From August 21 – 23, 2023, over 200 delegates from around the world gathered in Seoul and Iksan, South Korea, for the Interfaith Coalition Conference for Global Citizens where meetings and dialogue centered around the theme, “Shaping our Future Together: Engaged Spirituality in the Era of Crisis.” The ICCGC launched in 2020 and aims to promote global citizenship education in religious communities. Delegates to the 2023 ICCGC included youth group members, government officials, religious practitioners, and scholars, among them Franklin College of Arts and Sciences Professor Dr. Carolyn Jones Medine, who presented a paper on diplomacy scholars who use Buddhist thought to understand the limitations of Western diplomatic efforts. In addition to her role as Director of the Institute for African American Studies and the All Shall Be Well Professor of Religion, Dr. Medine also serves the Society for Buddhist-Christian Studies (SBCS) as Vice President. Established in 1987, SBCS is a scholarly organization devoted to the comparative study of and dialogue between practitioners and scholars of Christianity and Buddhism. This year, Won Buddhism hosted the ICCGC, and SBCS was among the conference organizers. On attending the conference, Dr. Medine reflects, “The conference was a rich experience, on many levels—from the papers to our visiting Incheon to meet the current Won Buddhist Dharma Master. Representatives from UNESCO, the United Nations--including the former Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon--and the World Fellowship of Buddhists and Religions for Peace-Asia, as well as SBCS, presented papers and interacted with scholars and, most important to me, students to think through our critical moment, particularly the environmental crisis and how religion spirituality might contribute to addressing that crisis and other issues.” If you are interested in learning more about the work of ICCGC or future conferences, please visit their website: www.iccgc.or.kr. We are so grateful to have Dr. Medine among our Faculty teaching and mentoring undergraduate and graduate students in the Franklin College!
