United Religions Initiative
Bowes Award 2008
Uplifting Innovations in Interfaith Cooperation
Learn About the Bowes Award
URI, MEMBERS AND THE PPP
United Religions Initiative (URI) is a growing global community dedicated to promoting enduring, daily interfaith cooperation, ending religiously motivated violence and creating cultures of peace, justice and healing for the Earth and all living beings.
The members of URI are people from different religions, spiritual expressions and indigenous traditions, creating unprecedented levels of enduring global cooperation. Through collaborative interfaith projects, hopes are rising with visions of a better world, where the values and teachings of the great wisdom traditions guide our service, where we respect one another’s beliefs, and where the resourcefulness and passion of working together bring healing and a more hopeful future to the Earth community.
The work of URI and its members is guided by URI’s Preamble, Purpose and Principles (PPP). Individual members of URI fully subscribe to the PPP. Cooperation Circles (CCs), Multiple Cooperation Circles (MCCs) and Multi-Multiple Cooperation Circles (MMCCs) also fully subscribe to the PPP and are structured in accordance with the PPP. Affiliates and Supporters are also members of URI who value and support the work, but they do not have the same commitment to fully subscribe or be structured according to the PPP.
BOWES AWARD 2008
The Bowes Award will catalyze innovation and cooperation among Cooperation Circles and the individuals and organizations in their communities. By acknowledging and lifting up one model project in each of the eight regions with the Bowes Award, the whole URI community will further embody the Preamble, Purpose and Principles.
The money for the Award comes from a gift from John and Frances Bowes, in honor of William K. Bowes, brother of John and noted venture capitalist, philanthropist and major supporter of URI.
Beginning in 2008 in Mayapur, India, the Bowes Awards will be given at URI’s Global Assembly. The award will be presented to the 8 applicants whose proposals stand out from the other applicants in their regions and can be a model of interfaith cooperation for others to replicate.
ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA
The Bowes Award application form can only be submitted by a Cooperation Circle (CC), the fundamental organizational unit of URI, or a group of CCs. While the application is only submitted by CCs, it is encouraged that CCs collaborate with other CCs and individuals or other organizations on the proposed project.
CCs admitted prior to February 2008 are eligible to submit a proposal for the 2008 Bowes Award. The requirements for CC membership are as follows:
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•The CC is comprised of at least seven (7) individuals and/or groups;
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•The CC has members from at least three (3) different religions, spiritual expressions and/or other indigenous traditions;
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•The CC fully subscribes to the Preamble, Purpose and Principles as set forth in the Bylaws; and
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•The CC is structured in accordance with the Preamble, Purpose and Principles.
The Bowes Award is not intended as support for fundraising projects or for operating expenses. It is also not intended to fund services or activities coordinated by individuals or groups that are not directly related to the applicant. Instead, the award is intended to encourage innovative ideas for interfaith cooperation. Such projects may be completely new, or they may be existing projects that the applicant wishes to take to a new level.
The final submission of the application material must be in English. Translation services may be necessary. Applicants that expect to have difficulty with this are encouraged to contact the global office as soon as possible.
TENURE, AMOUNT AND TERMS OF THE BOWES AWARD
Each recipient of the Bowes Award receives one payment of US$5,000 during the triennial Global Assembly. The first Bowes Award will be given in 2008; the second is expected to be given in 2011. The applicants for the 2008 award may also apply for the 2011 award, but the application will be considered in the same way as the rest of the pool of applications from the region.
REVIEW PROCESS
Each region will form a review committee consisting of the regional trustees and a regional coordinator from each region. The review committee from one region will review the proposals of a different region as follows:
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•Africa Region will be reviewed by the MENA team
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•Asia Region will be reviewed by the SEA-Pac team
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•Europe Region will be reviewed by the North America team
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•Latin America and the Caribbean (LA-C ) Region will be reviewed by the Multi team (timeline will be adjusted to accommodate translation of proposals)
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•Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Region will be reviewed by the Africa team
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•Multi-Region will be reviewed by the LA-C team
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•North America Region will be reviewed by the Europe team
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•Southeast Asia and the Pacific (SEA-Pac) Region will be reviewed by the Asia team
The regional review committees will determine the top 3 proposals and rank them, the first being the preferred winner of the award for the region. The top 3 proposals of each region will then be sent to a global confirmation team, comprised of the URI president, chairperson and executive director.
The purpose of the global confirmation team is to provide oversight and to raise any questions, if needed. They will either confirm each of the top proposals of the 8 regions as the 2008 winners, or they may return the top 3 proposals to the regional review committee(s) with questions and request a reassessment of their ranking.
The regional review committee may reorder the ranking or reassert the original ranking and give further information if requested. The result of this possible second round of consideration by the regional review committee will determine the proposal to be confirmed by the global confirmation team.
Each applicant will be informed of the status of their proposal by June 15, 2008. The winning applicants will receive a full scholarship (travel, registration, rooms and meals) for two representatives to attend the Global Assembly in Mayapur, where they will share their proposal with the URI community and receive the $5,000 reward.
CONFLICT OF INTEREST AND RECUSAL
Members of the regional review committees and the global confirmation team must recuse themselves from the consideration of any proposal with which they have a conflict of interest or that might reasonably present the appearance of conflict of interest. To assist the URI in identifying possible conflict of interest situations, the applicants and awardees are asked to bring to the global office’s attention any possible relevant relationships.
PUBLICATION OF PROJECT PRODUCTS
Awardees’ projects may result in a book or report published in print or on-line by URI. They may also lead to products issued by publishers other than URI, as well as to databases, training manuals, curriculum materials, documentaries, and so forth disseminated by the recipient rather than the Global Office.