Developing Inter-cultural and Hol(y)stic competencies for success, Training Seminar.

• 17 Aug., 6 PM EST. (18 Aug., at 10.00am NZST; 18 Aug. 12 am CEST): Topic: Developing Inter-cultural and Hol(y)stic competencies for success, Training Seminar. View at Youtube

Seminar MC:  Shahid Akhtar.  Co-chair Canadian Association of Jews and Muslims;  President and CEO of Conciliators Without Borders and author of The 7Cs Compass for Conflict Resolution.

Guest Speaker: 

Mark Berkson, Professor and Chair Department of Religion, Hamline University, St. Paul, MN. Topic:  Comparative Religion and Interfaith Dialogue: Developing Skills for Personal Transformation. Summary: Reflects on the importance of comparative religious studies and interfaith dialogue and suggest ways that they can be done skillfully.  The role of libraries in creating spaces and providing resources for these practices were explored.

Panel Discussions on Lessons Learned/Best Practices

Prayer Space established in the Dunedin City Library by  Bernie Hawke,  Library Manage, Dunedin Public Libraries,  Dunedin, New Zealand. Summary: outline the development of the Prayer and Spiritual Space in the Dunedin City Library explaining the key drivers for developing the facility, the community consultation undertaken and the service model implemented as well as the key outcomes and benefits of the facility

 

Caring for Students Mind, Body and Spirit: The Planning of VCU Libraries Reflection Room, by Kelly Gotschalk,  Director of Development and Major Gifts at VCU Libraries, Summary: a brief profile of VCU and the need for such a space at VCU Libraries. Discusses the process of raising the funds to build it, the design process and next steps. 

Lasallian libraries: prayer and intercultural dialogue, the Lasallian educational mission. by Anna Cascone,  Librarian, Generalate of the Brothers of the Christian Schools, Roma, Italia. Summary: Illustrates the various spaces for sharing and promoting prayer between the library and our communities and schools. The global Lasallian community dedicates space privileged to prayer. Intercultural meeting points, among the various Lasallian communities around the world, are sought through prayer. Prayer is the effective tool that enables collaboration in the field of Lasallian education and in promoting the educational vision and charisma of St. John Baptist de La Salle. The library is converted into a space for personal and interpersonal sharing and growth. The Lasallian Research and Resource Center promotes the diffusion of "One La Salle Prayer," a prayer that joins all people, without barriers or borders, across cultures and religions.  

Religious and Spiritual Spaces in Academic Libraries, by Christina Riehman-Murphy, Open & Affordable Educational Resources Librarian, Penn State Libraries; and Emily Mross, Business Librarian, Penn State Harrisburg. Summary:  Identifies research-based key considerations for space in academic libraries for students’ spiritual needs, describes the basic resources needed to create an inclusive space for students of all faiths, and make suggestions for how to engage in dialogue with students to evaluate library’s resources in the context of their spiritual needs.

 

One Shot-Instruction Workshop: Five Laws of Peace & Tolerance for civic engagement (Implication for digital literacy with examples for breaking stereotypes for sensitivity and care). facilitated by Dr. Mohamed Taher. Note: Five Laws discussed here are: 

1. Information is for use even for self-development for peaceful co-existence  

2. Every citizen his/her information for engagement in building bridges. 

3. Every information its users in empowering the unreached for the public good. 

4. Save the time of the citizen even in disruptive times. 

5. Information resource is a growing organism also for peace and tolerance that makes one’s life in harmony with all existence.

[sources: Ghosh (2018); Ranganathan. (1931); Ranganathan, S. R. (1956); Taher (2021).]