The Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology in collaboration with other universities, Christian, Jewish, and Muslim faith centers, interfaith coalitions and Bay Area social justice organizations, will commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights with an interfaith program of study, dialogue, and action entitled, Faith in Human Rights: Promoting Human Dignity, Working for Justice, Building Peace. The project will run from January 12, 2009 through May 12, 2009 and will include a variety of components that will be offered to the general public, such as: courses of study, lectures, workshops, a film festival, and art exhibits. Each of these will facilitate an examination of human rights theory and practice, the abuses of human rights freedoms in the local community, and an investigation into ways we can become better advocates for human rights.
The Faith and Human Rights project hopes to offer a unique opportunity for communities and institutions of the Bay Area to renew their commitment to the directives outlined in the human rights treaties concerning racial discrimination, treatment of women, concern for victims of torture and other issues related to the UN Millennium goals. The interfaith project will focus on the issues and cases that are raised by our local human rights groups and invited speakers. These cases will be discussed in light of the universal human rights treaties/conventions and declarations. In this way, our conversations and sharing of information will help us put our words into action by developing an action plan to promote and protect human rights for individuals and their communities. It is hoped that this collaboration will foster a new set of relationships that can challenge exclusionary and dominative social practices and not leave the values of compassion and solidarity at the ineffectual level of abstraction.
For more information contact Sr. Marianne Farina, CSC (mfarina@dspt.edu).
Important Dates:
January 26, 2009: Art Exhibit opens at the Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology (2301 Vine Street, Berkeley).
February 5, 2009: Workshop on Religion and Human Rights (Venue TBA).
February 12, 2009: Lecture on Judaism and Human Rights by Brian Walt (Rabbis for Human Rights), hosted by Temple Beth El (1301 Oxford Street, Berkeley).
March 12, 2009: Lecture on Christianity and Human Rights by Jean Porter (University of Notre Dame), hosted by the Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology.
April 30, 2009: Lecture on Islam and Human Rights by Abdulaziz Sachedina (University of Virginia), hosted by the Islamic Cultural Center of Northern California (1433 Madison Street, Oakland).
Dates for the workshops on human rights concerning victims of racism, discrimination, and torture and the Human Rights Film Festival will be published soon.
