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religious groups, one of the most pressing tasks is to provide

opportunities for people of different faiths to meet each other

in safe environments. On some occasions the UCIIR-AP

has been able to provide Jewish participants with interfaith

dialogue sessions in Indonesia.

The Chairholder and associates have been working in coop-

eration with several organizations in Indonesia to promote

interreligious understanding and respect. We have been

regular contributors to the International Conference of Islamic

Scholars, Muhammadiya Third World Peace conferences and

others. Gadja Mada University in Yogyakarta has an excel-

lent graduate programme in interreligious relations and has

ongoing research and teaching ties with Monash University.

Being able to describe a very different situation, one that

shows how religious diversity can be managed in such a way

that it is viewed as a strength and asset, is very important

in these contexts as everywhere the world is becoming more

diverse. The UCIIR-AP has been very active in finding ways

to help those for whom religious diversity is a new reality to

overcome their fear and initial negative reactions.

The Deputy Chairholder, Professor Greg Barton, and the Senior

Associate Dr Koesasi are in regular contact with senior figures in

the Australian and Indonesian governments on issues related to

interreligious relations. These issues directly intersect with secu-

rity and counter violent extremism policies and programmes.

The role of religious groups in countering violent extrem-

ism has occupied a substantial amount of time and effort for

all the UCIIR-AP team. Balancing security needs with promot-

ing intergroup understanding and respect is utterly critical at

this point. Through research and community consultations

the UCIIR-AP seeks to ensure that the wisdom of religious

leaders is heard and that, in the face of the temptation to

accuse and berate others, efforts to learn from and support

each other in a community of mutual respect and care char-

acterizes our dispositions and actions.

The role of education

The UCIIR-AP (Bouma and Halafoff), along with Associate

Professor Mary Lou Rasmussen of the Faculty of Education,

have worked with a team of colleagues from Warwick

University to win a Monash-Warwick collaboration grant to

develop a consortium to study religious literacy and its corre-

lates in Australia. This is a key educational initiative in the

area of interreligious and intercultural relations and offers the

opportunity not only for a deeper academic understanding of

religious literacy, but also the possibility of information for

evidence-based policy in this area.

This research has grown out of a five-year programme of

active lobbying and community education about the need for

education about religions and world views in the curriculum

of the state schools in Australia. When they were established,

state schools were declared to be secular. Teaching about

religions was forbidden in order to exclude Christian sectar-

ian rivalry from disrupting education and to release the state

from having to act as a broker of ‘orthodox’ teaching about

Christianity. The fact that this leaves citizens ignorant about

a major force shaping not only the lives of others, but also

global conflict and development, has begun to be appreciated

along with the need for helpful teaching about religions and

world views. The UCIIR-AP is now directly involved in revis-

ing the curriculum and in devising new initiatives in this area.

In addition to a long list of publications, both academic and

those intended to inform the public, the UCIIR-AP has produced

well over 20 PhDs to work in this area. But the ongoing legacy

will be found in the extensive and growing list of interreligious

councils bringing together people of faith to learn about each

other and from each other in a context of mutual respect. Both

reflecting and supporting our efforts and those of many others,

the success of Australia’s approach to multicultural policies

and religious diversity is seen in the bipartisan commitment to

promoting mutual respect in a diverse community. The State

of Victoria Government multicultural policy is titled ‘Victoria’s

Advantage’. Diversity, including religious diversity, is seen as

an advantage, not a challenge or a problem. Where possible, the

UCIIR-AP seeks to help other communities take steps in this

direction and to maintain structures and networks that enable

mutual trust and respect among people and groups of different

religions and world views.

We have also focused on establishing academic networks and

building bridges between religious communities in Australia,

Indonesia, Malaysia and India. Links are also being forged with

other UNESCO chairs, regionally and globally, in order to coor-

dinate activities and thereby strengthen their impact.

While always at the forefront, the UCIIR-AP has a long list

of associate organizations and people who share the aim of

promoting interreligious understanding and mutual respect

in the Asia-Pacific region. We support and are involved in

the work of Religions for Peace, Religions for Peace (Asia),

the Dialogue of Civilizations, the Parliament of the World’s

Religions, the Interfaith Youth Core and many others. In this

context our focus has been on education about religions and

world views that is grounded in a holistic encounter with

the other, which provides an experience of mutual humanity

facing shared challenges and being strengthened by finding

solutions by our faith and/or world views.

The Parliament of the World’s Religions 2009 in Melbourne, taking a stand

for sustainable living

Image: Greg Barton

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iffer