Maori Elders invited to international conference of Elders

PRESS RELEASE
28 September 2011

Maori Elders invited to international conference of Elders of the Ancient Traditions and Cultures

The Fourth International Conference of the Elders of the Ancient Traditions and Cultures on the theme “Nourishing the Balance of the Universe” will be held from 3rd March to 8th March 2012, at Haridwar, India. The host of the conference is the Dev Sanskriti Vishwa Vidyalaya, Haridwar (India).

The conference is being organised by the World Council of Elders of the Ancient Traditions and Cultures (WCEATC), in collaboration with the European Congress of Ethnic Religions (http://ecer-org.eu/) and the National Council of Elders Mayas, Xinca and Garifuna of Guatemala and other organisations representing ethnic human cultures and societies of antiquity.

WCEATC is a forum of Elders from the oldest cultures in the world, under the auspices of the International Centre for Cultural Studies (ICCS).

During an earlier visit to Aotearoa New Zealand, Dr Yashwant Pathak, Coordinator of this conference, noted the Maori community as one of the few ancient cultures that was socially, culturally and politically active. At the world stage, Maori community is a role model for other ancient cultures that have struggled to maintain their identity.

“We are expecting delegates from over 50 countries to attend this conference. We invite active participation from Elders from all corners of the world, and in Aotearoa (New Zealand) from the Maori community,” Dr Pathak added.

The first of this conference series was held at Mumbai, India, in 2003, with the theme “Metakuye Oyasin – We are all related”. It was attended by delegates from more than 30 countries. The second conference was in 2006 at Jaipur, India, with the theme “Spirituality Beyond Religions” attended by delegates from more than 40 countries. The third conference was held in 2009 at Nagpur, India, with the theme “Renaissance of the Ancient traditions: Challenges and Solutions”. More than 357 delegates attended from 32 different countries.

All previous conferences have been co-sponsored by international and regional organisations including the European Congress of Ethnic Religions (www.ecer.org).

The conference will have Ceremonies, Paper presentations, Key Note addresses, Workshops and cultural programs, on topics on the conference theme. The delegates will also be visiting local schools and interact with academicians during the conference.

“In addition to the conference deliberations, participants are encouraged to avail of opportunities to tour India, both before and after the conference, which will arrange to make available at very reasonable costs,” said Dr Pathak.

“We are also offering a small number of fellowships of upto three months duration for studying the Ancient Indian Traditions. If interested, please contact us,” Dr Pathak added.

A few travel fellowships ($500 per individual) to cover the partial cost of travel, and several fellowships ($250 per individual) to cover the registration fees, accommodation and boarding expenses during the conference time are available.

For further information regarding conference, please visit website www.iccsus.org

A number of Maori Elders and members of Aotearoa Hindu community have already registered their interest, and a delegation of Hindu Maori Elders from Aotearoa New Zealand has planned their trip to this conference. This delegation is as part of Hindu Maori whakawhanaungatanga (kinship). If you are interested in attending this conference (and/or presenting papers), please send an email to hindu.nz@gmail.com

ENDS

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