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Peace, Justice and Interfaith Dialogue in
Studies of Religion I & II Conference 2009
Friday 6th of March brought together teachers from all
around NSW to provide them with inspiration, motivation
and knowledge for the Studies of Religion subject. More
specifically, the conference was for teachers of the
HSC courses, Studies of Religion I and II. Its principal
interest was the Studies of Religion II topic, Religion
and Peace.
The focus of that syllabus topic is the distinctive
response of two religious traditions to the issue of
peace. HSC students study the understanding of peace
expressed in sacred texts and principal teachings of
two of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Judaism and
Islam; and the contributions of these two religious
traditions to peace in the context of the individual's
inner peace and the means of achieving world peace.
The conference was the result of an organising committee
coming together on a regular basis over a period of
6 months or so. The organising committee included:
Alice Priest, Teaching Educator, Religious Education
& Learning Services, Parramatta Catholic Education Office
Brian Elliott, Manager, Human Society and Its Environment
Curriculum K12 Directorate, NSW Department of Education
and Training
Helen Clarke, HOD Christian Studies and Social Justice,
Knox Boarding Liaison Officer, Knox Grammar School
John McGrath, Head of Mission Services, Catholic Schools
Office, Diocese of Broken Bay
Rev Jon Noble, Senior Teacher, MLC School, President,
Association for Studies of Religion
Mehmet Ozalp, Chief Executive Officer, Affinity Intercultural
Foundation
Zuleyha Keskin, Education Co-ordinator and Vice President,
Affinity Intercultural Foundation
The all day conference commenced with a panel comprising
of speakers from five faith traditions; Ms Mary Senj
- Aboriginal, Ms Gillian Coote - Buddhist, Rev Jon Noble
- Christian, Prof Raja Jayaraman - Hindu, Rabbi Zalman
Kastel - Jewish, Mrs Zuleyha Keskin - Muslim. The panel
was facilitated by the well known interfaith minister
and author Rev Dr Stephanie Dowrick. Based on the feedback,
the panel was the best part of the conference; listening
to speakers from five faith traditions about peace was
seen to be a unique opportunity.
Nevertheless, the workshops were also greatly appreciated
and discussion in the workshops demonstrated the desire
of these passionate teachers to better understand the
topics being discussed.
All workshops were almost equally popular with a great
array of speakers for each workshop. Session 1 had the
following workshops;
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