On July 29, 2016, Drs. Maria Liu Wong and Connie Watson (LearnLong Institute for Education and Learning Research) hosted a gathering of local scholars and practitioners from diverse faith traditions and cultural backgrounds (eg. Hindu monk interested in mindfulness and AI, Colombian Catholic missionary in the Bronx, Indian Pentecostal pastor / scholar, African-American neighborhood chaplain from Harlem, Japanese/Filipino-American Vineyard church planter, Jewish-American psychology professor and adult learning scholar from Philadelphia, etc.) at City Seminary of New York, with special guest Dr. Rob Mark (Director, PASCAL Learning Cities Networks). This meeting was held to gauge interest in the intersections of faith / spirituality and learning cities research. Additional participants from local seminaries and Columbia University were invited, but unable to attend.

While many present were interested in the idea of faith/spirituality and the city, most were unfamiliar with the concept of learning cities. In preparation they were given two articles, one by Dr. Peter Kearns providing an overview and history, and the other, a conference paper summary by Drs. Maria Liu Wong and Connie Watson. Liu Wong and Watson had recently presented a paper at the 2016 PASCAL Conference in Glasgow, Scotland, on a comparative study of an adapted EcCoWell approach emphasizing place-based pedagogy and transformative learning in New York City and Philadelphia. Introductions were made around the room with regard to individual interests, and Dr. Watson provided a brief overview of the “learning cities” concept, emphasizing how education and learning across multiple sectors working together can uplift a community.

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Themes that emerged from the discussion included raising questions around why faith/ spirituality are important in the city (across multiple contexts), how faith/spirituality shape one’s experience of the city (or vice versa), whether faith/spirituality make cities better places to live, or provide practical tools for living in an urban environment not otherwise accessible. An observation was made that this discussion was being raised in a setting of participants whose origins were mainly outside of the West, pointing to a multiplicity of frames of knowing beyond Western thinking. Whilst there is at times reluctance or antagonism towards engaging with faith/spirituality, participants felt it was essential rather than supplemental to day-to-day living. The idea of intergenerational learning - particularly within an organized religious/faith setting - was seen as an opportunity for further exploration.

Dr. Mark suggested that, out of this gathering and subsequent meetings in New York City - either at Columbia University or City Seminary of New York), an international working group on faith/spirituality/ethics and learning cities might be formed to pursue further research in this area, and contribute to a new strand in future conferences. This group could work collaboratively in person or online, creating virtual, scholarly and physical space for research-sharing and dialogue around this topic.

Actions to be taken going forward are to organize a second meeting in May 2017 with interested parties in New York City (and beyond) to build a potential research base, and outreach to others in and beyond the PASCAL network who might have a similar interest. Dr. Mark has reported interest from other countries in the prospect of such a group, and progress has been made towards the possibilities of workshops at the International Transformative Learning Conference 2018 at Teachers College, Columbia University, PASCAL 2017 Conference in South Africa, and others. In the interim, working group coordinators will be Drs. Liu Wong and Watson representing LearnLong Institute of Education and Learning Research in collaboration with PASCAL.

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Tentative Timeline:

 May 2017

• Invite participants to join group and attend NYC Gathering
• Spread word about PASCAL and UNESCO 2017  conferences for possible conference proposal submissions

Meeting May 19, 2017 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM

Work Group Gathering at City Seminary of New York

• Introduction to Topic
• Panel Presentations
• Discussion and Exploration of Next Steps

June 2017

Report to share with PASCAL +

September 2017

Session or Networking for Group? Gather interested participants – UNESCO – Maria, Rob

October 2017

Half Day workshop at PASCAL   Connie, Rob

2018

June/Oct - Research Strand at PASCAL (Korea)

Oct - Pre-conference Session at Transformative Learning Conference (Teachers College, Columbia U)