Global Violence: Crisis and Hope
The IIFWPs Assembly series focuses on The Search for Solutions to Critical Global Problems. Assembly 2000, convened in New York, with sessions at the United Nations, just prior to the Millennium General Assembly, considered the theme of The Renewal of the United Nations and Building a Culture of Peace.
Assembly 2001 was called and designed as a rapid response to the chain of events set off by the tragic acts of violence on September 11, 2001. As such, the Assembly took up the theme, Global Violence: Crisis and Hope. At a time when many were hesitant to travel anywhere, much less to New York City near the rising smoke at Ground Zero, the IIFWP called together more than 400 leaders, from more than 100 nations, to address the root causes and potential solutions to global violence.
This volume of proceedings from Assembly 2001 illustrates the focal concerns addressed at the conference. At the center was the effort to bridge the gap that divides and alienates one from the other, religions, cultures and civilizations. In this light, the Assembly 2001 brought into dialogue diverse representatives of Islam, Christianity and Judaism, in an encounter that was at times charged and challenging, but ultimately both constructive and enlightening.
In addition to the dialogue among religions, Assembly 2001 explored new models of leadership and governance, searching for insights and initiatives that might contribute to more relevant and successful efforts to address our critical global problems. Of particular concern, were models of governance more inclusive of religious and non-governmental perspectives.
In keeping with the IIFWPs emphasis on the importance of the family, and moral education of youth, as the foundation for stable societies and nations, several sessions addressed these topics. While often relegated to a more remote position in fora dealing with global violence, the Assembly underscored the significance of the family as the primary context where our most basic attitudes, worldviews, and political and economic practices are learned.
In addition, the Assembly program included leaders in the field of mass communications, who reflected on the way in which the media is more than an observer and reporter of world events, but surely a key player, ones whose actions are not without significant repercussions. How can this role be carried out honestly, fairly, and responsibly?
The participants in Assembly 2001 were fully engaged in the deliberations, and this is reflected in this volume. The events of September 11, as horrific as they were, provided a background of immediacy and urgency that made this gathering unique and focused. There was no doubt in anyones mind that our world was experiencing a crisis, and that serious reflection, and indeed responsible leadership, was desperately needed.
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