TORONTO (TIP): The announcement of the 2018 Parliament was made in Toronto on Tuesday, May 2, 2017 and was attended by Dr. Satpal Singh (Trustee of SCIR), Ajit Singh Sahota (World Sikh Organization –Canada), Manjit Singh Parmar (Ontario Sikhs and Gurdwara Council), and Dr. Tarunjit Singh Butalia (Trustee of the Parliament of the World’s Religions and of SCIR).

Toronto Mayor John Tory addressed the gathering at City Hall and highlighted the Khalsa Day parade held 2 days earlier at the same location with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau joining over 80,000 Sikhs for Vaisakhi celebrations. Mayor Tory shared that any and all are welcome to share a meal at langars held at Sikh Gurdwaras across Toronto.

SCIR coordinated the Sikh participation and presentations at the 2015 Salt Lake City Parliament of the World’s Religions. In view of the upcoming Parliament, SCIR has established a 2018 Parliament Sikh Task Force. The charge of the Parliament Sikh Task Force is to coordinate and implement the active participation of the worldwide Sikh community at the upcoming parliament through:

• significant international Sikh presence and engagement,
• presentations at plenary and parallel sessions focused on interfaith and intrafaith issues, and
• Guru ka Langar, if possible, at the parliament to be led by the local Sikh community.

The task force members include Sikh representatives from Canada, US, and across the world. Dr. Satpal Singh, Trustee of SCIR, serves as Convener of the Task Force. Suggestions and queries about Sikh participation in the upcoming parliament can be emailed to satpalub@gmail.com.

More than 10,000 people are expected to participate in the 2018 Parliament and in the coming 18 months the Parliament Sikh Task Force will work with the Parliament to share our perspective and priorities.

The Parliament of the World’s Religions was created to cultivate harmony among the world’s religious and spiritual communities and foster their engagement with the world and its guiding institutions in order to achieve a just, peaceful and sustainable world. More information about the 2018 Parliament of the World’s Religions along with online registration is  at available https://parliamentofreligions.org/parliament/2018-toronto/toronto-2018.