| Participants: 15 | Religions Represented: 4 | Nations Represented: 10 |
United Nations, New York— 19th Friendship Americas Project
When: September 10, 2004
On Saturday, September 10, 2004 RYS International Director, John W. Gehring was invited to be a speaker and panelist representing the Religious Youth Service at a UN DPI/NGO interactive workshop, entitled “The Role of NGO’s in Overcoming Poverty through Education”.
In his paper Rev. Gehring compared religion with a double-edged sword in the sense that religion has the power to be a force in overcoming injustice and promoting peace. However, at the same time, religious impulse has sometimes taken dogmatic and self-righteous positions, manipulating and sometimes conniving for government and economic gain.
RYS trains and raises youth as future leaders who can use religion and service as the foundation for cooperation, unity and love, thus healing the marred past that religion thus far has created.
Co-operating Agencies: WFWP, IRFF, Golden India Foundation
Key Sponsors: WFWP, IRFF