Dr Josef Boehle  -  A Brief Biographical Note

 

 

Dr Josef Boehle is Research Fellow in Globalisation, Religion and Politics at the Department of Theology and Religion, University of Birmingham, UK and he is the Director of the Peace Charter for Forgiveness and Reconciliation.

 

From 2004–2010 Dr Boehle was the Coordinator of the UNESCO Chair in Interfaith Studies and from 2005-2010 a member of a UK Government (DFID) sponsored Research Consortium on 'Religions and Development' at the University of Birmingham.

 

 

 

 

 
 Conference on Interfaith Cooperation for Peace, 22 June 2005,

 United Nations Headquarters, New York   

 

He received a postgraduate degree in Theology from the University of Tübingen, Germany and received his PhD from the University of Birmingham in 2001 for his thesis on 'Inter-religious Co-operation in a Global Age'.

 

He taught modules on ‘Religion in Contemporary Global Politics’ and on ‘Religion and Peacebuilding’ at the University of Birmingham. He is currently working on a research project on ‘Religion and Peacebuilding: A Critical Analysis and Overview of Key Actors in International Relations’ and on publications on Religion in a Global Age and Forgiveness, Reconciliation and Peacebuilding.

 

He has worked for international interreligious organisations and helped to organise major conferences and summits addressing interreligious, intercultural and intercivilisational issues, including the first URI Global Summits and Charter, a Symposium at UNESCO headquarters in Paris on 'Unity in Diversity. Ethical and Spiritual Visions for the World' in November 2000, the Conference on Interfaith Cooperation for Peace at UN Headquarters on 22 June 2005 and the Civil Society Hearing of the High-level Dialogue on Interreligious and Intercultural Understanding and Cooperation for Peace of the UN General Assembly in October 2007.

 


United Religions Initiative Charter Signing, June 2000, Pittsburgh, USA

 

He participated in the Millennium NGO Forum at the UN in May 2000, the Millennium World Peace Summit at the UN in August 2000, the Conference on Interfaith Cooperation for Peace in June 2005 at the UN, the High-level Dialogue on Interreligious and Intercultural Understanding and Cooperation for Peace of the UN General Assembly in October 2007, the first, second, fourth, fifth and sixth UN Alliance of Civilizations Forum in Madrid, Spain (2008), Istanbul, Turkey (2009), Doha, Qatar (2011), Vienna, Austria (2013) and Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia (2014). In October 2010 he was one of the Interfaith Visionaries to be honoured at the 50th Anniversary Gala and Conference of the Temple of Understanding in New York City. He is now the Director of the Peace Charter for Forgiveness and Reconciliation.

Selected Symposia, Conferences, Workshops, Publications: Timeline of Dr Boehle

                                                                                                       

Earth Community: Globalisation and Civilisations,

Seminar organised at UN Association–UK, Oxford Branch, Oxford Union, 23 February 1999.

 

The UN System and Dialogue among Religions and Civilisations,

Paper Presented at the Higher Education for Peace Conference, University of Tromsoe, Norway, 6 May 2000.

 

Unity in Diversity. Ethical and Spiritual Visions for the World, Presenter and Member of Organising Team,

Symposium at UNESCO Headquarters, Paris, France, 19 November 2000.

 

Josef Boehle speaking at Unity in Diversity. Ethical and Spiritual Visions for the World,

Symposium, UNESCO Headquarters, Paris, France, 19 November 2000

 

 

Inter-religious Co-operation in an Age of Globalisation, Paper presented at conference of Centre UNESCO de Catalunya, World Trade Centre, Barcelona, 1 December 2000.

The Growth of International Inter-religious Activity, Paper presented at Transnational Civil Society Seminar,

London School of Economics, 2 June 2001.

 

Inter-religious Co-operation and Global Change: From a Clash of Civilisations to a Dialogue of Civilisations,
Paper presented at 2002 Annual Meeting of Academic Council on the United

Nations System, Cascais, Portugal, 22 June 2002.

 

Religious Co-operation or Confrontation?

Paper presented at An Inter-faith Perspective on Globalisation 2002 Conference,

Plater College, Oxford, 29 July 2002.

 

Inter-religious Cooperation and Global Change:
From a Clash of Civilisations to a Dialogue of Civilisations

Paper published in Pacifica Review: Peace, Security and Global Change,

Volume 14, Number 3, October 2002.

 

Inter-religious Co-operation in a Global Age,
Paper presented at North-South Roundtable, Cairo, Egypt, 28 November 2002.

 

Inter-religious Cooperation and Global Change:
From a Clash of Civilisations to a Dialogue of Civilisations,

Paper presented at ‘An Inter-faith Perspective on Globalisation 2003 Conference’,

St Petersburg, Russia, 28 April 2003.

 

Inter-religious Cooperation and Global Change:
From a Clash of Civilisations to a Dialogue of Civilisations,

Paper presented at International Student Forum, Rothermere American Institute,

Oxford University, 21 May 2003.

 

Religions and International Institutions,
Paper presented at UK Pre-parliament Event, preparing for the 2004 Parliament of the World's Religions,
Guru Nanak Nishkam Sewak Jatha, Birmingham, UK, 13 October 2003.

 

Workshop on Globalisation, Moderator,
International Summit 'Towards a Culture of Harmony and Peace',
preparing for the 2004 Parliament of the World's Religions,
New Delhi, India, 9 December 2003.

 

Religions and Cooperation for the Common Good,

Paper presented at ‘An Inter-faith Perspective on Globalisation 2004 Conference’,

Dubai, UAE, 28 March 2004.

 

Symposium on ‘Religions and International Institutions’, Moderator,

2004 Parliament of the World’s Religions, Barcelona, Spain.

 

Globalisation and Religion,

Paper presented at One World Forum, University of Warwick, 16 January 2005.

 

Religion, Civil Society and the UN System,

Paper presented at UN Seminar Series, Ralph Bunche Institute for International Studies,

Graduate Centre, City University of New York, New York, 30 March 2005.

 

Religions, Civil Society and the UN System,

Paper presented at the Conference on Interfaith Cooperation for Peace at United Nations Headquarters,

New York, 22 June 2005.

 

Religions and Globalisation: What is the Outlook?,

Paper presented at the Conference on ‘Religions and Globalization: Disorder or Harmony’

organised by the Institut Aspen France, Lyon, 1-2 July 2006.

 

The UN System and the World(s) of Religions and Cultures,

Workshop organised at the 2007 Annual Conference of the Academic Council on the United Nations System,

Ralph Bunche Institute for International Studies, City University of New York, New York, 8 June 2007.

 

Religions, Civil Society and the UN System,

Paper published in Studies in Interreligious Dialogue, Volume 17, No 1, July 2007.

 

High-level Dialogue on Interreligious and Intercultural Understanding and Cooperation for Peace

of the UN General Assembly,

Advisor and Respondent at the Interactive Hearing with Civil Society of the High-level Dialogue,

United Nations Headquarters, New York, 4 October 2007.

 

Interactive Hearing with Civil Society, High-Level Dialogue, United Nations Headquarters,

New York, 4 October 2007

 

Religion in Contemporary Global Politics, Paper presented to Commonwealth Scholars and Fellows

at a weekend seminar at Cumberland Lodge, invited by the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission, 13 April 2008.

 

Religion in the Public Sphere, panelist in discussion at Launch of Commonwealth Scholarship Commission ‘Faith and Civil Society’ Network, Birkbeck College, London, 17 January 2009.

 

Religion in a Global Age: Initiatives at the United Nations, Plenary Speaker at the 2nd  International Conference on ‘Integrating Spirituality and Organisational Leadership’, 10 February 2009, Pondicherry, India, invited by the Faculty of Management Studies, University of Delhi.

 

Universal Ethics Summit and Dialogue among Civilizations, Cultures and Religions, Moderator of two panels,

during G20 Moral Politics side event organised in the context of the G20 Summit, November 2010, Seoul

and Iksan City, South Korea.

 

Co-convenor, laboratoire/workshop on Interfaith Collaboration and Global Development,

4th UN Alliance of Civilizations Forum, 12 December 2011, Doha, Qatar.

 

Can Religious NGOs Help to achieve Development Goals?,

Paper presented at 10th Annual Conference ‘Globalisation for the Common Good’, 4 September 2012,

Waterperry House (near Oxford), UK.

 

Peace Negotiations and Peacebuilding in the Middle East: The Role of Religion and Culture in Processes of Reconciliation,

Co-organiser and Panelist, 1 April 2014, The University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK.

 

International Symposium on Forgiveness and Reconciliation,

Lead Organiser of Symposium and Director of Charter for Forgiveness and Reconciliation,

Nishkam Centre, Birmingham, UK, 2 April 2014.

 

Dr Boehle, International Symposium on Forgiveness and Reconciliation,

2 April 2014, Nishkam Centre, Birmingham

 

Charter for Forgiveness and Reconciliation, Workshop Presentation,

34th World Congress of the International Association for Religious Freedom, 25 August 2014,

The University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK.

 

 

Some Selected International Meetings in 2016 and 2017:

 

Dr Boehle (4th from left), Interreligious Pilgrimage, Ujjain, India, May 2016

 

 

 

Dr Boehle at Peace Pledge Conference, International Peace Palace, The Hague, 13 September 2017

 

 

 

Dr Boehle at Religions for Peace Audience with Pope Francis, 18 October 2017

 

 

Dr Boehle with Pope Francis at Religions for Peace Audience, 18 October 2017

 

 

 

 

Advisory Group Meeting of Network of Religious and Traditional Peacemakers,

Rose Castle, UK, 15-17 November 2017.

 

 

 

Recent Publications:

 

The UN System and Religious Actors in the Context of Global Change,

in: CrossCurrents, Volume 60, No 3 (Special Issue on Religion and the UN), September 2010.

 

Religious NGOs at the UN and the Millennium Development Goals: an Introduction,

in: Global Change, Peace and Security, Volume 22, No 3, October 2010.

 

Trialogue in an Interreligious Context: Reinterpreting the Dialogue Model of Martin Buber,

in: Culture and Dialogue Volume 6, Issue 2, November 2018.

 

Religion and Politics in a Global Age: A New Vision for Inter-religious and International Relations,

(I.B. Tauris, monograph, forthcoming).

 

 

Dr Boehle’s research focuses on inter-civilisational, inter-religious dialogue and co-operation in a global age; religion, politics, peacebuilding, conflict resolution, reconciliation and forgiveness; international organisations and movements.

 

A Recent Presentation on the United Nations System, Peacebuilding and Religious Actors (2016):

 

International Inter-religious Peacebuilding and the UN System: Challenges and Opportunities

(Presentation given in Rabat, Morocco, February 2016).

 

He has worked with international inter-religious organisations and has a wide experience of transnational civil society and issues of inter-religious co-operation. Presently he researches inter-religious co-operation, peacebuilding and international institutions and works on publications on Religion in a Global Age and Forgiveness, Reconciliation and Peacebuilding. He is also the Director of the Peace Charter for Forgiveness and Reconciliation.


He seeks to develop new perspectives and models that are needed to enable humane answers to the challenges of globalisation, based on respect for the diversity of cultures and religions in our world community.

 

 

For Academic Correspondence:  j.boehle@bham.ac.uk

 

For Peace Charter for Forgiveness and Reconciliation:  office@charterforforgiveness.org

 

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Copyright © 2002 - 2020    Dr Josef Boehle