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Enewsletter
from the Geneva Secretariat |
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| Dear laurence, |
Greetings from Geneva! A year has passed since our 30th Congress in Nairobi, and it's just a month to go until we meet in Indonesia. I hope that everyone is ready to join us. Please email your travel plans Budi ( budi@paxromana.int.ch) as soon as possible.
Looking forward to seeing you all very soon!
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Pax Romana Co-sponsors Event on Sri Lanka during the Human Rights Council's 11th Special Session
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 Pax Romana co-sponsored a parallel event on the Human Rights Situation in Sri Lanka on May 26th, 2009, during the United Nations Human Rights Council's 11th Special Session on Sri Lanka. Speakers included Mr. Peter Bouckaert of Human Rights Watch, Mr. Sunanda Deshapriya, a journalist currently being heavily observed by the government for writing critically about the war, and Ms. Ramani Muttetuwegama, a human rights lawyer, representing the Law and Society Trust of Sri Lanka. Mr. Lucas Machon of International Commission of Jurists moderated the discussion. Approximately 60 people attended the event. Amnesty International, Asian Legal Resource Center, Franciscans International, FORUM-ASIA, Human Rights Watch, International Commission of Jurists, Pax Romana, International Movement Against Discrimination and Racism, Minority Rights Group International.
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Pax Romana Co-organizes Theological Forum in Seoul, Korea
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 Pax Romana co-organized a theological forum in preparation for Federation of Asian Bishops Conference (FABC) 2009. The forum focused on the relationship between Eucharist and Community: Beyond All Barriers. This international gathering of 80 participants from 11 countries was organized with the Woori Theological Institute. Michael Amaladoss presented the keynote address: The Eucharist: Anthropological, Theological, Intercultural and Interreligious Perspectives. The workshop also included case studies from Sri Lanka, India, Hong Kong, Taiwan, China, Vietnam, Philippines, and Indonesia. The forum sought to connect the prophetic and social barrier breaking dimensions of the Eucharist and to discover the paschal insights on the Eucharist that can be drawn from Asia's rich cultural and religious context and history. Photos and videos (and the story in Korean) can be viewed at: http://wti.or.kr and http://nahnews.net.
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| Pax Romana Human Rights Summer Internship Concludes |
(To the left: Cristina Maldonado (intern-USA), Rahul Singh (intern-India), Susana Villaran (MIIC-Peru), Egide Rwamatwara (MIIC VP for Africa) and Catherine Njuguna (intern-Kenya)). Not pictured: Jovita Arunalatham and Fr. Rohan Silva (Sri Lanka).
Five interns have completed MIIC's 19th human rights summer internship program. Interns from Kenya, India, Sri Lanka and the U.S.A. joined us at the Geneva Secretariat during the 11th Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council. They attended Council meetings and learned first-hand about UN and regional human rights mechanisms. Here are some live comments from one intern:
"The internship is a unique opportunity to see the Human Rights Council in person, and to meet and learn from other Pax Romana students and professionals. Good human beings working passionately on a variety of areas - human rights in Sri Lanka, civil rights of dalits in India, community development in Kenya, civil rights in Cuba, and promotion of the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights. I am truly thankful for the opportunity to participate."
The next internship is planned for September 2009. Interested candidates must submit their resumes to their Regional Coordinator for nomination.
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Pax Romana and the Upcoming Synod of Bishops for Africa
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Pope Benedict XVI has named three African cardinals as his delegated presidents for the October 2009 special Synod of Bishops for Africa. While the Pope is the president of the Synod, the task of running the daily sessions will be shared by Nigerian Cardinal Francis Arinze, retired prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacrament, Cardinal Theodore-Adrien Sarr of Dakar, Senegal, and South African Cardinal Wilfrid Napier of Durban. The Vatican has also chosen Cardinal Peter Turkson of Cape Coast, Ghana, to be the synod's recording secretary. The special synod will meet October 4 to 25, 2009, at the Vatican, and will focus on The Church in Africa: In Service to Reconciliation, Justice and Peace. See Quicklinks in this newsletter for a link to the working document.
Pax Romana is planning to co-organize, with other international Catholic movements, two initiatives during the Synod. First, a seminar on the main topic of the synod and the role of the Church and Catholic Action movements in responding to the challenges faced by the region. These events will occur in Rome during the last weeks of September. The second event will also take place in Rome, two days before World Food Day (October 16) to express our solidarity with victims of hunger and poverty in Africa in the form of prayer, fasting and cultural expression. More information to come.
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SIIAEC Delegation Attends the ILO 2009 Conference
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A delegation of seven members from the International Secretariat for Catholic Engineers, Agronomists, and Industrial Officials (SIIAEC) and the French movement MCC attended the 98th Annual Conference of the International Labour Organization (ILO), held in Geneva in June 2009. The conference focused on the current global financial crisis. More information on the conference can be found here.
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Pax Romana North America Member to Speak at the United Nations
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Prof. Mark J. Wolff, Vice President for North America of CMICA-MIIC, will be speaking at the United Nations Conference on the "World Financial and Economic Crisis and It's Impact on Development" on The Bretton Woods Institutions: A Critical Appraisal Of their Role in Development And In the Eradication of Poverty After 60 Years.
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Schedule of Events for Indonesia
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July 10-16 Asia Academy for Young Leaders
Theme: Globalization and Challenges to Asia - What Are Our Responses?
(Jakarta, Indonesia)
July 17-20 Exposure Program to Indonesian Realities (Jakarta, Yogyakarta, Flores)
July 20-22 Study Section
Theme: Towards a New Paradigm: Sustainable Human Development:
What Perspectives?
(Sanata Dharma University, Yogyakarta, Indonesia)
23-25 July 95th International Council Meeting
(Sanata Dharma University, Yogyakarta, Indonesia)
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With my best regards
Lawrencia KWARK
Secretary General |
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