Radio Salaam Shalom

WORLD FAITHS GATHER.

The United Nations Assistant Secretary-General, Olav Kjørven and leading religious and scientific figures have joined people of all faiths at a major London event in the run-up to the Copenhagen climate conference.

Radio Salaam Shalom’s team joined them in Windsor to webcast the opening events and also to talk to some of the representatives from Jewish and Muslim communities around the world.

‘Many Heavens, One Earth’ runs for three days from Monday 2nd to Wednesday 4th November. It was attended by ARC patron HRH, The Prince Phillip, Duke of Edinburgh and the Secretary-General of the United Nations, His Excellency Mr Ban Ki-moon.

The event began with a keynote Speech by Martin Palmer, Secretary General of the Alliance of Religions and Conservation (ARC).

During the event, the Grand Mufti of Egypt, Sheikh Ali Goma’a made an announcement of global importance: Madinah, the second holiest city in the Islamic world, is to become a model ‘green’ city under a Muslim Seven Year action plan on the environment.

The afternoon concluded with a commitment to assist this process further, given by Olav Kjorven, Assistant Secretary General of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

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#1. Hear the Welcome speech by Martin Palmer, Secretary General of the Alliance of Religions and Conservation (ARC), and his introduction to the opening prayer in Mandarin.

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#2. Hear the keynote speech by UN Assistant Secretary General Olaf Kjorven (with introduction by the ARC’s Martin Palmer).

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If you're using a iPhone/iPod Touch or Mobile Device - Click HERE to download

As we add other audio here, you’ll be able to hear a series of short, inspiring presentations from faith representatives about their environmental outreach, experiences and long term plans.

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Watch the Video Webcast Here

Missed the original live webcast? Watch the archived video by clicking on these links.

PART 1 – Many Heavens, One Earth Conference, Windsor, England

PART 2 – Many Heavens, One Earth Conference, Windsor, England

Find out more about Many Heavens, One Earth at the official event website, http://www.windsor2009.org

MEDIA RELEASE

For immediate release :  2^nd November 2009

Salaam Shalom broadcasts exclusive debates from Faiths & Environment conference

Radio Salaam Shalom has been chosen to exclusively broadcast discussions at the Celebration of Faiths and the Environment conference, led by HRH Prince Philip and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, starting on Monday 2^nd November.

The Bristol-based Muslim and Jewish media project will stream speeches and debates live from the conference across the internet via its website, www.salaamshalom.org.uk .  The three day event, which takes place in Windsor, is set to bring religious faiths to the forefront of environmental action.

Conference organisers the Alliance of Religions and Conservation, which was launched by The Duke of Edinburgh in 1995, approached Salaam Shalom after becoming aware of its work in stimulating Muslim Jewish dialogue through one of ARC’s employees.  There is considerable media activity scheduled throughout the conference.  However, only Salaam Shalom will be broadcasting live output from the important first day of discussion, workshops and debate, with additional interviews and speeches available online after the event finishes.

The conference is an opportunity to announce long-term action to “save the living planet.”  The United Nations regards it as so significant that UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will make a keynote address before 200 faith and secular delegates, including key members of international Jewish and Muslim communities.  UN Assistant Secretary-General Olav Kjorven says the initiative could “motivate the largest civil society movement the world has ever seen.”

Salaam Shalom Chairman, Farhan Cheema, added: “This is an extraordinary event and we are delighted to have been asked to play such an important role in helping to broadcast the crucial message of climate change.

“There is no doubt that the planet’s future depends on everybody taking action, whatever their faith and culture” Cheema continued.  “However, cultural and religious ties are powerful and if organisations such as ARC and Salaam Shalom can help harness that power to affect positive change, then we do will everything we possibly can to make this happen.”

Martin Palmer, Secretary-General of ARC added: “In Salaam Shalom we get a glimpse of perhaps a better future, a world in which communication is easier than it has been before – which means the message needs to be more profound.   And nothing is more profound than faiths, who in the past could not work together, now walk side by side to protect our living planet.”

Ends

*this Media Release was published by Peter Brill, Chairman, Radio Salaam Shalom.

For further information contact Salaam Shalom via the CONTACT link in the above menu.

Notes to Editors:

1. Salaam Shalom is an internet-only media project which went ‘live’ on 1 February 2007.  It broadcasts both live and podcast-based programming from its website www.salaamshalom.org.uk. Its stated aim is to create dialogue and understanding between Muslims and Jews and the wider communities in which they live.
2. The Alliance of Religions and Conservation (ARC) is a secular body that helps the major religions of the world to develop their own environmental programmes based on their own core teachings, beliefs and practices.  Founded in 1995 by HRH Prince Philip, ARC creates powerful alliances between faith communities and conservation groups.  The 11 faiths ARC works with own 7% of the planet’s habitable surface.

SIX AND HALF MINUTES IN TEL AVIV

What happens when the Middle-eastern microcosms gathers for 6 and a Half intense and crowded minutes, into a bus in Tel-Aviv?

Website culturecatch.com describes this as a “superb, startling short that lasts as long as its title denotes”.

Catch the UK premiere as part of the Encounters Short Film Festival 2009 in Bristol, UK.

• Wednesday 18 November 17.00 in Watershed Cinema 2
• Friday 20 November 19:30 in Watershed Cinema 3

Door Tickets: £5.00

For info and further information on this screening and the short film  festival, click here:

www.encounters-festival.org.uk

PODCAST 23: ABRAHAM NEXUS FINALE

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Since our launch in early 2007, the co-hosting team of Javid Latif and Tal Lesham have been an integral part of our Muslim-Jewish programmes. Anyone listening to their show “The Abraham Nexus” would know that their conversations revealed a growing mutual respect for and awareness of their own -  and each other’s -  opinions, ideas and values.

Before Tal headed off for pastures new (ISLANDS new, actually), he and Javid joined up for one last recording session in the Radio Salaam Shalom studios.

Joined by several of their colleagues, they looked back on their time together as “Abraham Nexus” co-presenters.  In this show, they also featured an interview with a leading dietary specialist who looked at the issues of Diabetes during Ramadhan, discovered the thought-provoking ideas of Turkish Muslim thinker Adnan Oktar/Harun Yahya,  and shared the stories of the Jewish-Palestinian Change Night hosted by Libby and Len Traubman’ Living Room Dialogues group in California.

We wish Tal all the best in his new island home – we’re sure Javid’s already booked his beach trip too.