Interfaith Council
An Interfaith Council on Ethics Education for Children was established in 2004 with the aim to develop, design and promote the Ethics Education initiative in cooperation with all who share this vision, to seek partnerships and to develop alliances with religious communities, United Nations (UN) agencies, NGOs and others in the effort to realize the Rights of the Child, as set out in the UN Convention. The first priority of the Council was to develop a manual for ethics education using an interfaith approach. In May 2008, the Learning To Live Together Programme was introduced. The Learning To Live Together Programme is the first output to advance this initiative and for promoting ethics and values among children, both in religious and secular contexts.
Dr. Kezevino Aram
Director, Shanti Ashram, CHAIR
In the past 10 years, Vinu, as she is fondly called, has sought many creative ways in furthering the cause of children, through health care, education and poverty alleviation initiatives. Her professional training in child health has helped her conceptualize innovative programs for micro-level interventions and research inputs to macro level policies.
Ms. Agneta Ucko
Former Director of Arigatou International, Vice-CHAIR
Agneta Ucko was the Director of Arigatou International from 2003 to 2013, where she was responsible for the development of the ethics education programme – Learning to Live Together. For the period 2005 – 2007, Ms Ucko served as President of the NGO Group for the Convention on the Rights of the Child, currently known as Child Rights Connect.
Dr. Heidi Hadsell
PhD, Hartford Seminary, President and Professor of Social Ethics
Heidi Hadsell, Ph.D., is President of Hartford Seminary and Professor of Social Ethics. She has a deep commitment to interfaith dialogue and engagement, believing that in today’s religiously plural world, it is essential to understand and work with religions beyond one’s own.
Rev. Dr. Hans Ucko
DTh, Former Director of the Office on Inter-religious Relations and Dialogue, Co-chair of the DPAC Council
Hans Ucko was after theological studies in Lund, Sweden ordained in the Church of Sweden and early assigned to various aspects of interreligious dialogue. He holds a DTh. from The Senate of Serampore College in India, comparing contextual Asian theological use of the concepts “people” and “peoplehood” in the Old Testament and their equivalent use in the Jewish tradition.
Dr. Angelos Vallianatos
School Advisor for Religion Lesson, Ministry of Education
Dr. Angelos Vallianatos (PhD in Theology, University of Athens 1996) works as a School Advisor and as a teacher trainer in Athens, Greece.
Dr. Ilham Nasser
PhD, University of Maryland, Associate Professor
My name is Ilham Nasser; I am a Palestinian American educator who spent over twenty five years in teacher training and research in different educational settings in the U.S.A., Africa, and the Middle East. A native of the city of Nazareth, I came to the U.S.
Dr. Rashid Omar
Research Scholar of Islamic Studies & Peacebuilding at the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, University of Notre Dame
A. Rashied Omar is a Research Scholar of Islamic Studies and Peacebuilding at the Joan B. Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, University of Notre Dame, USA, and Imam of the Claremont Main Road Mosque in Cape Town, South Africa.
Ms. Maria Lucia Uribe Torres
Director Arigatou International Geneva, Secretary General Interfaith Council
Maria Lucia is in charge of the strategic direction of the office, the management of its ethics education program through its enhancement, further development and partnerships, and of developing and maintaining the Arigatou International engagement in child rights initiatives with UN agencies and child rights focused NGOs.
