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About Us Secretary General Letter from the Secretary General December 2004
First I would like to wish you a very good and happy new year 2005! It has been a great privilege for me to work with you, and I want to thank you again for your support. As we have multiplied the number of our international congresses, have developed on a regular basis the annual Meeting of Experts and the bi-annual meeting of the Washington Coalition, the journal Fidas et Libertas, and the TV show, Faith and Freedom, we must take one more step. We must reinforce our national associations and increase their number. Our goal is an association in 100 countries in 2006. Now let me share with you some information about events since my last letter in August. 1. August 30-31: First
International Congress in Taiwan-It was a great congress, superbly organized
by our local correspondents at the Holiday Inn AsiaWorld Taipei. The theme
was "Religious Freedom, Human Rights, Security." About 230 attended
from various religions. Taipei mayor, Dr Ying-Jeou Ma gave the opening
speech. Cardinal Paul Shau represented the Catholic Church, and leaders
of the Buddhist and Muslim communities also participated. From Europe
and the USA we had: Jeremy Gunn, Cole Durham, and Rosa Maria Martinez
de Codes. From our IRLA staff we had Eugene Hsu, who supervised the event;
Jonathan Gallagher, and myself. It was a successful congress and I commend
the organizers. 3. October 11: IRLA Legal Meeting and Reelection-During the IRLA Legal Meeting held in Silver Spring, we made some changes in our bylaws and elected the IRLA members for the next two years and the members of the Board of Directors. I also gave a report about the IRLA work. The next legal meeting will be in 2006. 4. October 11: Denton
Lotz and John Graz Reelected!-Following the Legal Meeting, our Board of
Directors reelected Denton Lotz as President, myself as Secretary General,
6. October 23-30: Buenos Aires Meeting and Projects-My purpose in going to Buenos Aires was the Conference of Secretaries of the Christian World Communions. As Secretary, I was in charge of the organization of the meeting. I worked with Professor Jose Camilo Cardoso, General Director of the National Registry of Religions. We met the Chief of the Cabinet, Alberto Fernandez, and several other government officials. We also meet Cardinal Bergoglio and other religious leaders. The IRLA Secretary General in Argentina, Professor Juan Francisco Darrichon, organized a meeting to prepare the next IRLA international congress in Buenos Aires, November 28-30, 2005. 7. November 8: Sao Paulo-An article was published by our IRLA local Secretary General, Aldir Gueds Soriano in Covieio Braziliense/Direito & Justica. The title was "Odiereito A Libertade Religiosa." Congratulations for that article which will facilitate the organization of a congress in Brazil. 8. November 5-9: Rogaska, Slovenia Training Seminar-IRLA European Secretary General, Miroslav Pujic, organized a training seminar for religious liberty leaders from 21 European countries. Jonathan Gallagher and I were among the speakers. It was an excellent meeting with interesting reports on the state of religious freedom in the United Kingdom, Scandinavia, the Baltic countries, and Central and Southern Europe. We expect the creation of new national associations for religious freedom. 9. November 9: IRLA Congress in Belgrade in 2006-An international congress is planned for Belgrade in 2006. Miroslav Pujic will be the coordinator and the issues will be related to the situation in the former Yugoslavia and Central Europe. 10. November 16, 17: Lecture at Andrews University in Michigan-A short visit which included good meetings with members of the faculty and students. I gave lectures on: 1) What is Religious Freedom? 2) The World Report: Ambon, Indonesia; and 3) Can Christians and Muslims Live Together? A seminar is planned for June 2005, and we wish to have a closer cooperation with Andrews University. 11. November 18: The Sixth Washington Coalition-The Washington Coalition on International Religious Freedom is still alive. The special guest speaker this time was Chris Seiple and he spoke on Uzbekistan. The meeting was chaired by Ambassador Robert Seiple. It was an excellent meeting. The next one will be April 28, 2005. 12. TV Program Faith and Freedom-We have completed the taping of 26 programs of 30 minutes each. James Standish, who is in charge of Faith and Freedom, did excellent work. These programs are broadcast on the Hope Channel, and we hope they will be accepted by other channels soon. 13. Upcoming Events: " December 8-10-IRLA
Regional Congress in Ekaterinburg, Russia 14. Books Published: " Jacques Robert:
A Dieu laicité To come: Festschrift
- to Abdelfattah Amor Sincerely yours,
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