At the recent IFYC Conference, Eboo Patel, Founder and Executive Director of the Interfaith Youth Core, spoke about World Faith, and specifically about the work happening in India under the World Faith’s National Director of India, Abdul Shakeel Basha.
A lot of people were at the IFYC Conference… That is why I am honored that Tikkun mentioned World Faith in their write-up of the conference. For the full article, please visit the article on Tikkun’s website.
While I was at the IFYC conference this past week, I reflected on the myriad of ways that the Interfaith Youth Core, and it’s awesome staff, has supported me as an interfaith leader, and World Faith as an organization.
First of all, as a member of the Fellow Alliance, they gave the NYU chapter of World Faith funding for interfaith service programs on campus.
Starting with the Fellowship, they have flown me four times to Chicago for trainings, meetings, and other leadership development programs. This training was wide in scope, including media engagement, dialogue training, and institutional and campus involvement.
I have had several media opportunities through IFYC, including being interviewed on Good Morning America, Chicago Public Radio, and an hour-long interview on the online radio show Embracing the Journey.
The contact network I have built both directly through IFYC, and as a product of the credibility of association with IFYC is immeasurable, but includes world-class leaders in the field, funders, and best of all, other activists who joined in the World Faith cause, including Joshua Stanton, Soofia Ahmed, Mustafa Abdullah, and Abdul Shakeel Basha, just to name a few.
Eboo has been a mentor to me since the end of my Fellowship, giving me insightful advice that I need to hear, when I need to hear it. He has been a true advocate, putting me in touch with people who otherwise probably wouldn’t give me the time of day. One of my favorite things is that Eboo can give me blunt criticism one moment (which I need and ask for), and yet gives World Faith shout-outs, further opening up possibilities.
The IFYC staff has played a vital role in our development in the previous few years. They each rotate between being a friend, psychologist, ally, and advocate, often more at one time. I probably email, call, or skype chat with an IFYC Staff member at least once a week, sometimes multiple times a week. Despite my constant questions or requests, they still respond quickly and with patience that I myself may be incapable of. This includes (but isn’t limited to) Megan Hughes, Amber Hacker, Cassie Meyer, Erin Williams, Hannah McConnaughay, Hind Makki, Jenan Mohajir, Zeenat Rahman, Charles Levesque, and April Kunze.
For anyone who is following World Faith, please take a look at the Interfaith Youth Core. I consider them a strong ally in the struggle for religious common action, and I hope that every World Faith leader is trained by IFYC in some capacity. Be sure to check out the IFYC website.
I am quite excited about the IFYC conference coming up next week in Evanston, Illinois. I will be leading a workshop on using technologies, and I hope to post my presentation on here afterwards, or just a link to it.
Also, I want to challenge myself to keep up with my blogging that I have so horribly ignored for the greater part of this year. Check in for updates!
Frank Fredericks, founder of World Faith, was interviewed on Chicago NPR with Farah Qureshi, a Fellow of the Interfaith Youth Core with Frank. The topic was on interfaith issues, and focuses specifically on the 2007 IFYC Conference.
