The UNESCO Chair in Interreligious and Intercultural Relations – Asia Pacific
The UNESCO Chair in Interreligious and Intercultural Relations - Asia Pacific (UCIIR-AP) is an educational, research and policy activity centred in the School of Political and Social Inquiry. Since 1995, UNESCO has established Chairs in Interreligious and Intercultural Relations to conduct research and provide input to UNESCO programs and polices drawn from an understanding of religious and cultural diversity. The UNESCO Chair for the Asia-Pacific was awarded to Monash University in 2004 and was launched by H.E. Abdurrahman Wahid former President of Indonesia.
The Chairholder is Professor Emeritus Gary D Bouma
The Deputy Chairholder is Professor Greg Barton
UCIIR-AP researcher: Ms Anna Halafoff
Associated with this UNESCO Chair are:
New Zealand Associate: Professor Douglas Pratt, U Waikato
UNESCO Post-Doctoral Fellow: Dr Rod Ling
Indonesian Associate: Dr Zainal Abidin Bagir, Gadjah Mada University
Recent Activities:
UCIIR-AP activities in recent years have centred on conducting and reporting research in the area of religious diversity, religious resurgence, religious responses to climate change, interreligious youth networks and countering radicalisation in the Asia-Pacific region. Our research findings have informed local, State and Commonwealth government policy in Australia and other governmental and NGO bodies working for interreligious understanding and harmony in the region and globally.
We have also focussed on establishing academic networks and building bridges between religious communities in Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia and India. Links are also being forged with other UNESCO chairs, regionally and globally, in order to coordinate activities and thereby strengthen their impact.
At Monash University the UCIIR-AP has formed an Interreligious Relations and Studies @ Monash Arts consortium with The Centre for Studies in Religion and Theology, The Centre for Jewish Civilisation, The Centre for Islam in the Modern World and The Monash Asia Institute collaborating on a new Masters in Interreligious Studies and a number of jointly sponsored events.
2009 – Events
Melbourne Parliament of the World’s Religions 2009
Professor Emeritus Gary D Bouma was Chairman of the Board of the Melbourne Parliament of the World’s Religion 2009. The UCIIR-AP Team presented in several sessions including: UNESCO Chair in Interreligious and Intercultural Relations - Asia Pacific: An Interregional Perspective on Interreligious Relations; Interfaith Engagement: Issues, Reflections and Prospects; Does the media have faith?; Addressing the Shadow in Our Own Traditions and Women of Faith Network, Religions for Peace, Australia and New Zealand.
Interreligious Relations in the 21st Century: A Post-Parliament Reflection
This symposium, hosted by the UNESCO Chair in Interreligious and Intercultural Relations, in partnership with the Monash Indigenous Centre, the Centre for Islam and the Modern World, the Australian Centre for Jewish Civilization, the Centre for Studies in Religion & Theology and the Monash Asia Institute, Monash University provided an opportunity for leading scholars in interreligious relations fresh from the Parliament to reflect on its main themes and to identify emerging issues pertaining to interreligious relations and research.
Keynote speakers included: Paul Knitter, Paul Tillich Professor of Theology, World Religions, and Culture at Union Theological Seminary, New York, Gary D Bouma, Emeritus Professor of Sociology and UNESCO Chair in Intercultural and Interreligious Relations – Asia Pacific, Monash University; Katherine Marshall, Senior Fellow at the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs, Patrice Brodeur, Associate Professor and Canada Research Chair on Islam, Pluralism, and Globalization, University of Montreal; Mary Evelyn Tucker and John Grim, co-directors of the Forum on Religion and Ecology, Yale University and Rachel Woodlock, a doctoral candidate in the School of Political and Social Inquiry, Monash University.
A manuscript arising from this symposium will be edited by Gary D. Bouma, Anna Halafoff and Melanie Landau.
Interfaith YouthCore Training @ Monash
In November 2009, the UNESCO Chair in Interreligious and Intercultural Relations – Asia Pacific, in partnership with Inter. Action Multifaith Youth Network, sponsored by the Victorian Multicultural Commission, hosted three days of Interfaith Youth Core (IFYC) training at Monash University.
29 youth leaders and 6 interfaith allies – a term used by IFYC for people who were no longer youth themselves but who were dedicated to supporting the interfaith youth movement – including Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs, Jews, Christians, Muslims and Baha’is participated in the Training.
The success of this initiative was documented by IFYC Trainer Cassie Meyer in the Washington Post
http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/eboo_patel/2009/12/no_one_asked_why.html#more
Recent Major Publications
Bouma, G. and Halafoff, A. (2009). “Multifaith Education and Social Inclusion in Australia”, Journal of Religious Education. 57(3):17-25.
Bouma, G., Ling, R. and Halafoff, A. (in press). “The Impact of Religious Diversity and Revitalization on Inter-religious Education for Citizenship and Human Rights”. In Engebretson, K., de Souza, M., Durka, G. and Gearon, L. (eds.) International Handbook of Inter-religious Education, Vol. 4. New York: Springer.
Bouma, G. D., Ling, R. and Pratt, D. (in press) The States of Religion: Managing Religious Diversity in the Asia-Pacific, New York: Springer.
Halafoff, A. and Wright-Neville, D. (2009). “A Missing Peace? The Role of Religious Actors in Countering Terrorism”, Studies of Conflict and Terrorism. 32(11): 921-932.
Lentini, P., Halafoff, A. & Ogru, E. (2009) Perceptions of Multiculturalism and Security in Victoria: Report to the Department of Premier and Cabinet, State Government of Victoria, Global Terrorism Research Centre, Monash University.