Jubilee Centre for Religion, Conflict, and the Public Domain

From 13 through 15 September the Centre for Religion, Conflict and the Public Domain (CRCPD) of the Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies will organize the jubilee conference Reimagining difference. Being, thinking and practicing beyond essentialism. You can follow the event live via www.rug.nl/ggw/live .

Programme

The three day conference has a varied programme and will encompass both interdisciplinary academic reflection and societal engagement, bringing together scholars, policymakers, journalists and practitioners to engage and think together about how to be, think and practice difference across education, media, government and civil society.

Public Lecture Elizabeth Shakman Hurd

Professor Elizabeth Shakman Hurd will give a public keynote address on 13 September at 6 p.m. This lecture is open to the public, everyone is welcome! In her lecture Thinking differently about religion, politics, and power she will unfold her theory of a “third way” of how to approach the relationship between religion and politics. 'Religion is always entangled with and even merged into politics, history, law and other forms of social life."

Merete Bilde, Policy Adviser to the European External Action Service will respond to Shakman Hurd's keynote address.

Panel discussion

The closing activity of the conference is a Panel Discussion on Religion, Secularism and the Politics of Difference on 15 September at 11.30 uur a.m. This Panel Discussion is also open to the public. Speakers are:

• Yolande Jansen - Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of Amsterdam and Special Professor of Humanism in Relation to Religion and Secularity for the Socrates Foundation at the VU University Amsterdam
• Elisa Di Benedetto - freelance journalist covering religion and migration based in Italy and co-managing director of the International Association of Religion Journalists.
• Gabriela Bustamante - independent designer and a design teacher at the The Hague University of Applied Sciences
• Joram Tarusarira - director of the Centre for Religion, Conflict and the Public Domain and a specialist in religion, conflict, peacebuilding and reconciliation.
• Jeyanthi Siva - facilitator in Non Violent Communication with long experience in working with communities, including religious leaders, in Sri Lanka and broader South Asia.

The discussion will be moderated by dr. Brenda Bartelink, senior researcher at the Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies in the fields of religion, development aid, gender, and sexuality.