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Indigenous Engaged Projects
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| The United Religions
Initiative (URI) is a growing global community
of individuals, organizations, and associations
working to build cultures of peace and justiceand
healing. Care for the
Earth is central to URI’s vision
and values, which are clearly expressed in its
Charter, the foundation and guide for all URI activities.
Among other stated commitments to diversity, inclusivity,
and nonviolence are the following: “We unite
to heal and protect the Earth” (Preamble); “The
purpose of [URI] is to promote enduring, daily,
interfaith cooperation, to end religiously motivated
violence, and .
. . to create cultures of peace, justice, and healing
for the
Earth and
all
living beings” (Purpose); and “We act
from sound ecological practices to protect and
preserve the Earth for both present and future
generations” (Principles). Members from different
traditions and locations around the world are continuously
creating the URI through their shared vision, partnerships,
and projects. Although its global coordinating
office is located in San Francisco, URI is a decentralized,
non-hierarchical, and inclusive organization with
regional staffing in seven geographic areas (Africa,
Asia, Europe, Latin America, the Caribbean,
the Middle East, North Africa, North America, Southeast
Asia, and the Pacific) and one non-geographic/issues-based
region (multiregional). Self-organizing Cooperation
Circles, which operate locally and are connected
globally,
form
the core
of URI. To qualify as a Cooperation Circle, a group
must have at least seven members from at least
three different religious, spiritual, or indigenous
traditions. Through locally initiated actions,
people from diverse religious and spiritual backgrounds
draw upon their resourcefulness, creativity, and
religious values to deepen their understanding
of other faiths and contribute to positive change
in their communities. Circles take on cooperative
projects of various kinds, some of which focus
specifically on environmental concerns. In India,
for example, Cooperation Circle initiatives include:
tree planting, water and waste management, environmental
programs for youth, and restoration of cremation
grounds. Circles in the United States, such as
Spiritual Alliance for the Earth (SAFE) in the
San Francisco Bay Area and Faith in Place in Chicago,
also focus on environmental issues. In addition
to the Cooperation Circles, which form the heart
of the Initiative, URI is supported by its Peacebuilder
Members and Affiliates: individuals and organizations
that share its values, participate in some of its
global projects, and offer financial support to
the URI. At present,
there are more than 200 Cooperation Circles with
more
than
26,000
members
in fifty
different countries.
Together, they represent over eighty-eight
spiritual traditions and consist
of women, men, elders, youth, and people from
different cultures and nations who share a common
vision
and commitment to the URI Charter. |
| Inter-religious: Indigenous Tradition |
| International |
| 1995–Present |
| The origins of the United Religions
Initiative (URI) date back to an inter-religious
service commemorating the fiftieth anniversary
of the United Nations (UN) in San Francisco held
in 1995.
When first asked to host the event in 1993, Bishop
William Swing of the Episcopal Diocese of California
began to wonder why there was not a daily organization
for a United Religions, just like there was a daily
organization for United Nations. He decided to
launch a worldwide initiative to build an enduring
global
organization
dedicated
to creating
cultures of peace and justice for the world.
URI held the first of five Global Summits in 1996,
the last of which was the URI Charter
Signing in 2000. In 2002, members and friends of
URI attended URI's first Global Assembly in Brazil.
In addition to its global summits, URI has sponsored
numerous
regional
summits
and
gatherings around the world. Since its founding,
more than a million people have participated in
URI events. The Initiative has organized inter-religious
projects in more than sixty countries and generated
a global, inter-religious community of Cooperation
Circles
and supporting members. |
| “The purpose of the United
Religions Initiative is to promote enduring, daily,
interfaith cooperation, to end religiously motivated
violence and to create cultures of peace, justice,
and healing for the Earth and all living beings.” |
The Chaordic Alliance
Council for
the Parliament of the World’s Religions
Habitat
for Humanity
Interfaith Youth Core
International Interfaith Organization
National Youth Violence Prevention Campaign
Social Innovations
in Global Management
United Nations
World Peace
Prayer Society
|
URI's vision for 2010
URI's Cooperation Circles (CC) are currently
a powerful network engaged in daily interfaith
action
for peace, justice, and healing. Cooperation
Circle
members work daily to address issues such as
religiously motivated violence, poverty, hunger,
environmental degradation, HIV/AIDS, human
rights, and religious persecution. To achieve
greater
impact, URI will strengthen its capacity for
cooperation, effective peacebuilding, and interfaith
action. By 2010, we envision a thousand CCs
in 100 countries and a million individuals
committed
to achieving our purpose in their local communities.
Strategic Objective #1
Deliver Programs of Interfaith Peacebuilding
and Action
URI will implement programs of interfaith peacebuilding
and action to counter the forces that divide
rather than unite communities. URI will also
deliver resources to enhance the capacity of
its Cooperation Circles and collaborative partners
for increased success in achieving URI's purpose.
Strategic Objective #2
Strengthen URI's Community of Cooperation Circles
URI will support the sustainable development
if its community of Cooperation Circles while
growing to 1,000 CCs engaged in effective action
for peace, justice, and healing.
Strategic Objective #3
Engage Partners for Collective Global Action
URI will mobilize a community of 1,000,000 URI
supporting members and strengthen and increase
partnerships for collective global action for
peace, justice, and healing.
Strategic Objective #4
Build and Strengthen and Effective Global Organization
URI will become a model of global organizational
effectiveness and efficiency, grounded in its
Preamble, Purpose, and Principles. |
| None Listed |
Swing, William E. The Coming
United Religions @@@@@@
Gibbs, Charles and Sally Mahe. The Birth
of A Global Community: Appreciative Inquiry
in
Action. @@@@@
URI Interfaith Peacebuilding Guide @@@@ |
The
United Religions Initiative
P.O. Box 29242
San Francisco, CA 94129
Ph: 415.561.2300
Fax: 415.561.2313
Email: office@uri.org |
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This site is hosted courtesy of the
Harvard
University Center for the Environment
Copyright © 2004 Forum
on Religion and Ecology.
All rights reserved.
Last Updated:
12/14/05
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