Works of Love |
September 12, 2016 Dear Friends We have two announcements for you this month. First, over the past year Dr. Post served as one of the four primary drafters of the United Nations Population Fund Document “Enhancing Human Flourishing Within the 2030 Development Agenda: The Spirituality of Global Transformation” (August 2016). Please enjoy reading this historic document, which was developed with a committee of more than 30 international leaders in spirituality and global transformation. Second, as many of you know, in response to the Institute for Research on Unlimited Love being hacked by “TEAM DZ ISIS” on the evening of November 10, 2014, Dr. Post initiated an international Youth Essay Competition on the Principles of Religious Freedom, Tolerance, and Love for All Humanity for young people ages 12 to 21 to support these principles (announced June 10, 2015) by the Institute for Research on Unlimited Love, a non-profit public charity founded in 2001 in Cleveland, Ohio. The Institute invited youth to write essays that encourage all people and religions to abide by the principles of religious freedom, tolerance, and love for all humanity. Stories and reflections from personal experience were emphasized as a valuable part of the essay, including the motivations for speaking out through essay writing. The Institute offered a series of questions on its website to spark imaginations, including: • If you were able to speak to a fellow young person in your own religion who advocated religious hatred, how would you engage him or her? What would motivate you to do so? What would you say, and how would you steer him or her to Unlimited Love? • If you were confronted with religious hatred from a fellow young person in a different religion, how would you respond, and why? • Can religious arrogance and hatred be replaced by a spirituality of tolerance, equal respect, freedom, mutual appreciation, and love? • Could a religious toleration youth movement be developed across all religions worldwide? What tools might make this possible that were not available in the past? An international panel of Institute advisors selected the winners. The United Nations invited Dr. Post to bring together these young essayists for a conference at the UN Headquarters on August 12, 2016, World Youth Day. Fortunately, with help from the United Nations Population Fund staff, we were able to fill the UN with 400 to 500 young people from every continent in a celebration of religious freedom, tolerance, and resistance hateful extremist ideas. Within a week, the UN webcast had been viewed by 47 million people across the globe.
Stephen G. Post, PhD, President
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