On March 22, for the first time ever, Armstrong will present the “State of the Charter for Compassion,” highlighting the progress made around the world to re-center society around compassionate action and create a more peaceful planet. The live video will begin at 9 p.m. on the East Coast.
Her presentation will include stories from Pakistan, Jordan, Kentucky and Vancouver. She will address a global call to action with “Assignment Compassion,” and unveil of the redesigned Charter for Compassion site -- the new hub for this movement.
Karen Armstrong is a former Catholic nun, world-renowned author, historian and religious scholar. In 2008 she won the TED Prize and was granted the opportunity to fulfill one wish: to restore the Golden Rule -- treating others as we wish to be treated ourselves -- to the center of religious, moral and civic life.
Through the TED Prize, Armstrong gathered a council of religious leaders from around the world and created the Charter for Compassion in 2009, a document endorsed by Archbishop Desmond Tutu and the Dalai Lama.
Since then, the Charter for Compassion has become the heart of a global compassion movement, now more than 80,000 strong.
The “State of the Charter for Compassion” presentation will take place at a public lecture hosted by Simon Fraser University's Centre for Dialogue as part of "12 Days of Compassion," a Vancouver-wide conversation on compassion taking place March 19-30. The presentation will be preceded by the launch of the Greater Vancouver Compassion Network -- part of an international movement to build compassionate communities -- and a 45-minute lecture by Armstrong on the topic, "What is Religion?" The entire event will be available via Livestream.
The Livestream is also available at charterforcompassion.org and www.livestream.com/SFUDialogue.
Full Schedule of events (all times approximate):
7:00 p.m. PT- Event starts
7:05 p.m. PT- Launch of Greater Vancouver Compassion Network (GVCN), presented by Alisdair Smith, Chair, Greater Vancouver Compassion Network
7:15 p.m. PT- Karen Armstrong: “What is Religion?” (45 Minutes)
8:00 p.m. PT- Karen Armstrong: “State of the Charter for Compassion” (20 Minutes)
8:20 p.m. PT- Q&A with Karen Armstrong