County resident addresses New York forum on World Civilizations
Administrator | Nov 14, 2012 | Comments 0

Dr. McLuhan delivering his address, seated beside Mr. Zhang Jiyu, vice-president of Chinese Daoist Association.
Prince Edward County resident Dr. Eric McLuhan, and his son, Picton resident Andrew McLuhan, were invited to New York last weekend to attend the New York Forum on World Civilizations, hosted by the China Energy Fund Committee, at the United Nations. The purpose of the forum was to foster dialogue between Christianity and Confucianism, and featured experts on Eastern and Western religions and cultures, and key representatives from Christianity, Confucianism, Daoism and Buddhism.
Dr. McLuhan spoke on the global renaissance and delivered a brief analysis on the cycle he says sees a renaissance every 400 years or so, as the result of new technologies.
“The forum, which took place at the United Nations headquarters in Manhattan Nov. 10-11, was an important meeting of East and West with an aim toward fostering dialogue between China and the United States and, by talking with and learning about their respective major religions, discussing ways of avoiding conflict and improving relations,” said Andrew McLuhan.
With respect to the damage left from remnants of Hurricane Sandy, Andrew noted the forum almost had to make a change of venue.
“The basement of the UN Headquarters in Manhattan (which is located on the riverbank) had flooded – but they managed to get it up and running in time to hold the forum in the building,” he said.
The forum closed with a gala dinner at the Metropolitan Opera House which featured Chinese cuisine and wines, and also featured addresses by the President of the United Nations General Assembly, a retired Admiral and former Deputy Director of the CIA, as well as representatives of the China Energy Fund Committee, and keynote speaker from the forum, Prof. Xu Jialu, President of the Organizing Committee of the Nishan Forum on World Civilizations.
Filed Under: Arts & Culture • Local News
About the Author: