Youth PoWR (Parliament of the World’s Religions) has a new project. Inspired by statements by religious leaders from other cities around the world, Youth PoWR undertook the challenge of creating an interfaith charter tailored for Sydney, called The Sydney Statement. To generate content for The Sydney Statement, Youth PoWR gathered together young adults to identify values, principles and actions for building better relations between believers from different religions. This was conducted through a series of consultations with youth across the four compass points of Sydney – Parramatta (West), Pennant Hills (North), Lakemba (South) and Bondi (East).
Jewish Speakers: Gabi Stricker-Phelps and Harrison Rosen
Participants from different religions gathered in groups to respond to the following three questions, as posed by the project facilitator, Michael Elphick:
- What is my experience as a person of faith in Sydney, good and bad?
- What would Sydney be like if it was a place where people of all faiths flourished together?
- What are the concrete steps to get from the present to that future ideal?
At each of the four consultation sessions there was a keynote speaker and creative performance. The speakers were Vito Hui (Buddhist), Kiya Raoufi (Baha’i), Mohammed Islam Bouguettaya (Muslim), Gabi Stricker-Phelps and Harrison Rosen (Jewish). Each spoke on the theme of building bridges between believers from different religions, reflecting on their own experiences and journey to inspire participants at the event. Performers were BAPS Kirtan Mandal Group (Hindu), Cecil Gribble Youth Choir (Christian) and Shaheedi Faujan Gatka Akhara (Sikh). Each performance displayed their respective religious and cultural traditions.
Cecil Gribble Youth Choir
There was a great buzz in the room as young people engaged with each other in sharing their hopes and dreams. They discussed and wrote down ideas and steps for making their vision of interfaith relations a reality. Towards the end of the year, all the written responses from each of the three questions were collated. A select group of participants from Youth PoWR then prioritised the results. This feedback provided the raw material for the content of The Sydney Statement. In 2020, an executive committee will [KC1] [RE2] draft the statement with further consultations with young adults. Once drafted, young adults will then authorise the Statement’s publication, for all of Sydney and beyond to sign up and commit to.
Check out the highlights video of Youth PoWR 2019 on our Facebook page!
