“Globalization: The Challenge to America”
May 31-June 4, 2009
Loyola University, Chicago’s Jesuit university, is delighted to announce that it will host the eighth annual conference of Globalization for the Common Good (GCG) from May 31 - June 4. The event will be a featured part of Loyola University’s 2009 celebration of 100 years as an institution of higher learning. It will feature major addresses by prominent scholars, activists, and interfaith leaders. Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley, Francis Cardinal George, US Senator Richard Durbin, US Representative Jan Schakowsky, Michael J. Garanzini SJ (President, Loyola University), and Howard Cohen (Chancellor, Purdue University, Calumet) will offer their greetings to the participants on Sunday evening and Monday morning. A full schedule is posted on the conference web site.
This major international conference is convened by four organizations: the Center for Ethics, Loyola University Chicago; the Interreligious Engagement Project (IEP21); the Center for Global Studies at Purdue University Calumet; and Globalisation for the Common Good. It is jointly chaired by Dr. William French (Loyola University), Mr. Jim Kenney (IEP21), Dr. Yahya Kamalipour (Purdue University Calumet), and Dr. Kamran Mofid (GCG).
The conference is the eighth in the annual international series, “Globalization for the Common Good – An Interfaith Perspective”, founded by Dr. Kamran Mofid, Coventry, UK. Previous conferences have been held in Oxford (2002), St Petersburg (2003), Dubai (2004), Kericho, Kenya (2005), Honolulu (2006), Istanbul (2007), and Melbourne (2008).
The conference is open to all interested persons. Registration is available online at the conference web site. On-site registration will begin at 1:00 pm, Sunday, May 31.
Conference Themes
The conference will focus primarily on a balanced assessment of the role of the United States in the current dynamic of world affairs, examining the positive and negative dimensions of America’s international policies, views and responsibilities. . It will explore the very real challenges that America must meet if globalization is to be guided toward the common good, both within the US and in the larger world.
Other thematic areas will also be addressed. They include:
- Global Business: Creating the Virtuous Economy
- Global Media: Searching for Balance
- Our Global Commons: Beyond the Public and Private Spheres
- Global Citizenship: Preparing the Next Generation for Life in a Globalized World
- Youth, Globalization, and Our Planetary Future
- Globalization, Civilizational Dialogue, and the Role of the Global Interfaith Movement
- The Global Environment: Climate, Habitat, Water, Energy and All Life
- The Struggle for Social and Economic Justice and Universal Human Rights
The International Interreligious Peace Council
The Peace Council will play a major role at the conference. This extraordinary group has worked since 1995 to bring prominent religious leaders together to be present, listen and learn in conflict around the world. Peace Council trustees have committed to assembling as many of these remarkable leaders as possible in Chicago for the 2009 GCG conference. Peace Council leaders likely to attend include Nobel Peace Laureate Mairead Maguire (Northern Ireland), Don Samuel Ruiz Garcia (Bishop Emeritus, Chiapas), Fr. Gonzalo Ituarte (Provincial, Dominican Order, Mexico), Dr. Chandra Muzaffar (JUST International, Malaysia), Fr. Thomas Keating (Snowmass Abbey), Sr. Joan Chittister (BenetVision), Rev. Marcus Braybrooke (President, World Congress of Faiths, UK), Samdhong Rinpoche (Secretary of State, Tibetan Government in Exile), Dr. Chung Hyung-kyung (Union Theological), Dr. Paul Knitter, Paul Tillich Chair of Theology, Union), and several others. The Peace Council is taking principal responsibility – in cooperation with IEP21, Loyola, and other organizations – for shaping the interfaith dimension of the conference.
For more information, contact Jim Kenney (jim@seachanges.net or 847-867-2746), or Dr. Kamran Mofid (k.mofid@btopenworld.com).
For background information on the initiative and details of previous conferences, visit: http://www.globalisationforthecommongood.info/. To access the online Journal of Globalization for the Common Good, visit http://www.commongoodjournal.com/.