Third International Conference
From the Middle East to Asia Pacific: Arc of Conflict or Dialogue of Cultures and Religions?
Judge Weeramantry meets GCG founder Dr Kamran Mofid.
Delegates at the GCG 2008 Conference.
Trinity College at the University of Melbourne, where GCG 2008 was held.
The La Trobe University Centre for Dialogue was one of the key organisers of the Seventh Annual Globalisation for the Common Good (GCG) conference. Each GCG conference is held at a different city in a different country. The mission is to promote ethical, moral and spiritual values into the areas of economics, commerce, trade and international relations.
The 2008 Melbourne conference brought together experts and practitioners from around the world to answer a vital question:
Will cultural and religious traditions play a positive role in the globalising world, or will they intensify the very clash of civilisations we seek to avoid?
In particular, the conference addressed the far-reaching ramifications of conflict in the Middle East for the cultural and political landscape of the Asia-Pacific. It also provided insights from several disciplinary traditions (in particular religious and cultural studies, international relations, sociology and law).
The timely event was shortly after Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd called for an "Asia Pacific Community" to be created by 2020. In announcing the initiative, Rudd said that Asian region (including Australia) "will [soon] be at the centre for global affairs." He argued that it is vital that nations from Asia, Oceania and the eastern Pacific engage in dialogue to build a "genuine and comprehensive sense of community." This Asia-Pacific Community went to the heart of the conference agenda.
The conference included a special conference session, Showcase Victoria: Multicultural Policy in Action. Under the ideological banner of 'think globally, act locally', the session assessed the activities by Victorian authorities and ethnic community groups to mitigate multicultural tensions and promote community cohesion. It also highlighted the fruits of Victorian multicultural policy to the international dignitaries attending the conference.
Conference participants included:
- Justice Michael Kirby (High Court of Australia);
- Dr Ali Khoshroo (Former Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs, Iran);
- Professor Muddathir Abdel-Rahim (International Institute of Islamic Thought and Civilisation, Malaysia);
- Dr Chandra Muzaffar (International Movement for a Just World, Malaysia);
- Rabbi Melissa Weintraub (Encounter Programme).
Special conference session speakers included:
- Bruce Meagher (Director of Strategy and Communication, SBS);
- B. Hass Dellal (Executive Director, Australian Multicultural Foundation);
- Ashley Dickinson (Commander Operations Coordinator, Victoria Police);
- Supporting institutions
- Globalisation for the Common Good Initiative
- Australian Catholic University
- Asia-Pacific Centre for Interreligious Dialogue
- Muslim Community Cooperative
- Victorian Council of Churches
- Victorian Multicultural Commission
- Trinity College (The University of Melbourne)
- The Ian Potter Foundation
- The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade