TO MARK THE VISIT OF HIS HOLINESS THE DALAI LAMA 

YOUTH CHESS TOURNAMENTS FOR PEACE TO BE LAUNCHED AT

THE 2^nd GLOBAL CONFERENCE ON WORLD’S RELIGIONS AFTER 9/11

For Immediate Release

Montreal, August 11, 2011 — The Canadian Centre for Ecumenism is delighted to announce the launch of Youth Chess Tournaments for Peace, in Montreal, on September 7, 2011 in collaboration with MonRoi Inc. and the Canadian Chess’n Math Association. The event will coincide with the visit of His Holiness the Dalia Lama to the 2^nd Global Conference on World’s Religions After 9/11, a combined initiative of McGill University and the University of Montréal.

In making the announcement, Deacon Anthony Mansour, Executive Director of the Canadian Centre for Ecumenism said, “Our Centre promotes interfaith dialogue. For this exceptional event, we are bringing together youth chess players with the theme of peace through chess. Chess demonstrates that a resolution of differences can be accomplished in a spirit of mutual respect and understanding and fair play.”

The conference convenor, Dr. Arvind Sharma of McGill University’s Faculty of Religious Studies says,”The 2^nd Global Conference on World's Religions After 9/11’s aim is to bring together the various religions of the world in an ecumenical spirit to address the many issues facing the world today”. At the 2nd Global Conference on World's Religions After 9/11 His Holiness, the Dalai Lama, will be joined by Nobel Peace Laureate Shirin Ebadi, world-famous author Deepak Chopra, Professors Tariq Ramadan, Robert Thurman, Steven T. Katz, Gregory Baum and Swami Dayananda Saraswati who will speak on the theme "Peace Through Religion".

The Chess'n Math Association was founded in 1985 and now has three offices, 20 full-time staff and over 100 qualified chess instructors, who teach chess as an extra-curricular activity to over 10,000 youngsters every week.

The event is endorsed by the World Chess Federation (FIDE). In a letter to organizers the President says that FIDE is proud to be associated with the 2011 Youth Chess Tournament for Peace, which promotes harmony amongst the people of the world. FIDE, which is recognized by the International Olympic Committee as an Intentional Sports Federation, with 170 member federations, has several on-going projects with the Peace and Sports organization.

“Ten years following the events of September 11th, 2001 the need for renewal of the world’s commitment to a culture of peace is self-evident. The values enshrined in the Universal Declaration on Human Rights, have always been part and parcel of the fundamental teachings of all of the world’s great religions, and must be at the forefront of all of our actions. The further expansion and strengthening of our spiritual consciousness in the years to come will be a major driving force to the evolution of society. Technology is playing a major role in bringing people together and we are proud to contribute, through our webcast of the event. Each of the 2011 Youth Chess Tournament for Peace participants will come out as a winner," said the founder of MonRoi Inc, Brana Giancristofaro.

Download the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by World's Religions

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