Silicon Valley joins Parliament of the World's Religions Partner City Network

 

The Council for a Parliament of the World’s Religions has just announced that the City of San Jose and the County of Santa Clara have officially been chosen to be the Inaugural City in the Partner Cities Network of the Council. The Partner Cities Network is a new program developed by the Council that seeks to build and connect the interrelgious movement worldwide.

For more than a year, the Silicon Valley Partner City Group has been developing a profile of Santa Clara County, describing its history, demographics, and interfaith activities as part of the process of applying for Partner City status. The group, made up of representative from different religious traditions, educational institutions, and interfaith organizations, demonstrated support for "the vision of interreligious understanding and global peace that is consonant with the vision, mission and work of the Council for a Parliament of the World’s Religions to cultivate harmony among the world’s religious and spiritual communities and foster their engagement with the world and its guiding institutions in order to achieve a more just, peaceful and sustainable world."

The Parliament of the World's Religions is the largest interfaith gathering in the world. The original Parliament was held in Chicago in 1893, as part of the World Columbian Exposition. It was the first official interfaith gathering ever, and is considered the beginning of the global interfaith movement.

In 1993, 8,000 people gathered again in Chicago for the centennial celebration of the Parliament,  addressing themselves to the issues and concerns of modern life. Since that time, the Parliament has met roughly every five years, in Capetown, South Africa (1999), Barcelona, Spain (2004), and this December in Melbourne, Australia.

This year's Parliament will take place from December 3-9th, and will include speakers such as the Dalai Lama and other noted religious leaders, worship experiences and music from different traditions, and a host of workshops. The key themes for this gathering are "Healing the Earth with Care and Concern," "Reconciling with Indigenous Peoples," "Overcoming Poverty in a Patriarchal World," "Creating Social Cohesion in Village and City," "Sharing Wisdom in Search for Inner Peace," "Securing Food and Water for All People," and "Building Peace in Pursuit of Justice."

The Silicon Valley Partner City Group will be presenting a workshop on "Developing an Interreligious Community: How Silicon Valley Used the Partner City Process," and will take part in a plenary session to receive the recognition as the inaugural Partner City, along with Santa Clara County Supervisor David Cortese.