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Greetings!
The Utah Council for Citizen Diplomacy welcomes numerous International Delegations to Utah in May and June. These Delegates come to the United States  as guests of the Department of State's International Visitor Leadership Program.
Home Hospitality is an opportunity for you to be a Citizen Diplomat by hosting 3 or 4 of these emerging leaders for dinner and conversation. For more information or to host, please contact Nina Busuladzic at (801) 832-3273 or nbusuladzic@utahdiplomacy.org.
In addition to welcoming International Delegates to Utah, the Utah Council for Citizen Diplomacy is partnering with the Salt Lake City Film Center to host the Founder and seven students of the Burundi Film Center in June (more info below). Interested in hosting 2 or 3 of these students? Contact Jennifer Hefti at (801) 832-3272 or jhefti@utahdiplomacy.org.
We invite you to contribute to our newsletter. Send your story and pictures to Jennifer Hefti at jhefti@utahdiplomacy.org.
We look forward to hearing from you!
Jennifer Hefti,
Director of Communications & Community Outreach |
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Incoming Delegates to Utah
MAY 2008
- People's Republic of China: May 21-24, 1 Delegate examining Adoption Hosts secured
- Russia: May 21-24, 6 Delegates examining Housing Development Hosts secured
- Saudi Arabia: May 25-28, 10 Delegates examining Religious and Public Education (Secondary) Needed: Local Tour Guides on May 25 or May 26 - Join the Delegation for a 3 to 4-hour bus tour of the area
- Indian Subcontinent: May 28-31, 4 Delegates examining Water Resource Management Needed: 1 Host
JUNE 2008
- Saudi Arabia: June 4-10, 8 Delegates examining Religious and Public Education Hosts secured
- Poland: June 11-14, 3 Delegates examining U.S. Legal System and Extradition Needed: 1 Host
- Algeria: June 19-24, 3 Delegates examining Intellectual Property Rights Needed: 1 Host
JULY 2008
- Multi Regional: July 23-27, 6 Delegates examining Government and Business Accountability Hosting opportunities forthcoming
- Central America: July 31 - Aug 5, 14 Delegates examining Anti-Corruption in Government and Business Hosting opportunities forthcoming
All Visiting Delegates are accompanied by Interpreters and/or Department of State Officers. Visiting Delegates are participants in the International Visitor Leadership Program administered by the Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. |
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Quest For Freedom of Religion
9 Delegates from Africa: Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Democratic
Republic of Congo, Guinea, Niger, Nigeria, South Africa
Salt Lake City - In May, UCCD welcomed 9 African Delegates from various religious backgrounds (Catholic, Muslim, Presbyterian, and Protestant) to Salt Lake City for an examination of religious and interfaith activity in a region whose spiritual identity was formed by a quest for freedom of religion. These Delegates were participants in the International Visitor Leadership Program administered by the Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.
"In the polished wooden pews of a white-steepled New England church, the weekend congregants sit with heads reverently bowed. The town of Chelmsford, Mass., is Yankee to the core, and so are most of its inhabitants. Like the sober, strait-laced Pilgrims 300 years before them, the worshipers here shun liquor, dress modestly, and feel uplifted when they call out, "God is great!" Unlike their Puritan predecessors, however, those gathered here address their Maker in Arabic: "Allah-u Akhbar!" they chant, in a call offered five times each day by Muslims from Maine to Alaska."
Jonah Blank, U.S. News & World Report, 20 July 1998
The project was based on the following rationale: The number of Muslims in America has increased considerably in the decade since the above quotation was written, and it is clear that their presence in the United States has added much to the country's richly diverse tapestry of religious belief and custom. Islam and its adherents have brought to the United States not just a comprehensive array of religious beliefs and practices, but also a remarkable cultural panoply of art, architecture, music, and literature.
But the growth of American religious diversity is not just about Islam. In addition to "home-grown" denominations, streams of immigrants from many lands have added their own squares to the ethnic and spiritual quilt of America as new communities arise wherever economic opportunity beckons. The spiritual practices of these groups are as diverse as the lands of their origin, but they have one thing in common: the U.S. Constitution's guarantee of freedom from government control. In its simple elegance, the Constitution's First Amendment established the framework that has guided the church-state relationship to this day: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." There is no "state religion" in the U.S., nor are there many restrictions on actual practices.
Based on this rationale, the Delegates' program objectives were developed by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and included:
- To explain the core values of individual freedom of conviction, expression, and
worship in U.S. society;
- To examine the role of religious leaders in the community;
- To observe the interplay between religion and politics in the U.S.; and
- To explore how religious conviction relates to charitable and community activism
in fields such as education, health care and the provision of social services.
During their stay, the Delegates visited the LDS Museum of Church History and Art, Temple Square, and were hosted for lunch by LDS Church Hosts, Susan Banks and Irene Longson. They also met with Mr. Linvingston, Associate Department Chair of BYU's College of Religious Education, Mr. Cuch, Executive Director of the Utah Division of Indian Affairs, Rabi Rossen of the Kol Ami Congregation, and participated in an Interfaith Roundtable Discussion moderated by Westminster College's Director of Spiritual life, Jan Saeed. Finally, they were hosted for dinner and conversation by various Home Hosts.
Thank you to all our professional resources and hosts for their generous contribution of time and knowledge.
Jennifer Hefti, Director of Communications & Community Outreach
Utah Council for Citizen Diplomacy
May 21, 2008 |
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Burundi Film Center:
Founder and Students To Visit Salt Lake in June
Salt Lake City - The Utah Council for Citizen Diplomacy is partnering with the SLC Film Center to arrange Home Hospitality for eight visitors from Burundi as part of their New Face of Africa Film Series (June 9-16).
The Burundi Film Center (BFC) was launched as a non-profit media development project in the summer of 2007 under a mandate to "Inspire. Educate. Entertain." The founder of the Burundi Film Center and seven students will collaborate on a film with students from Spy Hop Productions during their stay. The film will be screened on Monday, June 16 at the Main Library at 7pm along with five short films produced in Burundi.
The students are fluent in Kirundi and/or French, and have conversational English. If you are interested in hosting 2 or 3 of these visitors (interpreter not provided) for dinner between June 10-13, please contact Jennifer Hefti, at the Utah Council for Citizen Diplomacy at 801-832-3272 or jhefti@utahdiplomacy.org. |
The Globetrotter: BURUNDI
 Burundi's capital, Bujumbura, lies on Lake Tanganyika, one of the Great Lakes in Africa's Rift Valley.
- Among the 7,548,000 Burudians, only 10 percent of the population live in urban areas; half of all urban residents live in Bujumbura.
- Burundian names consist of the family name followed by the given name.
- Kirundi, one of Burundi's two official languages (the other is French) is mutually intelligible with Kinyarwanda, one of Rwanda's official languages.
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Keep updated about UCCD by visiting our website. We look forward to seeing you at an upcoming event!
Sincerely,
Jennifer Hefti,
Director of Communications & Community Outreach |
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