Fourth Interdisciplinary Conference On The Evolution of World Order
Appropriate Political and Legal Structures: Necessary Steps to Full Spectrum Justice, Peace, and Ecological Integrity
October 13-16, 2004
Ryerson University Toronto, Ontario, Canada
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Program
Fourth Interdisciplinary Conference on The Evolution of World Order
October 13-16, 2004, Ryerson University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada Appropriate Political and Legal Structures: Necessary Steps to Full Spectrum Justice, Peace, and Ecological Integrity
Sponsored by: Ryerson University Science for Peace Council on Global Issues Global Ecological Integrity Project Soka Gakkai International of Canada International Holistic Tourism Education Centre (IHTEC) Canadians Concerned About Violence in Entertainment (C-CAVE) Nalanda College of Buddhist Studies Institute for Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) Toronto Branch Conference Committee:
Anatol Rapoport, University of Toronto, Honorary Chair Helmut Burkhardt, Ryerson University, Toronto, Chair Don Chisholm, Gaia Preservation Coalition, Picton, Ontario Rose Dyson, Canadians Concerned About Violence in Entertainment (C-CAVE), Toronto Eva Gerold, Toronto Mickey Masuda, Soka Gakkai International of Canada, Toronto Tony Meers, Soka Gakkai International of Canada, Toronto Julia Morton-Marr, IHTEC, Mississauga, Ontario Joy Pinto-Kamath, Toronto Suwanda Sugunasiri, Nalanda College of Buddhist Studies, Toronto Laura Westra, York University, Toronto Ross Wilcock, Science for Peace Walter Zessner, Institute for Electrical and Electronic Engineers, Toronto
Conference Purpose: This interdisciplinary conference is to address high priority global issues. We shall explore the state of the world, and the processes that change it. The premise of the conference is that social systems are capable of change. The design and implementation of appropriate political, legal, and enforcement structures, are a necessary first step for achieving ecological integrity, peace, disarmament, and individual well-being. The conference will make recommendations for ‘preventive politics’ to political actors. Desirable Results: The recommendations of the conference, round tables, and electronic working groups will be published as a ‘Handbook on Global Issues and Viable Solutions’
It is recommended that presenters define issues, and recommend viable solutions. We define an issue as the difference between that-which-is, and that-which-ought-to-be. A solution may be defined as that-which-could-and-should-be.
We suggest that session chairs allow equal time for presentation and discussion. The conference will be videotaped, and recommendations from the floor may be included in the publication. Activities Before and After the Conference:
Round Tables, Internet Working Groups, and posters can be found on the Evolution of World Order Website www.ryerson.ca
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Wednesday, October 13: 13:00 h – 15:00 h.Video Conference on Implementing Global Sustainability Education Board Room 1402, 14th Floor, Jorgenson Hall, Ryerson University, 380 Victoria Street, Toronto. . The local audience, and teachers in many schools around the world will be able to interact with a panel of sustainability educators who focus on the three pillars of sustainability curriculum: ecological integrity, social peace, and individual rights and duties. Panelists: Julia Morton-Marr, International Holistic Tourism Education Centre, Mississauga, Ontario (Chair) – Global Sustainability Education (GSE) Policy, Lesson Plans, and International School Peace Gardens Program;
Prof. Helmut Burkhardt, Ryerson University, Toronto – Universal Values, and Three Pillars of Sustainability. Dr. Paul Cappon - Director-General, Council of Ministers of Education in Canada. Dr. Rose Dyson, Canadians Concerned with Violence in Entertainment, Toronto – The Use of Media for Sustainability Education. Brandon Gallant, University of Waterloo, Canada – Introducing a University Course on Global Issues. Eric Schneider – Launch of the ‘World Future School’ a GSE platform. – Berlin, Germany. Prof. Laura Westra, York University, Toronto – Ecological Integrity and The Earth Charter
18:00 h – 20:00 h, Media Group Event
Carlton On The Park, 130 Carlton St. E. Canadians Concerned About Violence In Entertainment (C-CAVE) will convene this pre-conference event. Guest Speaker: Jeff Robbins, Rutgers University, New Jersey. Topic: "High Definition Television: The Big Picture Nobody Is Looking At". Complimentary refreshments, Silent Auction. Fee: $25. Students $15. Advance Conference Registration Table Chair: Rose Dyson C-CAVE, Canada.
Conference Venue October 14 - 16:
Carlyle Room, 3rd Floor, Delta Chelsea Hotel, 33 Gerrard St. W., Toronto. For lunch and dinner breaks the conference participants can stay together by using the same restaurant. We recommend the Market Garden on the ground floor of the Hotel.
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Thursday, October 14: 9:00 h Welcome
Claude Lajeunesse, President, Ryerson University.
9:10 h – 12:00 h, Session 1: Values, Religions, and Politics
Secular humanism derives a universal ethics from scientific observations of society and nature. Common primary and instrumental values can be found in the core of worldly wisdom in religions. However, religions include belief-based supernatural notions, which cannot be scientifically verified. The transcendental parts of religious beliefs are specific to each religion, not common. Resurrection in Christianity, rebirth in Buddhism, the seven heavens in Islam, or being god’s chosen people in Judaism are examples for non-verifiable beliefs. These differences in transcendental matters frequently give rise to worldly conflicts between religious groups. Religious institutions have a strong impact on politics. In Islamic states, religion determines the law of the land. The separation between the church and state is proclaimed in some Christianity based countries. However, in practice this separation is difficult. The Catholic Church and the Papacy has no doubt had an influence on the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Religion is frequently a front for political and economic conflicts as in Palestine and in Northern Ireland. Religious leaders have the means and the responsibility to teach tolerance. Panelists: Suwanda Sugunasiri, Nalanda College for Buddhist Studies, Toronto (chair); Helmut Burkhardt, Ryerson University, Toronto; Lee Cormie, University of St. Michaels College, Toronto; Anna Makolkin, Munk Centre, University of Toronto; Anne Simmonds, Rosedale United Church, Toronto.
12:00 h – 13:30 h, Lunch Break 13:30 h – 17:00 h, Session 2: Ecological Imperatives for Environmental Policy
Population, Affluence, and Technology are the main factors of the anthropogenic environmental impact, which determines a nation’s ecological footprint. Local and global environmental policies must prevent ecological deficit, or run the risk of climate change and catastrophic collapse of ecosystems, which will endanger the supply of vital resources such as clean air, clean water, and food. The energy technology used, the consumption of energy, is largely responsible for environmental destruction. Science based guidelines for long-term environmental and energy policy are urgently needed. Panelists: Adele Buckley, Canadian Pugwash Group (chair); David Bell, York University and Downsview Park, Toronto; Phil Byer, University of Toronto; David Pimentel, Cornell University, USA; The Rt. Hon. Edward R. Schreyer, Winnipeg, MB, Canada; Willem Vanderburg, University of Toronto. (to be confirmed)
17:00 h – 19:00 h, Dinner Break 19:00 h – 20:00 h, Reception, Cash Bar 20:00 h – 22:00 h, Session 3: The Role of Art in Societal Change
The visual and the performing arts, and language have a profound impact on the thinking and feeling of people. Are today’s artists aware of the potentially deadly environmental and societal crises facing humankind? Can artistic expression be found for global issues such as sustainability, climate change, corruption, or political stability? Panelists: Antony Rapoport, Toronto (chair); Phyllis Creighton, and the Raging Grannies, Toronto; Dario Del Degan, Ryerson University, Toronto; Janette Ledwith and the ‘Women Who Sing’, Milton, Ontario; Damon & Sajnani, Hip-Hop artistes, Toronto.
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Friday, October 15: 9:00 h – 10:30 h, Session 4: Ecological Justice, the Earth Charter
The Earth Charter is a mature document that should be adopted by the UN to guide individuals and nations to a sustainable lifestyle. The notion of ‘contraction and conversion’ has been developed during the Kyoto negotiations towards a just evolution of fossil fuel energy use and carbon emissions. However, voluntary compliance by nations, corporations, or individuals has not been effective in protecting the ecosystem integrity. International and local environmental law and its enforcement are necessary. Failing to keep our ecological footprint smaller than our ecological capacity has severe consequences on human health. Our children would be the ‘new canaries’ for detecting problems. Panelists: Laura Westra, York University, Canada, (chair); Bill Rees, University of British Columbia, Vancouver; Colin Soskolne, University of Alberta, Edmonton.
10:45 h – 12:15 h, Session 5: Designing Appropriate Political Structures and UN Reform
Social systems are free to change their structure, unlike biological systems, whose structure is determined by their genetic makeup. The historically grown political structures are not always the best for present conditions. The freedom to change structure offers an opportunity to adapt social systems to the changing environmental and societal conditions. Basic design principles of rationality, functionality, simplicity, and beauty should be useful in making recommendations for new political structures. An effective United Nations with a multilateral rapid reaction force is not a ‘Big Brother’ type of world government; it is instead a necessary guardian of the global commons, i.e. the oceans, the Polar Regions, the atmosphere, and outer space. The UN mandate includes of course international relations. What changes should be made to the UN, and what changes to the national governments in order to enable the UN to fulfill its mandate? Panelists: Shirley Farlinger Science for Peace, Toronto (chair); Helmut Burkhardt, Ryerson University, Toronto; Jean Paul Harney, former federal NDP MP for Scarborough, Ontario; Hanna Newcombe, Canadian Peace Research Institute, Oakville, Ontario;
Bruna Nota, Conscience Canada, Toronto. 12:15 h – 13:30 h, Lunch Break 13:30 h – 17:00 h, Session 6: Social Justice, Corporations, and Transparency Today war and terrorism are rooted in ownership and control of earth’s remaining vital resources, which are scarce
due to humanity’s Ecological Footprint being beyond Earth’s renewable capabilities. Greed and self-interest now appear to overrule justice, and justice is the key instrumental value that characterizes a civilized community, and separates it from social chaos where the law of the jungle rules. Members of a just society have both, basic human rights, and the responsibility to guarantee these rights to others. Justice has many ‘colours’. There is ecological, political, social, economic, and personal justice. How can full spectrum justice be implemented at the global, continental, national, and local levels? Many global institutions like the World Trade Organization, the International Monetary Fund, or the World Bank have their own specific agendas, serving the interest of transnational corporations, which are not regulated according to the rules of a full spectrum of justice. Corporations and the institutions serving them are not under democratic control of the people, and they are prone to corruption. Panelists: Don Chisholm, Gaia Preservation Coalition, Picton, Ontario (co-chair); Joy Pinto-Kamath, Toronto (co-chair) Gurmeet Bambrah, Council for Access to the Profession of Engineering, Ottawa, Ontario; Phyllis Creighton, Science for Peace, Toronto; Laurent Leduc, University of Toronto; Bob White, BRI International Inc., Mississauga, Ontario.
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Saturday, October 16: 9:00 h – 9:40 h, Session 7: Science and Technology in the Implementation of Global Change
Today’s science technology offer tools for global interaction among humans. These tools are available for implementation of global change. Panelists: Anna Dyson, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), Troy, NY (chair); Shekhar Raj Bastakoti, Center for Research on Global Communications, Nepal.
9:45 h - 11:15 h, Session 8: The Power and Responsibility of the Media
It is difficult to overestimate the power of modern mass media. In reporting the news, some journalists act according to the anachronistic motto: ‘My Country Right or Wrong’. Others are more objective. Popular culture, on the other hand, driven by convergences in communications technology is enormously influential in shaping public opinion and attitudes. A predominant trend, both in news and entertainment media, is for increasing reliance on violent content. Advertising, as a component in the mix, encourages consumerism as a lifestyle, which is at odds with the transformative learning necessary if the ecological footprint of humanity on the planet is to be successfully moderated. What is the role and responsibility of the media in advancing universal values for long-term sustainability? Panelists: Rose Dyson, Canadians Concerned with Violence in Entertainment (C-CAVE), Toronto (chair); Paul Boin, School of Communication, University of Windsor, Canada; Jeff Robbins, Rutgers University, New Jersey, USA; Rick Salutin, columnist with The Globe and Mail, Toronto.
11:20 h – 11:50 h, Session 9: Global Sustainability Education
Report on the results of the global Videoconference on a framework and curriculum content for a full spectrum education on sustainability. Sustainability education of the young is an effective way to change the consciousness of society. Ecological integrity, social integrity, and individual integrity are major topic areas of sustainability education. The curriculum at all levels of education should contain these elements, and the principles outlined in the Earth Charter. Speaker: Julia Morton-Marr, International Holistic Tourism Education Centre, Mississauga, Canada
11:55 h – 13:15 h, Session 10: Summary: Global Issues and Viable Solutions.
The conference will select high priority issues facing humankind today, and propose constructive solutions, including appropriate changes to political and legal structures. Suggestions shall be made on methods of implementing the proposed changes. Panelists: Conference Committee; Shirley Farlinger, Science for Peace, Toronto. Derek Paul, Science for Peace, Toronto.
Publication:
All electronically submitted contributions will be posted at the conference website: www.ryerson.ca/~woc Some will be selected for publication in a ‘Handbook on Global issues and Viable Solutions’.
More Information:
Email Helmut Burkhardt conference committee chair at: burkhard@ryerson.ca
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List of Contributors Fourth Interdisciplinary Conference on The Evolution of World Order October 13-16, 2004, Ryerson University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Panelists: Gurmeet Bambrah, Council for Access to the Profession of Engineering, Ottawa, Ontario, gbambrah@cassa.on.ca [S6]. Shekhar Raj Bastakoti, Center for Research on Global Communications, Nepal, crgc@hotmail.com [S7]. David Bell, York University and Downsview Park, Toronto, dvjbell@yorku.ca , [S2] Paul Boin, School of Communication, University of Windsor, Canada, 123pdb@rogers.com [S8]. Adele Buckley, Canadian Pugwash Group (chair), adele-buckley@rogers.com [S2]. Helmut Burkhardt Ryerson University, Toronto, burkhard@ryerson.ca [VC, S1, S5, CC] Phil Byer, University of Toronto, byer@civ.utoronto.ca [S2] Dr. Paul Cappon - Director-General, Council of Ministers of Education in Canada, p.capon@cmec.ca [VC] Lee Cormie, University of St. Michaels College, lee.cormie@utoronto.ca [S1] Don Chisholm, Gaia Preservation Coalition, Picton, Ontario, donchism@magma.ca [S6, CC] Dario Del Degan, Ryerson University, Toronto, ddeldeg@ryerson.ca [S3]. Phyllis Creighton, Science for Peace, Toronto; the Raging Grannies, ppcreig@idirect.com [S3, S6] Anna Dyson, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), Troy, NY, dysona@rpi.edu [S7]. Rose Dyson, Canadians Concerned with Violence in Entertainment, Toronto, rdyson@oise.utoronto.ca [VC, MG, S8, CC]. Shirley Farlinger Science for Peace, Toronto; farp@sympatico.ca [S5, S10] Brandon Gallant, Student, University of Waterloo, Canada, begallant@hotmail.com [VC]. Eva Gerold (Toronto), eva.gerold@sympatico.ca [CC] Jean Paul Harney, former federal NDP MP for Scarborough, Ontario, jphglen@hotmail.com [S5]. Claude Lajeunesse, President, Ryerson University, Clajeune@gwemail.ryerson.ca [OPENING] Laurent Leduc, University of Toronto, laurent.leduc@utoronto.ca [S6] Janette Ledwith, the ‘Women Who Sing’, Milton, Ontario; Fax: (905) 878-3689 [S3]. Anna Makolkin, Munk Centre, University of Toronto, anna.makolkin@utoronto.ca [S1]. Mickey Massuda, Soka Gakkai International of Canada, Toronto, masuda@bellnet.ca [CC] Tony Meers Soka Gakkai International of Canada, Toronto, tmeers@sgicanada.org [CC]. Julia Morton-Marr, International Holistic Tourism Education Centre, Mississauga, Ontario, julia@ihtec.on.ca [VC, S9,CC]. Hanna Newcombe, Canadian Peace Research Institute, Oakville, Ontario, info@prid.on.ca [S5]. Bruna Nota, Conscience Canada, Toronto, bruna.nota@utoronto.ca [S5]. Derek Paul, Science for Peace, Toronto, farp@sympatico.ca [S10]. David Pimentel, Cornell University, USA, dp18@cornell.edu [S2]. Joy Pinto-Kamath, Toronto, fullspectrumjustice@hotmail.com [S6, CC]. Antony Rapoport, Toronto, tony@braveform.com [S3, CC] Anatol Rapoport (University of Toronto), anatol.rapoport@utoronto.ca [HON. CHAIR] Bill Rees, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, wrees@interchange.ubc.ca [S4] Jeff Robbins, Rutgers University, New Jersey, USA, jhrobbins@erols.com [MG, S8]. Damon & Sajnani, Hip-Hop artists, Toronto. [S3]. Rick Salutin, columnist with The Globe and Mail, Toronto, rsalutin@globeandmail.ca [S8]. Eric Schneider, World Future School, Berlin, Germany. eric@cafeweltgeist.org [VC] The Rt. Hon. Edward R. Schreyer, Winnipeg, MB, Canada, erschreyer@shaw.ca [S2]. Anne Simmonds, Rosedale United Church, Toronto, anne.simmonds@sympatico.ca [S1]. Colin Soskolne, University of Alberta, Edmonton, colin.soskolne@ualberta.ca [S4] Suwanda Sugunasiri, Nalanda College for Buddhist Studies, Toronto, suwanda.sugunasiri@utoronto.ca [S1, CC] Willem Vanderburg, University of Toronto,. bill.vanderburg@utoronto.ca [S2]. Laura Westra, York University, lwestra@interlog.com [VC, S4, CC]. Bob White, BRI International Inc., Mississauga, Ontario. Bob_White@bri.ca , [S6]. Ross Wilcock, Science for Peace, Woodstock, Ontario, arwilcock@sympatico.ca , [CC]. Walter Zessner, Institute for Electrical and Electronic Engineers, Toronto, walterzessner@yahoo.ca , [CC].
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Notes
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