All three cities' Bid Teams participated in a Partnership Conference in Chicago, Illinois from May 16-20, 2010. At the Partnership Conference, the bid cities were briefed on the CPWR's requirements for the site selection process and the Parliament event. The actual statistical and financial information from the 2009 Parliament in Melbourne, Australia was also made available to the bid cities who have to submit their final written proposal to the Council by August 1, 2010. After reviewing the proposals and conducting host site visits, the CPWR will make its final selection for the 2014 host city in March 2011. The 2014 host city will be publicly announced in October 2011.
After all of the technicalities of the Partnership Conference were over, Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu treated the bid cities to a special address on May 20, 2010 via a live video stream from Cape Town, South Africa. In his address, Archbishop Tutu welcomed the cities to the bidding process and articulated the positive impact hosting the Parliament can have in making their city more inclusive and tolerant. The address marked South Africa's 10th anniversary of hosting the 1999 Parliament of the World's Religions. Archbishop Tutu's address took place as part of the Cape Town Interfaith Initiative's 10th anniversary celebration, which included the launch of Karen Armstrong's Charter For Compassion in South Africa. Armstrong, who was a featured speaker at the 2009 Parliament, also addressed the Partnership Conference via a pre-recorded video from Cape Town.
Rev. Dirk Ficca, Executive Director of the CPWR reflected on Archbishop Tutu's endless support of the Parliament, and said, "Since his extraordinary leadership in the effort to dismantle Apartheid in South Africa, Archbishop Tutu has been an icon of the interreligious movement. With the election of Nelson Mandela in 1994, Desmond Tutu has been in the forefront of the ongoing task to create a more just and equitable society in South Africa. Like Archbishop Tutu, we are immensely proud of the role the 1999 Cape Town Parliament played in this historic process of national reconciliation."
Archbishop Tutu's video address will be made available by the CPWR in the coming days. We will post his address at the end of this article as soon as it is released.
Website: www.parliamentofreligions.org