Religious Pluralism By Way of Web Technology

By UUA International Resources

iPhones. MySpace. Viral marketing. Cell phones. No matter where we go, we are as connected as we want to be (and then some) to current technology, and through this internet medium, to one another. In many ways an informational smorgasbord, the internet experience is what we make of it; whether feeding a celebrity news vice, keeping up-to-date with world events, or spending hours a day socializing via blogs, forums and chat applications, we are what we "eat" (depending on what we "byte"). Under this free-for-all pretense, it's easy to lose sight of all of the constructive (read: less-than-self-indulgent) communication possibilities with our pervasive technology. Not so for Kyohei Mikawa. Kyohei has a vision of the future (2015, to be exact). By utilizing web technology, he proposes an unprecedented and ambitious project where 102,000 youth across the globe, across faiths, and across traditions will virtually convene to share, discuss and explore faith in an effort to promote religious pluralism. The project, called "World Web Conference of Religions for Youth in 2015" is still in its early planning stages, and will be developed over the next seven years. In the following video clip, Kyohei explains the scope, goals and intentions of his project: Kyohei describes "World Web Conference of Religions for Youth in 2015" As technology continuously impacts our lives and the ways in which we interact, it's important to evaluate both the ways it is used and the ways it can be used. Luckily we have religious visionaries like Kyohei working towards bridging this gap, endeavoring to promote open discussion amongst today's youth with (today's and) tomorrow's technology. Best of luck, Kyohei! A member of Rissho Kosei-kai, Kyohei Mikawa hails from Japan. Currently a visiting student at Meadville Lombard Theological School in Chicago, Kyohei is studying under Eboo Patel of Interfaith Youth Core. In July 2008, Kyohei visited the International Resources Office at the UUA to share and hear feedback about his project with our office.

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UUA International Resources

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