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A New Year’s Eve Message from the Chair of the Parliament

December 29, 2021

Dear Friends,

2021 has been a year of hope for all of us, a year when we drove our compassion to action. Long established goals were rekindled to create a better world, a hope for humanity, and the climate alike. During the year and in our virtual convention in October, we reinforced our efforts to create a better tomorrow and agreed to carry the dialogue further to create a common basis to solutions for all our problems.

The Parliament continued to serve as a guiding voice in response to global challenges, to expand the impact of our signature document Towards a Global Ethic, to advance interfaith climate action, and to amplify and dignify marginalized voices. These commitments came together to shape the vision of our 8th global convening and its guiding theme of “Opening Our Hearts to the World: Compassion in Action.” You can explore highlights from this year’s work in the 2021 Annual Report.

On this eve of 2022, I cannot resist to reflect on the vastness of our expanse to drive ourselves to a BETTER tomorrow. I would like to thank all the sponsors, volunteers, participants, media, presenters, luminaries, staff, and my Board for making our 1st virtual convention a huge success. Thank you all.

As we continue to celebrate 2021, I want to extend a heartfelt thank you to the members of the Board completing their term this year: our Vice Chairs Dr. Dolly Dastoor and Dianne Dillon-Ridgley, David Hales, Fr. John Pawlikowski, Michael Reid Trice, and Michael Terrien. I also want to thank the founding members of the Circle of Patrons for their help in ensuring the strength and sustainability of the Parliament’s vision of interfaith understanding: Bhai Sahib Mohinder Singh Ahluwalia OBE KSG, The Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation: Founded by Dharma Master Cheng Yen, The Circle of Friends for VRG Vision, and The Guru Nanak Sikh Interfaith Committee.

It has been an honor and a privilege to serve the role of the Chair of the Parliament of the World’s Religions in 2021, and I am ecstatic to be given the opportunity to continue to serve in this role in 2022 with the support of our newly elected officers: our Vice Chairs Rev. Dr. Scott Stearman and James A. Lynch, Jr., our Secretary Rev. Charline Manuel, and our Treasurer Imam Saffet Abid Catovic. I take a moment to extend my heartfelt congratulations to the newly elected members of the Board who begin their term on January 1, 2022: Dr. Harpreet Singh, Kaleb Nyquist, Lewis Cardinal, Mahrukh Motafram, Dr. Mary Doak, Rev. Robert B. Flannery, Rori Picker, and Sahar Alsahlani. The Parliament’s board becomes richer with their body of work and together we continue to move forward.

Going into 2022, continually guided by our purpose and legacy, the Parliament will continue to refine its strategy and define its approach in an ever-complex environment. On behalf of the Board of Trustees, we are committed to supporting and building capacity for the hard-working Parliament staff as they carry out the planning and preparation for delivering the commitments of our mission to the interfaith movement. As we meet you all in various forums, we will be establishing our programming and content for our 9th Convention in Chicago. We shall continue to strive to create a more impactful and dynamic Parliament in 2022 and our 9th Convening in 2023 Chicago. To do so, we seek your support – and I ask you to join in my commitment to the Parliament and make a gift today.

As the Chair of the Parliament of the World’s Religions, I wish everyone a very happy new year! I look forward to a 2022 full of love, compassionate action, and interfaith collaboration.

With deep gratitude,

Mr. Nitin Ajmera
Chair of the Board
The Parliament of the World’s Religions

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