Tuesday, October 21, 2008
9:00 A.M.
University of Connecticut
Storrs, CT 06269

Conference overview:
Whereas religion has been one of the richest and most local of human activities that has fostered human solidarity beyond provincial grounding, it has also at times, in its exclusivist approach, been used to discriminate against other people. There has, therefore, been an uneasy fit between religious and human rights thinking and approach. Thus today, for example, the so called thesis on the clash of civilization is in fact a coded expression about possible conflicts between different religious traditions.
 
This conference is convened to probe into three related issues. The first is to assess how religion and human rights have symbiotically interacted in human history. The second is to examine why sometimes advocacy of freedom of worship has resulted in the restriction of cultural diversity or diversity of values. And the third is to share and recommend approaches that might lead to dialogue among religions, as well as reciprocal and reinforcing interaction between religion and human rights.

Conference speakers include:

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Founder of the Art of Living Foundation and the International Association for Human Values – the largest volunteer-run humanitarian non-profit organizations in the world.
http://www.srisri.org/

Archbishop Njongonkulu Ndungane
Retired Archbishop of Cape Town, South Africa and President and Founder of African Monitor

MJ Akbar
Journalist, author, editor and public intellectual.

Zahid Bukhari
Director, American Muslim Studies Program (AMSP) at the Prince Alwaleed Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding, Georgetown University.

David Coppola
Associate Executive Director of the Center for Christian-Jewish Understanding (CCJU), Sacred Heart University.

T. Jeremy Gunn
Director of the ACLU's Program on Freedom of Religion and Belief.

Rosalind I. J. Hackett
Distinguished Professor of Religious Studies, University of Tennessee.

Madhu Kishwar
Founder, Manushi Citizen’s Rights Forum and Senior Fellow at the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies in New Delhi, India.

All activities will take place in the Student Union Theatre

9:00 a.m.             
Opening Conference Video

9:05 a.m.
Greetings and Conference Overview by Dr. Amii Omara-Otunnu, UNESCO Chair-holder in Human Rightss

9:15 a.m.
Welcome and Introduction of Archbishop Ndungane by Mr. Dolan Evanovich, Vice President for Enrollment Planning, Management, and Institutional Research

9:20 a.m.
Keynote Address by Archbishop Njongonkulu Ndungane, retired Archbishop of Cape Town, South Africa and President and Founder of African Monitor

9:35 a.m.
Introduction of Dr. Gunn by Dr. Rafael Perez-Escamilla, University of Connecticut Professor of Nutritional Sciences

Keynote Address by Dr. T. Jeremy Gunn, Director of the ACLU's Program on Freedom of Religion and Belief and Senior Fellow for Religion and Human Rights at the Center for the Study of Law and Religion, Emory University School of Law

10:10 a.m.
Introduction of Dr. Coppola by Dr. Fred Turner, Bulkeley High School Teacher

Dr. David Coppola, Associate Executive Director of the Center for Christian-Jewish Understanding (CCJU) of Sacred Heart University in Fairfield.

Introduction of Mr. Akbar by Kara O’Brien, UNESCO Chair Graduate Assistant

Mr. M.J. Akbar, Journalist, author, editor and public intellectual

11:00 a.m.
Break (High School Students Depart)

11:15 a.m.
Q&A Facilitated by Dr. Lynne Healy, University of Connecticut Professor of Social Work

12:00 p.m.
Break

1:30-3:30 p.m.
Academic Session Facilitated by Dr. Bandana Purkayastha, University of Connecticut Professor of Sociology

Dr. Rosalind I. J. Hackett, Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Tennessee and President, International Association for the History of Religions (IAHR) and Founder, the Jazz for Justice Project

Dr. Zahid Bukhari, Director, American Muslim Studies Program (AMSP) at the Prince Alwaleed Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding, Georgetown University

Dr. Madhu Kishwar, Founder, Manushi Citizen’s Rights Forum and Manushi- A Journal About Women and Society, and Senior Fellow at the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies in New Delhi, India

7:00 p.m.
Evening Keynote
Introduction of Sri Sri Ravi Shankar by Dr. Jeremy Teitelbaum, Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

7:05 p.m.
His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Founder of the Art of Living Foundation and the International Association for Human Values
Values, Spirituality and Human Rights

Directions to the University of Connecticut, Storrs:

Travel I-84 east/west to exit 68.  Travel south on Route 195 straight through intersection with Route 32.  At intersection of Route 195 and Route 44 (Mansfield Four Corners) proceed straight approximately 1.5 miles to the Storrs Campus.

North Parking Garage:
From Route 195, turn right onto North Eagleville Road (Congregational Church on right).  At the second light, turn left onto North Hillside Road.  At the first stop sign, turn left.  The entrance to the North Parking Garage will be immediately on your left.

Student Union Theatre:
Upon exiting the North Parking Garage, walk straight up Hillside Road.  The Student Union is the second building on your left.

http://www.uconn.edu/campuses/storrs.php