United Nations to host first-ever spiritual summit next year.Cape Town Cape Town or Capetown, city (1991 pop. 854,616), legislative capital of South Africa and capital of Western Cape, a port on the Atlantic Ocean. It was the capital of Cape Province before that province's subdivision in 1994. A "spiritual summit" bringing together 1,000 of the world's religions and spiritual leaders is being organized by the United Nations for next August -- the first such gathering in the UN's 54-year history. The Millennium World Peace Summit will take place from Aug. 28 to 31, just before the world's political leaders gather for the UN Millennium Heads of State Summit. "Our dream is to get the pre-eminent pre·em·i·nent or pre-em·i·nent adj. Superior to or notable above all others; outstanding. See Synonyms at dominant, noted. [Middle English, from Latin prae religious leaders to the UN so they can support the peace process, in concert with the political bodies there," said Bawa Jain Jain also Jai·na n. A believer or follower of Jainism. [Hindi jaina, from Sanskrit jaina-, relating to the saints, from jina , executive co-ordinator of the summit. "I definitely feel that the religions and spiritual communities can play a substantial role in easing tensions in the world zones of conflict," he said. UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan Kofi Atta Annan (born April 8, 1938) is a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh Secretary-General of the United Nations from January 1 1997 to January 1 2007, serving two five-year terms. He was the co-recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2001. will give the welcoming address. "Ultimately, this first-ever council of senior religious and spiritual advisers will be established as a resource to the UN secretary-general, and its members could be `parachuted' into trouble spots," Mr. Jain said. Mr. Jain was speaking during the Parliament of World Religions. Much of the work and discussions of the 10-day parliament will be channelled into next August's gathering of religions leaders. Only a small group of Muslim extremists protested against the parliament on the opening day. They asked why "satanists" were gathered in Cape Town, accused the parliament of being a "Zionist conspiracy" and claimed that "Islam is the only way of life." However, the leaders of all of Cape Town's faith communities supported the gathering on the campus of the Cape Technikon technikon Noun S African a technical college tertiary tertiary (tûr`shēârē), in the Roman Catholic Church, member of a third order. The third orders are chiefly supplements of the friars—Franciscans (the most numerous), Dominicans, and Carmelites. institution, at the foot of the world-famous Table Mountain, and at various venues in the city centre and suburbs. |
|
||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion