Bendigo is this week the epicentre of international and interfaith discussions tackling religious expression, media representation of faith, spirituality, identity and sexuality.
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Organiser Jay Robinson said the Global Chaplaincy Conference at La Trobe University would see more than 120 delegates from around the world share their views, experiences and common goals.
“We’ve got a people coming here and sharing their stories from a wide range of Christian denominations, but also Buddhists, pagans, humanists, Muslims, people who describe themselves as multi-faith,” Ms Robinson said.
“And it’s not just people of faith, we’ve people here of no faith at all.
“It is just a beautiful opportunities for chaplains from around the world to meet and learn from one another.”
University of Bedfordshire chaplain Cass Howes said she wanted to learn from her Australian and New Zealand colleagues how best to support LGBTIQ students while said she could share experiences of working in a highly multi-cultural environment.
Ms Howes set up the first multi-faith chaplaincy in the United Kingdom.
University of Waikato chaplain Andrew McKean said he wanted to learn how best to move from a Christian to a multi-faith service from the conference.
La Trobe head of campus Rob Stephenson said Bendigo was fortunate to host this international conference, which is held in a different country every four years.
“I am delighted that La Trobe is hosting this event, and that the Bendigo community will have the opportunity to engage with conference delegates who have come to us from across the world to discuss such profound issues,” he said.
“In an increasingly connected and globalised world, development of cultural intelligence by individuals and organisations is being recognised as important for success. Inter-cultural and inter-faith dialogue are essential to developing this understanding.”
The conference is an initiative of The International Association of Chaplains in Higher Education and features Jesuit, Islamic, Methodist and academic key-note speakers.
Delegates have travelled to Bendigo from Canada, Nigeria, England, Scotland, Ireland, Netherlands, New Zealand, Thailand, Finland, Hong Kong, Denmark, Sri Lanka, Malawi, Sweden, America and many parts of Australia.
A feature of the conference will be the multi-faith panel at the Ulumbarra Theatre on Wednesday at 5.30pm.
Titled Formation vs Radicalisation, it’s open to the public and is guaranteed to promote some in-depth conversation in Bendigo.