Unintentional Intolerance

Steve Robbins (pictured) will discuss "Unintentional Intolerance: What Nice People Need to Know" during a 3 p.m. event 17 November in 93 Auditorium at Eli Lilly and Company's corporate headquarters in Indianapolis.

Dr. Robbins, a diversity expert, notes that "cognitive flexibility and behavioral adaptability are necessary for navigating a 21st century world". A reception follows his presentation.

The event is sponsored by Lilly India Network, Eli Lilly Asian Network, Chinese Culture Network at Lilly, Middle Eastern Network at Lilly and the Asian-American Alliance of Indiana. For reservations, please send an email; deadline is 8 November.

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Lotus Festival: World Music & Arts

The Lotus World Music & Arts Festival, set for 24-27 September in Bloomington, has so much going on it's hard to settle on just one aspect.

For example, here are just some of the performers scheduled to appear:

# Rahim AlHaj / Friday
Virtuoso Iraqi oud

# Bajofondo / Saturday
Electrotango from Argentina

# BLK JKS / Saturday
Psychedelic, Afro-futuristic rock from South Africa

# Cara Dillon / Friday, Saturday
Irish traditional song

# Forro in the Dark / Saturday
Northeastern Brazilian party music

# Hanggai / Saturday, Sunday
Folk music from Inner Mongolia & China

# Huun Huur-Tu & Carmen Rizzo / Friday
Electronica meets throat-singing from Tuva

# Kinobe & Soul Beat Africa / Friday, Saturday
Ugandan song, dance, & drumming

# Srinivas Krishnan & Madras Broadcast / Saturday, Sunday
Indian fusion

# Little Cow / Thursday, Friday
Ska/rock/funk/Gypsy fusion from Hungary

# Los de Abajo / Friday, Saturday
Salsa, punk, and rock from Mexico

# The Megitza Quartet / Friday
Roma and East European world fusion

# Occidental Brothers Dance Band International / Friday
Central & West African dance music

# Orchestra of Tetouan / Friday, Saturday
Traditional vocal & instrumental music of Andalusia & North Africa

# Parno Graszt / Thursday, Friday, Saturday
Hungarian Gypsy music

# Salaam / Saturday
Middle Eastern & North African traditional music

# Väsen / Thursday
Contemporary instrumental folk music from Sweden

# Vishtén / Saturday, Sunday
Acadian traditional music, song, and dance

# Watcha Clan/ Friday, Saturday
Global fusion from France

# The Zolfonoon Ensemble of Iran / Saturday
Classical Persian

Did you know that the festival honors Lotus Dickey (1911-1989)? The folk singer, songwriter, and musician from rural Orange County, Indiana, wrote tunes and songs that drew from his family and community, as well as from country singers and fiddlers he heard on the radio. Each year, the Lotus World Music and Arts Festival honors Lotus Dickey's memory with a set of music or an interactive workshop that introduces new audiences to his music and the old-time traditions of the United States.

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Middle Eastern Festival of Indianapolis

The annual Middle Eastern Festival sponsored by St. George Antiochian Orthodox Christian Church will be held 17-19 July on the church grounds, 4020 North Sherman Drive, Indianapolis. Admission is $5 at the door, with children under 12 free. If you purchase $10 worth of food coupons in advance, admission is free.

There'll be food (obviously!), live music, cultural exhibits, kids' activities and a marketplace plus dancing with Elias Haddad & Band. For more information, check the website, or call 317:547-9356.

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Asian Festival at Valpo on 4 April

Asian culture will be celebrated during an event organized by Valparaiso University students featuring the diverse food, music, languages and culture of the world's largest continent.

“Taste of Asia,” sponsored by Valpo's Asian American Association, will take place from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. 4 April in Harre Union on the campus in Valparaiso. The event is open to the public and tickets may be purchased for $2 at Harre Union Welcome Desk.

Samples of food from the Middle East, India, China and Mongolia will be served periodically throughout the event, and students will perform songs from India and the Philippines, a Middle Eastern scarf dance and a skit about Saudi Arabia.

Several interactive activities also will be available, including henna body art and a booth where people can have their name written in different languages, including Arabic and Hindi.

For more information, send an e-mail to Jessiemarie White, or call the Harre Union Welcome Desk at 219:464-5415.

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Indiana's Toyotas Headed Overseas

As reported by Inside INdiana Business, Toyota Motor Corporation has announced that it will export the Sequoia SUV made at Toyota Motor Manufacturing in Princeton to the Middle East and South America.

Corporate Social Responsibility in the Middle East

Barbara Ibrahim will discuss "Corporate Social Responsibility in the Middle East: Citizen Business Leaders" during a 4 p.m. presentation today (10 December) in the Lilly Auditorium of the University Library at Indiana University-Purdue University in Indianapolis.

The event is sponsored by the Indiana University Center on Philanthropy at IUPUI. Ibrahim, Director of the John D. Gerhart Center for Philanthropy and Civic Engagement at American University in Cairo, has spent the fall semester with the Center on Philanthropy as a visiting scholar.

An Indiana University alumna and former program officer with the Ford Foundation in Cairo, Ibrahim is an expert on international philanthropy, especially philanthropy in Arab nations, nations with strong Islamic communities, and diaspora philanthropy among Muslims in the United States and elsewhere.

Friedman Talks at Purdue on 19 September

Purdue University reports that Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author Thomas L. Friedman, the foreign affairs columnist for the New York Times, will speak at Purdue on 19 September about his upcoming book Hot, Flat, and Crowded: Why We Need a Green Revolution - and How It Can Renew America.

Friedman, whose talk will begin at 7 p.m. in the Elliott Hall of Music on the West Lafayette dampus, has reported on the current Middle East conflicts, the end of the Cold War, U.S. domestic politics and foreign policy, international economics, and the worldwide impact of the terrorist threat.

The speech is free and open to the public, but tickets are required in order to reserve a seat. Tickets can be picked up at the Elliott Hall of Music after 25 August.

International Interfaith Symposium

An innovative series of programs kicks off tomorrow evening with “Stories and Photos from the Middle East, 1978-2003”, a presentation by Bill Foley, photojournalist, at 7 p.m. in Marian College's Allison Mansion.

The event, titled “International Interfaith Symposium”, kicks into high gear on Wednesday (19 March), with all events in the Campus Center at Indiana University-Purdue University in Indianapolis.

The first speaker (2 p.m.) is Klaus Martin Finzel, founder of the International Interfaith Initiative, followed by Giles Hoyt (discussing German philanthropist Mas Kade), Robert J. Helfenbein (on faith and civil society), Bill Foley and others discussing the Middle East, Shaw Towfighi (Persian New Year), Henry Cole (citizen diplomacy), Ref. Felipe Martinez and John Clark (Hispanic America).

Thursday’s (20 March) packed schedule, also in the Campus Center of IUPUI, begins with a youth dialogue (10 a.m.) and continues through the day with Dr. Chalmer Thompson, Ayumi Suzuki, Terry Morris-Downs, Sally Brown, Michael Greven, Charlie Wiles, Dr. Kevin Logan and more.

A film festival and book discussions will take place on Friday and Saturday (21-22 March). Exhibits will be open on the fourth floor of IUPUI’s Campus Center between 10 a.m. and 7 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday. All events are free and open to the public.

The complete schedule is here. For more information, see website or call Charlie McDonald, 317:283-2730.

International Interfaith Initiative is a collaborative effort between Indiana University School of Education’s Center for Urban and Multicultural Education, Peace Learning Center, Max Kade German American Center, Sagamore Institute for Policy Research, and members of the Indianapolis community - all working toward the realization of the vision to create a network that facilitates and initiates interfaith cooperation to strengthen civil society.

The Middle East in Stories and Photos

“Stories and Photos from the Middle East, 1978-2003,” is the topic for a talk by Bill Foley (left) at Marian College in Indianapolis.

Foley is an award-winning photojournalist who grew up in Indianapolis and has worked in 47 countries over the last 30 years, including nine years in Cairo and Beirut. His series on the 1982 Sabra and Shatila massacres earned him a Pulitzer Prize in 1983.

Foley’s talk, at 7 p.m. 18 March in the college's Allison Mansion, is sponsored by The Richard G. Lugar Franciscan Center for Global Studies at Marian College, in conjunction with the International Interfaith Initiative, and is part of the Global Studies Speaker Series.

The event is free and open to the public; registration is required.

The event is part of the 2008 International Interfaith Symposium, “Faith, Civil Society, and International Relations,” which will take place 19-22 March at Indiana University-Purdue University in Indianapolis.

Middle East and North Africa Seminar

Learn more about doing business in the Middle East and North Africa at a seminar sponsored by the United States Commercial Service of the U.S. Department of Commerce.

The half-day seminar begins with a continental breakfast and registration at 8:30 a.m. Friday (4 May) in Rawls Hall Room 1011, Purdue University, West Lafayette, and ending at noon.

Also included is a market overview on doing business with the United Arab Emirates.

Cost is $65.00 per person to attend. Register online. Information, Mark Cooper, 317:582-2300.

See event flyer for more.

More "Great Decisions" Discussions Scheduled

Four “Great Decisions” topics are still ahead for the Mid-North Shepherd Center at North United Methodist Church, 38th and Meridian Streets, Indianapolis.

At 11 a.m. Wednesday (11 April), Dr. Pierre Atlas, head of Marian College's Franciscan Center for Global Studies, discusses what can be done in the Middle East.

Dr. Steve Jones of Indiana University-Purdue University in Indianapolis talks about the causes and possible solutions of Mexico’s crises at 11 a.m. Wednesday (18 April).

Migration – the movement of people across international borders – is the topic for IUPUI’s Susan Erickson at 11 a.m. Wednesday (25 April).

Explore South Africa with Kelly Campbell, vice president of operations for Ambassadors for Children, at 11 a.m. (2 May)

Information, email or 317:924-0959. You can read more at John Clark’s IndyBuzz.

IU Bloomington's Annual Middle Eastern Festival

"The Arts of the Middle East Festival" kicks off Thursday at Indiana University Bloomington, running through 10 February.

Most of the events are free, and all are open to the public, including Middle Eastern dance, talks on art and ethnomusicology, art demonstrations, films, presentations of Middle Eastern folktales and poetry, and lectures.

For a schedule, check the website.

Indy's Great Decisions Discussion Series

Two organizations in Indianapolis are hosting “Great Decisions” discussion series in 2007: Church of the Savior and the Indiana Council on World Affairs.

Great Decisions, a global affairs education program, is sponsored by Foreign Policy Association.

Themes are selected each year to engage citizens in learning about the world. The Briefing Book” provided by the FPA places the thematic or geographic issue in historical context and provides background, current policies and alternative policy options. Photographs, maps, charts and editorial cartoons illustrate the text. Discussion questions, annotated reading suggestions and additional resources, including websites, are provided. An opinion ballot for the National Opinion Ballot Report accompanies each topic so that readers can express their views, according to the FPA.

The schedule at Church of the Savior, 6205 Rucker Road, Indianapolis is:

• "Global Climate Change", 7 p.m. 31 January


• ”Mexico”, 7 p.m. 7 February


• ”International Migration”, 7 p.m. 14 February


• ”South Africa”, 7 p.m. 21 February


• ”War Crimes”, 7 p.m. 28 February


• ”Central Asia”, 7 p.m. 7 March


• ”Children and International Conflict”, 13 March

The schedule for the ICWA series, held in the Pharmacy Building at Butler University in Indianapolis is:

• ”Global Climate Change”, 7 p.m. 6 February


• ”Middle East”, 7 p.m. 13 February


• ”Mexico”, 7 p.m. 20 February


• ”Global Migration”, 7 p.m. 27 February


• ”South Africa”, 7 p.m. 6 March


• ”War Crimes”, 7 p.m. 13 March


• ”Central Asia”, 7 p.m. 20 March

For more information, see John Clark’s IndyBuzz.


UPDATE

There's also a Great Decisions series underway this year at Mid-North Shepherd Center in North United Methodist Church in Indianapolis. Information, email or 317:924-0959. Their session on global climate change is 4 April.