Pluralism Project Co-Sponsors Harvard College in Asia Program Conference

Date: 

Saturday, January 30, 2010 (All day) to Saturday, February 6, 2010 (All day)

Location: 

harvard yard, 220 Alewife Brook Pkwy, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
From January 30 – February 6, 2010 the Harvard College in Asia Program hosted its annual conference on the theme of Social Entrepreneurship: Innovation, Service and Empowerment, which was co-sponsored by the Pluralism Project. The conference was attended by six student delegations from universities in Turkey, Singapore, Korea, Japan, China, and India, and is part of a larger exchange between Harvard students in HCAP and students from Asia. On Thursday, February 4,the Pluralism Project hosted a dinner discussion that explored “the role of diversity, pluralism, and globalization in how individuals can achieve social change.” Dr. Diana Eck, who is also a faculty advisor to HCAP, moderated the discussion and invited reflections from the Project’s special guests: Rev. Kim, founder and priest of the Won Buddhism of Boston center in Somerville; Mr. Ibrahim Sayar, the director of the Boston Dialogue Foundation; and Fatih Degirmenci, the Vice President of the Harvard Dialogue Forum. Throughout the week, Pluralism Project Research Associate Sarah Harcourt, who is studying religious studies and education at Harvard Divinity School, regularly consulted with students as they undertook a project exploring the cultural values that would inform designing a charter school in their home contexts, and served as a judge for the final project presentations.