Monday 9^th February 1998

Dr. George Carey was enthroned as the 103^rd Archbishop of Canterbury in April 1991. The Archbishop is primus inter pares among the Primates of the 70 million strong Anglican Community world-wide, and as such, is expected to maintain the unity of the Communion through bonds of affection and shared belief. He has a key role in relationships with other denominations and faiths not only within the United Kingdom, but throughout the world.

Dr Carey was ordained priest in 1963 and served parishes in London and Durham. He was a lecturer in theology in London and Nottingham and also served as the Principal of Trinity College in Bristol before becoming Bishop of Bath and Wells in 1987.

James D. Wolfensohn became President of the World Bank Group on June 1, 1995. He established his career as an international investment banker with parallel involvement in development issues and the global environment. As President of the World Bank he has taken the initiative in forming new strategic partnerships between the Bank and the governments it serves, the private sector, civil society, regional development banks and the United Nations. In 1996, together with the IMF, Mr. Wolfensohn initiated the multilateral debt relief proposal for the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) to ease their debt burden. In order to improve the Bank’s effectiveness in fighting poverty, and to meet the needs of a rapidly changing global economy, Mr. Wolfensohn has launched a major reform programme in the Bank - The Strategic Compact.

Prior to joining the Bank, Mr. Wolfensohn was President and Chief Executive Officer of James D. Wolfensohn Inc., his own investment firm set up in 1981. He was born in Australia and is a naturalised US citizen. In May 1995 he was awarded an Honorary Knighthood by Queen Elizabeth II for his contribution to the arts.

Kiser Barnes, representing the International Baha'i Community, Haifa, Israel. Mr Barnes, who holds the position of International Counsellor, is a member of the International Teaching Centre, the body responsible for fostering and monitoring the propagation of the Baha'i teachings throughout the world. He is a citizen of the United States of America and an attorney. For many years he taught the Law of Corporations and International Economic Law at universities in the Republic of Benin, Togo, and Nigeria, before relocating to Israel in l993.

Accompanying Mr. Barnes will be Lawrence Arturo, Director of the Baha’i International Office of the Environment in New York City and Baha’i Representative to the United Nations on environmental and development issues.

Nambaryn Enkhbayar, Leader of the Minority in the Parliament of Mongolia, a Member of the Parliament and Chairman of the Mongolian People’s Revolutionary Party. Former Minister of Culture, he continues to work on religious and cultural issues through his involvement with UNESCO and as President of Mongolia’s National Commission of Museums. He is also working closely with Indian Ambassador Sri Kushok Bakula, who, among Mongolians, is a highly respected Buddhist Lama.

Accompanied by Sulak Sivaraksa, who is a social activist and founder of small economy model developments in Thailand. He has been particularly involved in the ‘Spirit in Education’ movement and the ‘Alternative to Consumerism’ network which seeks to combat consumerist values and promote spiritually-based development. Winner of the 1995 Right Livelihood Award, he is a writer, traveller and speaker.

Metropolitan John of Pergamon, representing the Ecumenical Patriarchate. Formerly Professor of Theology at Glasgow University and Kings College, London, he is a key figure in major ecumenical dialogues between the Orthodox Church and the other main Christian traditions. He is a leading theologian in the area of ‘Orthodoxy and Ecology’ and he has played a central role in making the Orthodox Church one of the most active religious communities involved with development and environmental issues.

Archimandrite Feofan (secular name Ivan Andreyevich Ashurkov) is the Deputy Chairman of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate. He is also the rector of the Holy Trinity Church in Khoroshevo, Moscow. He graduated from the Moscow Theological Academy in 1976 and was sent to the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem. From 1984 to 1987 he was a secretary of the Russian Orthodox Church Exarchate of Central and South America. In 1989 he was appointed Exarch of the Patriarch of Moscow at the Patriarch of Alexandria and all Africa and Rector of the Alexander Nevsky Church in Alexandria, Egypt where he remained until his appointment to the Moscow Patriarchate in 1993.

Dr. George Carey, The Archbishop of Canterbury - (see Co-Chairs)

Accompanying the Archbishop of Canterbury will be Wendy Tyndale. Wendy Tyndale has been asked by the Archbishop of Canterbury to act as his specialist adviser on the World Faiths and Development Dialogue.

Since 1997 she has worked as Christian Aid's area co-ordinator in Oxford. She has spent most of her life working on human rights and development work in Latin America in close connection with Christians of all denominations both in Latin America and in Europe. From 1986-94 she was head of the Latin America and Caribbean Department of Christian Aid. In 1995 she went to Guatemala to co-ordinate a joint office of five major European ecumenical development agencies in Central America. She has published many articles on development and social issues.

The Right Rev. Thomas Olmorijoi Laiser, Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania, the Arusha Diocese. Bishop Laiser was first elected Diocesan Bishop in 1986, also served as Synod President and as well as district and parish minister. He has represented the ELCT at a number of international conferences dealing with justice and development issues and is a member of the Maasai Tribe. He holds both a Bachelor of Divinity and a Master of Sacred Theology.

His Eminence Cardinal Roger Etchegaray, President of The Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, The Vatican. He was Secretary General of the French Episcopal Conference (1966-70), Archbishop of Marseilles (1970-84), appointed Cardinal (1970) and became International President of the Council for Justice and Peace for the Roman Catholic Church (1984 to present). Based at the Vatican, he oversees the international programme of the Catholic Church on issues related to justice and peace, such as ecology, development, and human rights.

HINDUS

Swami Vibudhesha Teertha, Head of the Sri Admar Mutt, Udipi, Karnataka, South India. He is a lifelong sannyasi, celibate monk, and one of twelve traditional acharyas, spiritual leaders, of the Madhva Sampradaya, established in the 11^th century as one of the four great Vaishnava orders. So closely are they associated with the spiritual and physical well-being of India until the 1990s none of them were permitted to travel outside of India. Swami Vibudhesha is the only one so far to do so. He has within his sphere of influence hundreds of primary and secondary schools as well as whole villages and towns, and his spiritual authority is recognised throughout India.

Acharya Srivatsa Goswami, Head of the Sri Caitanya Prema Samsthana, in Vrindavan. His family of eminent scholars and spiritual leaders at Sri Radharamana Mandir, are directly descended from one of the original disciples of Sri Caitanya, the great religious reformer of the 16gh century, and have been among the leadership of the Bhakti (devotional) movement since. He is a leading figure in the Vaishnava tradition which is based around worship of Lord Krishna and, in particular, his manifestation or avatar, Krishna. He is also chief adviser to the Vrindavan Conservation Project and a trustee of Friends of Vrindavan. He is a leading figure in interfaith relations world-wide, working with groups such as the World Conference on Religion and Peace, and is a former visiting professor of Religious Studies at Harvard University.

His Excellency Dr. L. M. Singhvi, Patron of the Institute of Jainology and a leading scholar of Jainism and of Vedic and Indic religions, and a prominent jurist, philosopher and parliamentarian. This institution has pioneered both scholarly studies and pragmatic environmental projects. Dr. Singhvi served as the Indian High Commissioner in London from 1990 to 1997 and has been keenly involved in both academic and practical programmes concerned with interfaith dialogue, the promotion of Indian and Vedic studies and with questions raised to/by religious communities about the secular status of India.

Professor Padmanabh S. Jaini, who is a trustee of the Institute of Jainology and Professor of Buddhist Studies at the University of California at Berkley. He has served as a trustee of the UK-based International Sacred Literature Trust and currently is a member of its Editorial Board. Professor Jaini received his Ph.D. at the University of London and publishes in the field of Buddhist and Jaina doctrine. He participated in the 1995 Interfaith Dialogue on Jainism and Christianity held at the Vatican.

Professor Rabbi Arthur Hertzberg (Conservative tradition), Vice President Emeritus of the World Jewish Congress. Former Professor of Humanities at Dartmouth, currently the Edgar Bronfman Professor of Humanities at New York University. He is one of the foremost scholars and writers on Judaism and he is often called upon by secular media to comment authoritatively on issues relating to Israel and Jewish values.

Professor Rabbi René Sirat (Orthodox tradition), Former Grand Rabbi of France, current Grand Rabbi of the Consistoire Central, Professor Emeritus and former Director of the Department of Near and Far Eastern Studies, University of Paris. Former President and permanent advisor to the Conference of European Rabbis. Founding President of the Hillel Academy and of the RACHI European University Institute.

Dr. Thomas Lachs (Reform tradition), former Board Member of the Bank of Austria and Head of the Foreign Affairs Department of the bank and, in this capacity, a past Alternate Governor for Austria at the International Monetary Fund. He currently serves as the Chair of the Board of the Jewish Museum of Vienna.

His Royal Highness Crown Prince El-Hassan Bin Talal of Jordan, 42^nd generation direct descendant of the Prophet Mohammad. In Jordan he has chaired the National Development Plan Committee and has established and directed the Islamic Scientific Academy, the Centre on Refugees, and the Centre for Educational Development. He also founded and co-chaired the Independent Commission on International Humanitarian Issues whose final report he presented to the United Nations in 1987. Crown Prince Hassan has been active in facilitating interfaith dialogue in co-operation with the Orthodox Centre of the Ecumenical Patriarchate (Chambesy), the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue (Vatican) and the Independent Commission of Christian Muslim Relations.

His Highness, The Aga Khan, the fourth Aga Khan since the foundation of the honorific title in 1817. The title denotes the spiritual leader or Imam of the Nizaris, the larger of the two main branches of Ismaili Shia community. The Ismailis and in particular the Aga Khan have developed a world-wide reputation for charity welfare and development work. In 1967 the current Aga Khan established the Aga Khan foundation specifically to promote such humanitarian and cultural work.

Sri Singh Sahib Manjit Singh, Jathedar of Anandpur, Punjab, India. President of the Sikh World Council. The Council of the Five Jathedars include the head priests of the five major centres of Sikhism and both spiritual and temporal leaders in Sikhism. The Jathedar has been instrumental in founding the Council in order to take seriously both the social and political realities of Sikhism in the Punjab and India but also the extensive Sikh diaspora around the world. He is also the moving inspiration behind the development of the Anandpur Development project - a project which is to design a sustainable, eco-friendly development in the ancient pilgrimage town of Anandpur.

Dr. Rajwant Singh, is a founding member of the Guru Gobind Singh Foundation, a leading Sikh organisation in the United States. Dr. Singh is a past president of the Interfaith Conference of Metropolitan Washington and is a board member of the American Interfaith Network. He has been invited by President Bill Clinton to the White House for consultations as well as to represent Sikhism.

Zhang Ji Yu, Vice-President, Vice Secretary General of the China Taoist Association at Bai Yun Guan, Beijing. Master Zhang is the 65^th descendent of the Heavenly Master, Zhang Daoling, founder of the first Taoist school. Master Zhang is the chief editor of the periodical "China Taoism" and also is a member of the China Peoples Political Consultative Committee, the highest political advising body in China. Master Zhang has worked extensively with ARC and ICOREC on a project conserving China’s Sacred Taoist Mountains.

Accompanied by Zhang Xun Mu, an academic researching Taoism at the Religious Research Center, an institute under the Religious Affairs Bureau of China. Mr. Zhang Xun Mu has worked on numerous occasions with the China Taoist Association which is the official body representing Taoism in China.

Also attending will be Tjalling Halbertsam, a Dutch national who has been working with Taoist groups in China to preserve seven major Taoist sacred mountains. He has been working with the China Taoist Association at the White Cloud Temple in Beijing on many international projects including the May ’97 preliminary meetings at the World Bank in Washington, D.C.

Andrew Purkis, the Archbishop of Canterbury’s Secretary for Public Affairs. Dr. Purkis is the Archbishop’s most senior adviser on the world outside the Church - Government and politics, royal family, industry and trade unions, and voluntary organisations. He is also the Archbishop’s chief public relations strategist. His previous positions include National Director for the Council for the Protection of Rural England, and Head of Policy and subsequently Assistant Director for the National Council for Voluntary Organisations. From 1974 to 1980 he served as a civil servant in Northern Ireland including a term as Private Secretary to the Permanent Under Secretary.

James D Wolfensohn, President of the World Bank Group - (see Co-Chairs).

Accompanying the President of the World Bank will be:

Ismail Serageldin, Vice-President for Environmentally and Socially Sustainable Development (ESSD). He is also Chairman of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), Chairman of the Consultative Group to Assist the Poorest (CGAP), and Chairman of the Global Water Partnership (GWP). Mr Serageldin holds a BSc from Cairo University and Masters and PhD Degrees from Harvard University. He has published widely on diverse topics including economic development, role of culture in development, human resource issues, the environment, Islamic values and architecture.

Andrew Rogerson, the World Bank's representative for the United Kingdom and Ireland. Most recently he was Country Director, based in Washington, for operations in Central Africa. From 1992 through 1994 he was manager of the Bank's regional office in Budapest, which focuses on welfare and financial sector reforms in Central Europe. In earlier assignments for the World Bank, he led project teams on the Maghreb, on India and Africa, and lived for three years in Burkina Faso. He holds degrees in economics from Cambridge University and the London School of Economics.

Dr. Wangari Maathai - Well-known environmentalist and womens’ rights activist, Maathai is the founder and moving spirit behind Kenya’s Green Belt Movement, a highly successful grassroots environmental movement. She is Kenya’s first female Ph.D. and Nairobi University’s first woman professor.

Dr. Vandana Shiva, founder and Director of the Institute of Science, Technolology and Ecology in Delhi. Dr Shiva has served as an advisor to governments in India and abroad as well as NGOs such as the International Forum on Globalisation, Women's Environment and Development Organisation and Third World Network. She has been a visiting professor and lecturer on the environment, feminism and economic development at universities and colleges in Norway, Britain, the United States of America and Canada and is asked to speak throughout the worldon the areas of environment, feminism and economic development. Dr Shiva trained as a physicist and did her PhD on the subject 'Hidden Variables and Non-locality in Quantum Theory' and then went on to inter-disciplinary research in science, technology and environmental policy.