Events

One World 2011 is an international cultural, arts, education, medical exchange and sporting event that will build partnerships, and a bridge for cultural understanding between the United States and the Muslim world. The event will introduce the United States to the diverse cultures and histories of the Muslim world (and vice versa) at a scale never attempted before.

The event will include a national soccer match, a trade bazaar and business exchange, one month of cultural activities (art exhibits, exhibitions on Muslim civilization, multicultural performances), a medical conference, interfaith conference and youth exchange.

All countries across the Muslim world are invited to participate in One World 2011. The total Muslim community population represents one-fifth of the world's population.

The central elements of the event are as follows:

Youth Exchange & Education

Education is the ticket to a brighter future. The global economic collapse exacerbated the huge challenges facing less advantaged youth worldwide. The ensuing education and employment gaps have created a new urgency for young people to increase awareness, tolerance and understanding for other cultures and religions, as well as develop the necessary global leadership skills to succeed in the 21st Century.

The youth exchange and education program during One World 2011 will include hundreds of young people from throughout the Muslim world and the United States. Participating youth will gain skills in communications, cross-cultural understandingand leadership. The program will be coordinated by OneWorld Now! (www.oneworldnow.org), in conjunction with other international youth exchange partners. Muslim students will be invited to the United States to stay in homes throughout the Puget Sound area and participate in a Global Youth Summit focused on social entrepreneurship. In 2013, students from the U.S. will travel to live in homes throughout the Muslim world. High schools, colleges and universities and international NGOs will be involved in the exchanges.

 

Medical Conference

The One World 2011 Medical Conference will be held in Seattle, an important hub for global health and home to many organizations including the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the University of Washington, PATH and others focusing on health care and research in a global context.

The conference will be organized by Seattle Children’s, one of the top pediatric medical and research institutions in the United States.

Focusing on issues related to child health, the conference would bring together medical, nursing and health experts from public and private sectors in the United States and countries throughout the Muslim world. The themes reflect the diversity of issues in the United States and Muslim countries including: maternal and child care, training nurses and other child health providers, childhood injury prevention, and developing systems for care for children with chronic conditions.

The program will include plenary lectures, seminars, abstract presentations, hospital and clinic tours, small group discussions and social discourse that will lead to enhanced cooperation among medical professionals with a commitment to improving child health.

 

Trade Bazaar & Business Exchange

The One World 2011 Trade Bazaar & Business Exchange program will attract hundreds of companies from the participating Muslim countries and from the United States. The Business Exchange brings business people together to address the challenges facing businesses around the world and a growing spirit of entrepreneurship. Businesses involved will come primarily from the following sectors: real estate, construction, finance, agriculture, medical equipment, IT & telecommunications, tourism and transportation. The Bazaar will be a festive event presented as an authentic souq (market) showcasing the arts, crafts and food that the Muslim world has to offer. This event will take place from October 4 - 7, 2011 at the Washington State Convention & Trade Center.

 

Arts & Culture Festival

The month of activities will include musical performances and cultural exhibits that reflect the diversity of cultures from across the Muslim world. The festival will include critically acclaimed musical performances, as well as art and cultural exhibits that will highlight the immense heritage of the Muslim civilization.

 

International Sports Program

Sport represents a universal form of communication. Athletes and enthusiasts alike are drawn together by their passion for a game that follows a set of common rules. Across the world sport promotes values such as integrity, teamwork, fair play and good sportsmanship. One World 2011 will promote and use sport for positive social change by coordinating sports exchanges between non-elite youth athletes and coaches from the Muslim world and the US, and presenting professional exhibition events for the general public.

The One World 2011 sports exchanges will feature football (soccer), basketball, rhythmic gymnastics, and swimming programs. Hundreds of non-elite athletes between the ages of 14 and 18 will travel with their teams (including coaches and trainers) to Seattle during July to participate in the 2011 sports programs. During these exchanges, visiting participants will stay with the families of local athletes, interact with community members, and take part in official One World 2011 activities, such as sport skills clinics, friendly competitions, experiential learning activities, peer dialogues, and a celebration of the sport.

To engage sports enthusiasts across the world, One World 2011 will also feature professional soccer and basketball exhibition games and activities. The One World 2011 Organizing Committee is working with the Seattle Sounders FC to include at least one match or public event between a top Muslim (men's) national team and the Sounders, and with the National Basketball Association to arrange at least one game or public event with the Seattle Storm and a Muslim national (women's) basketball team during the series of multicultural events scheduled for 2011.

 

Interfaith Conference

The vision of the One World 2011 interfaith pillar is to create and foster, through education and dialogue, an informed citizenry able to influence positive changes in society and throughout our world. One World 2011 will host a major interfaith conference that will engage hundreds of college students in an effort to build relationships based on mutual respect and shared values.

In addition, One World 2011 will hold discussions that draw upon the commonalities between Abrahamic faiths to create an environment of respect and appreciation. In this forum, One World 2011 hopes that myth and misunderstanding can be dispelled so that participants have the opportunity to discuss and accept religious differences.  

Women's Conference

One World 2011 will present a global conference for women and girls featuring internationally acclaimed leaders and visionaries from the United States and the Muslim world. These leaders represent the education, non-profit, business, government, medicine, faith, entertainment, and environmental sectors.

The mission of the conference is to empower Muslim and American women and girls to build bridges to friendship and trust that leads to cultural sensitivity and understanding. A special forum on “The New Global Voices of Women” will spotlight global grassroots efforts by women and girls who are making a difference in their communities’ educational, economic and medical areas.