and its community events

- Create understanding and peace among all peoples through building human relationships.

HEAR THEM and SEE MORE about this project of the Interfaith Story Circle of the Tri-City Area.

http://interfaithstory.org/children-at-the-well.shtml

AFRICA

October 24-25, 2009, over 200 diverse young women and men converged for the International Conference on Youth and Interfaith Communication at the National Library in Jos, Nigeria.
Building Bridges Through Interfaith Dialogue and Citizen-to-Citizen Collaboration was their theme and outcome.

http://interfaithdialogue.cfsites.org/

     They were sponsored by the New Era Educational and Charitable Support Foundation in collaboration with Fresh and Young Brains Development Initiative and Teachers Without Borders.
Christians, Muslims, African Traditional Religious Practitioners, and Atheists traveled from Nigeria, Pakistan, the United States of America, Cameroon, Ghana and Kenya.
     They explored and strengthen their personal faith and spiritual traditions while collectively moving toward social cohesion, reconciliation of opposites, and building bridges of peace and communion across faith, spiritual, social and cultural borders.
     Global partners and conference supporters included the Jewish-Palestinian Living Room Dialogue in California who flew sets of their how-to, inspirational DVDs to gift to African conference participants.
     For more information, contact Nigerian coordinator Emmanuel Ande Ivorgba ( Eivorgba@gmail.com ).
READ the full conference report.
http://www.needcsi.org/downloads.php
SEE PHOTOS:
http://interfaithdialogue.cfsites.org/custom.php?pageid=33170


MIDDLE EAST

THE PERES CENTER FOR PEACE -- http://www.peres-center.org/ -- nurtures Palestinian-Israeli relations.
     They gather Middle East citizens who model  face-to-face engagement to build sustainable peace through socio-economic cooperation and development, and people-to-people interaction.
Five pillars include:

- People-to-People Dialogue and Interaction

- Capacity-Building through Cooperation

- Nurturing a Culture of Peace in the Region's Youth

- Business and Economic Cooperation

- Humanitarian Responses

     On Facebook is an ongoing, illustrated conversation about their sports activities.
http://en-gb.facebook.com/pages/SPORT-at-the-Peres-Center-for-Peace/81039774272?ref=share
Recent 2009 activities that bring youth and adults together across lines include:


Sports

= =  1  =  =
In celebration of the UN International Day of Peace, the Peres Center in cooperation with the Tel Aviv Cinematheque, organized a unique cultural event for children from the Israeli community of Sderot and the Palestinian community of Hebron.
     The children, who participate in the Sport Departments annual Twinned Peace Sport School program,  gathered fpr a performance New Beginnings -- a powerful theatrical experience created by the Culture, Media and Arts Department.
     The performers -- one Palestinian and one Jewwish Israeli actor -- express a core messages of peace and mutual understanding for the young audience.
     Throughout the performance, Arabic and Hebrew language are used both simultaneously and alternately to create positive associations with 'the other'.
     The event also included a Darbuka drumming session and a screening of the Canadian film 'The Peace Tree'.
READ more at http://www.peres-center.org/SectionProject.asp?cc=01150207
PHOTOS at http://www.peres-center.org/ProjectGallery.asp?cc=01150207 .

= =  2  =  =
The Twinned Peace Sport Schools (TPSS) program opened a new year of activity this Fall, following the summer vacation.
     The program annually engages some 1,600 youth aged 6-13 in sport training sessions of football or basketball, peace education instruction, inter-language learning and joint Palestinian-Israeli sporting and social activities.
     Implemented by the Peres Center together with Palestinian partner, the Al-Quds Association for Democracy and Dialogue, TPSS is active in the Israeli communities of Sderot, Yeruham, Kiryat Gat, Merhavim, Kiryat Malachi, Be'er Tuvya, Sha'ar HaNegev and the Arab-Israeli community of Ein Rafa; and the Palestinian communities of Jericho, Tulkarem, Hebron, Beit Safafa, Abu Tur, Bethlehem, East Jerusalem, Yata, Taibeh (a village next to Ramallah) and Beit Sahour.
SEE the map of activities:
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=102488843239084421113.000472f8aa6bacb650c1e&ll=31.800558,35.024414&spn=1.664289,2.469177&z=9

= =  3  =  =
     The Peres Center sent a mixed Palestinian-Israeli 'Peace Team' to the 2009 Inter Campus World Cup.
     Nineteen teams from across the globe participated in this exciting football competition that also included educational and cultural activities as well as a visit to San Siro Stadium and the chance to meet FC Inter Milano before the game against Napoli.
     Meeting children from such a diverse array of countries was a oncein-a-lifetime experience for members of the Peace Team, who also participate throughout the year in the Twinned Peace Football Schools project.
     The Peres Center is also re-establishing the Inter Campus Twinned Peace Football Schools project in the Palestinian community of Jericho and the Israeli communities of Sderot and Kiryat Gat.
     Supported by the Inter Campus Foundation, this project will target 75 disadvantaged youth and enable them to participate in peace building activities.

Non-sports

= =  4  =  =
Thirty Palestinian business people from the plastics industry in Ramallah and Hebron networked with their Israeli counterparts while visiting the annual Plasto Ispac Exhibition in Tel Aviv to sharing recent developments in the field.
     Their participation was a joint effort of the Peres Center for Peace and PalTrade, and is part of the Business to Business series that brings together Arab and Israeli business people from parallel sectors with a view to discover the market on the "other side" as well as to engage potential business partners -- encouraging business relations, and ultimately strengthening cross-border trade.
     The initiative is generously supported by the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Israel and the Norwegian Representative Office to the Palestinian Authority.

= =  5  =  =
Eleven Israeli and 12 Palestinian photojournalists and documentary photographers attended  FRAMES OF REALITY (FOR), the first meeting in a series of 12 meetings of this new professional workshop.
     FOR engages Israeli and Palestinian photojournalists in an innovative educational program to:
        1. enrich their expertise and skills.
        2. introduce them to the "other side."
        3.  provide new opportunities to fashion joint creative activities.
     The project comprises four main elements:
        1.  a professional workshop
        2. a Web site for social networking
        3.  photo exhibitions
        3.  a book that showcases the results of the workshop.
     The participants are exploring the concept of photographic stories to create throughout the project.
     These personal stories will be assembled into a book and shared group photo exhibition.
     Their first meeting concluded with a special Iftar feast signifying the end of the daily Ramadan fast for the Muslim participants.
     FOR is generously sponsored by ArtAction and Boeing International Corporation Israel.
SEE PHOTOS:
http://www.peres-center.org/SectionProject.asp?cc=01150214
        and
http://www.peres-center.org/asorProject.asp?cc=0115021401
SEE VIDEO about FRAMES OF REALITY:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78KJ-Kn80bo