Changing Times Blog

2008 Retrospect

This fantastic video gave a broad overview of current affairs in the past year to the CT participants.

Thank you to Aris Dimitriou for the outstanding work

A First-Time Presenter’s Perspective

My name is David Henderson, and I have been asked to blog from Changing Times, as a first-time presenter at the conference. So, as an American who has come to this remarkable event, here are a few words …

Between now and the end of the year, I am participating in the events and giving a series of lectures and workshops at the Changing Times European Young Adult Forum. It’s held at the Townshend International School in the southern Czech village of Hluboka nad Vitavou.

I have never before known of such an astonishing conference that brings together 230 young adult professionals from 40 countries to learn and share information. The best comparison, I believe, is to say that Changing Times, now in its 7th year, is approaching the caliber of the annual Davos Economic Forum … except Changing Times is for tomorrow’s world leaders. The young professionals at this conference are among the brightest people I have ever met. They come from academics, medicine, technology and business.

A few of the speakers include Dr. Moshe Sharon from Hebrew University in Jerusalem; Italian business leader Giuseppe Robiati; Mr. Ian Semple; Mr. Burhaniddin Afshin; actor Phillip Hinton; award-winning fiction writer Holiday Reinhorn; and, the popular American actor, Rainn Wilson.

Here is a music video of photos from the first day:

CT08 Live!

We’ll be blogging live from the Changing Times Conference the coming days, bringing selected program features to you. Stay tuned!

Proven innocent – but still guilty

There’s only one way to deal with busybodies trying to help young people become good citizens. Throw them in prison. Comedian Inder Manocha casts a wry look at the situation of Iran’s largest non-Muslim religious minority, the Baha’is:

At a time when youth crime is on the rise and images of young people wielding weapons in the name of yet another cause are commonplace on our television screens, any group of people attempting to promote the opposite trend is worthy of attention.

There is only one fitting way to acknowledge the efforts of such individuals: jail them. Such people cannot be trusted; especially if they belong to some dangerous, deviant religious movement that espouses equality and tolerance. Thank heavens then for the Justice Administration of Shiraz in the Islamic Republic of Iran. They can spot a deviant a mile off.

In May 2006, fifty-three young followers of the Baha’i faith were arrested on the grounds of indirectly teaching their religion under the guise of a social service project for underprivileged children in Shiraz and the surrounding localities in the south of Iran, aimed at developing the moral values, literacy levels and hygiene standards of these young people. Three of the Baha’is were incarcerated in November 2007, having been sentenced to four years’ imprisonment. So far, so good.

Read the rest of this piece

Police Raid, Close Offices of Shirin Ebadi

Agence France Press (AFP) has just released the news that the Iranian authorities have closed down the offices of Nobel Laureate human rights defender Shirin Ebadi. Mrs. Ebadi is defending the seven Baha’is arrested for their administrative activities in May. Her office has been a crucial voice in defending the Baha’is of Iran

TEHRAN (AFP) — Iranian security forces have raided and closed the Tehran office of the human rights center run by 2003 Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shirin Ebadi.

Iran’s judiciary confirmed the closure, saying the center was involved in “illegal” activities, according to the semi-official Mehr news agency.

“The center was acting as a [political] party without having legal permit,” the report said. “It had illegal contacts with local and foreign organizations. It had organized news conferences and seminars.”

In an interview with RFE/RL’s Radio Farda, Narges Mohammadi, the deputy head of the Human Rights Defenders Center, said 10 to 15 uniformed and plainclothes security agents entered the watchdog’s office in northwest Tehran as members, including Ebadi herself, were preparing to belatedly commemorate the 60th anniversary of Human Rights Day on December 10.

“I asked them to show their legal warrants,” Mohammadi told RFE/RL, “but they declined to show any authorization. Now, there are 10 to 15 agents in the building, and they are filming us.”

Mohammadi said 200 to 300 guests had been invited to the celebration but that they had been barred from entering.

“This is an illegal act,” she said. “They had no kind of authorization of any kind. They are sealing the office, and our resistance is useless.”

Ebadi criticized the raid, saying it will not stop human rights activists in Iran.

“The closure of the office without providing a legal warrant is illegal. We will protest against it,” Ebadi told Reuters. “It will not deprive us from our rights activities.”

Ebadi used a UN forum in Geneva on Human Rights Day to condemn hard-liners in power in some Muslim countries and rulers of the world’s last communist states as abusers of human rights. She said Muslim dictatorships use religion to underpin their own power.

Read more and stay informed at Iran Press Watch.

The Wayfarer: Ba-Hai in Kiwiland

The Wayfarer recently featured on New Zealand TV. See an excerpt and the television feature below:

“A Kiwi film-maker has been travelling the globe making a documentary about one of the world’s newest religions.

Jess Firth, a self-confessed religious sceptic, heard about Ba-Hai an obscure yet growing religion founded a century and a half ago and found it so enthralling he travelled to Israel to make a film about it.”

Read the rest of the story online at 3 News

Andy Grammer Liberty Live Tour

Son of widely acclaimed, Grammy-nominated children’s singer, Red Grammer, Andy has been around music his whole life and got his itch for songwriting listening to his father hammering away chords in the next room.

Andy Grammer brings a fresh uplifting approach to the singer songwriter scene. Navigating with a sharp wit and honesty through the perils of dating, sex, materialism and love, Andy looks to Baha’i teachings for a search for truth.

From Hungary to Frankfurt

Our Hungarian Friends are up with a new clip on ‘Going to Frankfurt’, Part 2 to the legendary ‘Masses are Waiting’ clip.