A
WORKSHOP ON RELIGION AND INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS:
CHALLENGES FOR INTERNATIONAL NGOs
January 18 - 19, 2008
Phase One: Information Gathering
Under the guidance of faculty supervisors, U.C.S.B. graduate students Nicolas Pascal and Eddie Saade will provide basic data on international NGOs and faith-based organizations in particular. Assembled data will include such information as these organizations’ religious traditions (if faith-based) and the purpose of their activities, with a breakdown of total budget for services and supplies, size of staff, areas of the world that are covered, and numbers of peoples affected. This material will be supplied to the participants in the winter workshop. In addition, a website has been created to provide the material on-line in an easily accessible form. (Phase I is pursued through late summer and fall 2007.)
Phase Two: Workshop
We anticipate the workshop as comprising a one- to one-and-a-half day discussion of the implications of the topic and the assembled data. Approximately 20 participants will attend, roughly half of them scholars in the field of religion and international studies, the other half leaders in professional international NGOs. Most will have already participated in email/telephone consultations. The immediate goal of the workshop will be to formulate a plan to move the project on to its next stage, which will likely be the creation of an experimental summer training institute on religion for prospective leaders in international NGOs. (Phase II takes place on January 18-19, 2008.)
Phase Three: Post-workshop Report
Following the workshop, the graduate research team will assist in compiling the final report, which will include revised and edited versions of the material collected before the workshop, further information recommended by participants at the workshop, and a summary of discussions at the workshop. The report will be circulated to participants and interested scholars and NGO leaders, and be formatted as a print, Web, and CD-ROM guide to the role of religion in international NGO leadership training. Plans will also be made for continuing or extending the project along lines to be discussed at the workshop. The final report is expected to be finished by June 2008.
We believe that this project has several strengths. It attempts to complement other Luce-supported projects on religion and international affairs. It is based in an institution that has been innovative in both religious studies and in international NGO leadership education. It reaches out to both scholars and practitioners throughout the country and in various parts of the world, and it attempts to build a base of information and knowledge before formulating strategic plans for its next stage.
