Tuesday, May 15, 2012

SRC Arena & Event Center - Onondaga Community College campus

5:30 – 8:30 p.m.

“Courageous Conversations”

How do we open our minds and hearts to people who are different from us? How do we reach across the divides of culture, class, and color, across the divides of stereotypes and misunderstanding, and truly find each other? How do we listen long enough and deeply enough to points of view that are different from ours so that we can find common ground on which we can stand together How can a courageous conversation move us towards a life-changing experience that forever opens our hearts and minds?

2012 ILAD Honrees: (left to right) Dr. Anis Obeid, Mr. Ahmad El-Hindi, The Reverend Thomas V. Wolfe, Ph.D., Louis Kriesberg, Ph.D., Hon. Minna Buck

The 2012 ILAD honorees have done all of this. They embody the mission and vision of InterFaith Works – building bridges of understanding to affirm the dignity of all people and all faith traditions, to address deeply embedded social divisions and find common ground on difficult issues that lead to actions for the creation of a more equitable and loving community. And they have done this using the important tools of sustained dialogue, engaging in courageous conversations, and supporting others to do the same.

This year we honor five individuals whose distinguished careers in academia, medicine, business, and the law would alone be enough to bring them great honor. Yet each of them has also dedicated their lives and time to the engagement of interfaith and cross-cultural dialogue as a tool towards deeper understanding of social injustices and action for change. All have participated in SAMED, a twenty-five year dialogue project of addressing critical issues in the Middle East, and specifically the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. One has written extensively on the use of dialogue as a tool to address international relations in all parts of the world. One has worked with third graders here in Central New York to break down urban/rural stereotypes. One has changed the landscape of the university campus through dialogues that address racism and white privilege. One has been a major philanthropist, supporting many causes that lead to understanding and peace. One has become a religion scholar and a poet in English and Arabic, bridging the divides of language.

We will honor them for their notable careers and contributions to our community. We will honor them for their commitment to faith. We will honor them for their courage to engage in difficult conversations that have led them on a path of understanding and a search for peace.

We invite you to join us.     – Beth A. Broadway, InterFaith Works Executive Director

For more event information and sponsorship opportunities, contact Development Director Jim Dessauer, (315) 449-3552, ext. 120, or email jdessauer@interfaithworkscny.org

Follow this link for ILAD honoree biography summaries

Follow this link for a printable color ILAD promotional flyer

Follow this link for directions to the SRC Arena & Event Center