U.R.I- THE SECOND CHAPTER

URI – The Second Chapter

Victor visited with members of URI Europe
on a trip that included: Vienna, Bonn, Antwerp
and Amsterdam. Here, he shares a laugh with
 (from L-R) Karimah Stauch, URI Europe Regional Coordinator,
 Marianne Horling, Global Council Member,
and Schech Bashir Ahmad Dultz, President of URI Europe. 

Members of URI’s Global Council and Global Staff will gather in San Francisco at the end of this month to begin the work of co-creating the second chapter of the United Religions Initiative. Building on the extraordinary work of the past 20 years in which the creativity and wisdom of so many people birthed and sustained the URI movement, we who form the present leadership of URI are very excited to be planning our future together. From my own experience of witnessing URI’s extraordinary work in communities around the world, it is clear to me that at the heart of URI are the Cooperation Circles (CCs).

URI’s CCs bring the PPPs (Preamble, Purpose and Principles) alive, creating centers of hope and possibility, building bridges among people of different cultures and religions, and working together for the good of their communities and the world. Supporting CCs and the global network that they create is the focus of the work of URI’s leadership circles the Global Council, the Global Staff and the President’s Council.It has been such a pleasure for me to work with members of URI’s Global Council, in particular our Global Council Chair Kiran Bali, who has helped me understand this remarkable organization. URI is blessed with such extraordinary volunteer leadership.  URI’s Global Staff is comprised of the Global Support Office (formerly called “The Hub”) based in San Francisco, as well as Regional Offices in the following regions:

·         Africa (Djibouti; Ethiopia, Nigeria; South Africa; Uganda)

·         Asia (India: Delhi, Kerala, Mumbai, West Bengal; Korea; Pakistan)

·         Europe (Belgium; Germany; United Kingdom)

·         Latin America and the Caribbean (Argentina; Venezuela)

·         Middle East and North Africa (Jordan)

·         Multiregion (Transnational)

·         North America (USA)

·         Southeast Asia and the Pacific (The Philippines)

We are so fortunate to have staff around the world so talented and so dedicated to URI’s mission. In addition to these two leadership groups, URI is supported by a group of advisors who form The President’s Council, (members of which will also join us at the June meeting,) that works with the President and Executive Director to ensure that sustainability of URI’s Global Network.The purpose of all of these leadership teams is ultimately to support the life and growth of URI’s Network of Cooperation Circles. We are dedicated to growing, energizing, nurturing and resourcing URI’s extraordinary network of Cooperation Circles. Together with members of Cooperation Circles worldwide, we are now in the process of writing the second chapter of the URI story, and what a story it is!