We recognise that Mr. Zaiwalla’s time and knowledge are truly a gift in the Zarathushti spirit of philanthropy and sharing for which The President of the ZTFE Mr. Malcolm M. Deboo and I are most grateful.
This ZTFE led webinar series is supported by Mr. Yazdi Tantra in a collaboration, and will be shared on Zoroastrians.net
Zoroastrian Association of Metropolitan Chicago proudly hosts the
2022 Society of Scholars of Zoroastrianism (SSZ) Conference
supported by Federation of Zoroastrian Associations of North America (FEZANA) & World Zoroastrian Organization
at the
Rustam Guiv Dar-e-Mehr
8615 Meadowbrook Drive, Burr Ridge, IL 60527
on
Friday November 18 – Saturday November 19, 2022
Online attendance is available only for the Scholar Lecture / Meeting Sessions.
Registration
All community members, students, scholars and members of interfaith communities are invited and encouraged to participate. Suggested donation is $10. This will include dinner on Friday and breakfast, lunch and refreshments on Saturday. Please RSVP (for Friday and Saturday separately) by November 10, 2022 to SSZ co-Director & Secretary Pervin Taleyarkhan (pervin.taleyarkhan@zamc.org).
FRIDAY – November 18, 2022
6:00 Meet and Greet
Welcome — Jamshed Rivetna (ZAC President)
7:00 Keynote Address – Prof. Dan Sheffield
8:00 Dinner.
SATURDAY – November 19, 2022
Conference Chair: Prof. Dan Sheffield
8:30 Registration and Breakfast
9:00 Benediction – Mobedyar Boman Damkevala
Monajat – Mani Rao
Welcome — Jamshed Rivetna (ZAC President)
Welcome, Intro to SSZ, and Annual Report – Zal Taleyarkhan (SSZ President)
Morning Session – Scholarly Symposium conducted by Prof. Dan Sheffield and Zal Taleyarkhan
Session Chairs: Afshan Barshan & Sheroy Gonda
9:30 Opening Address: – Prof. Dan Sheffield introduced by Zal Taleyarkhan
10:00 Dr. Kerman Daruwalla – The History of Zoroastrian Priests in India
10:45 Dr. Benedikt Peschl – Zoroastrian Middle Persian Literature and its Relation to the Avesta: current research perspectives.
11:30 Prof. Dan Sheffield – The Pahlavi Book of Religious Decrees: a Forgotten Source for the History of Medieval Zoroastrianism.
12:15 Lunch & Reflection on Morning Session
Afternoon Session – Community-Led Scholarly Works
Session Chair: Kamal Saher
1:00 Ervad Tehemton Mirza – Nature’s Spirituality (Online IZS class)
2:15 Meheryar Rivetna – Everything You Wanted to Know About the Younger Avesta (But Were Afraid To Ask)
3:00 Coffee break
3:15 Afternoon Panel: Moderator Dr. Persis Driver, Panelists: Delna Balsara, Sarosh Irani, Teshtar Irani, Vispi Karkaria: — Contemporary Identity and the Role of Intergenerational Memory in the Zoroastrian Diaspora
4:30 Networking with hors-d’oeuvres and drinks
SUNDAY – November 20, 2022
9:00 Roundtable to discuss SSZ Future Plans
10:00 Jashan Demonstration with Audience Participation — Er. Tehemton Mirza (Dean, NAMC Institute of Zoroastrian Studies) with support from other Mobeds.
About the SSZ. The Society of Scholars of Zoroastrianism (SSZ) is an initiative to promote study and scholarship of the Religion of Zarathushtra. The mission of the Society is to revive the tradition of scholarship within our community among athornans and behdins alike, and to promote interaction among academicians, theologians (priests), educationists, lay scholars and practitioners of Zoroastrianism, through roundtable discussions, conferences and publications.
History of SSZ Conferences. SSZ Conferences have been held since 2006, when noted scholars and students present their research papers. To encourage Zoroastrian studies within the community, these SSZ conferences also include sessions delivered by community members, especially the next-generation. Persons/Associations interested in the mission and vision of the Society of Scholars of Zoroastrianism, are invited to host future Conferences in their areas. The organizers enjoy complete autonomy in regard to programming and organizing the Conference.
All community members, students, scholars and members of interfaith communities are invited and encouraged to participate. Your presence gives support to the speakers, and your feedback is invaluable so that future research efforts may be directed in a constructive manner for the benefit of both the academicians as well as the community.
The ZTFE Online Symposium – Progressing Together Sustainably (Peace for Progress) was held on Armistice Day, Friday 11th November 2022 at 4pm GMT to express our gratitude to the Armed Forces for their role in maintaining Peace.
To conclude the meeting Sir Laurie Bristow KCMG, the President of Hughes Hall Cambridge and former British ambassador to Moscow and Foreign Commonwealth Office Director National Security shared his perspective.
The international Zoroastrian representatives included people from India, UK, Australia, New York, Washington DC, Las Vegas, California.
Many of them including Mr. Rusi Dalal, Mrs. Katayun Kapadia, Mr. Kersi B. Shroff, Dr. Behram Pastakia and Mr. Percy Master shared their thoughts of respect to the Armed Forces and their families.
The ZTFE was much appreciated by one and all for holding this event and bringing such eloquent and distinguished speakers to the forum, and bringing people together internationally to mark this important day.
We are grateful to Mr. Yazdi Tantra for sharing this recording on Zoroastrians.net.
View the Video Here:
The next ZTFE Online Symposium – Progressing Together Sustainably is on Armistice Day, Friday 11th November 2022 at 4pm GMT.
Please join us to give gratitude to the Armed Forces for their role in maintaining Peace to facilitate Progress and the Greater Good of All sustainably.
Speakers: ZTFE Patron Lord Karan F. Bilimoria CBE, DL and Air Chief Marshal Fali H. Major PVSM AVSM SC VM (Retd).
This concept is in line with FrashoKereti (Progress with Righteousness and Good Action) which encompasses and goes beyond the UN 17 SDGs.
With best wishes,
Malcolm M Deboo, ZTFE President
& Dr Karishma Koka, Co-opted member ZTFE Managing Committee
Please join us on the Sun, 18 Sep 2022 at 8am PST, 11am ET, 4pm UK, 8.30pm IST, 11pm SGT https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82033984161 Meeting ID: 820 3398 4161 Passcode: GOODMIND
We will highlight the concept of the Queen’s Green Canopy project
There will be an address by Lord Karan Bilimoria CBE, DL
The Good Mind – Nurturing Nature, a reciprocal relationship for the Good of Individuals and the Collective The Nurturing Nature is the nature of the ‘Fravashi’ – that essence of Ahura Mazda in every aspect of Creation.
Dr. Shirin Madon is an Associate Professor at the London School of Economics and teaches courses on technology in the development and humanitarian sectors. She carries out research studying community health governance structure, and on digital identity platforms for refugee management. She seeks to understand the value of the innovation for organisations managing humanitarian assistance, for partner organisations and affected communities.
In this session Shirin will draw on her ongoing research on primary healthcare in Karnataka to highlight the importance of community engagement during acute crises such as COVID-19 and routine public health priorities while improving understanding of the term ‘resilience’.
Ervad Tehemton Mirza: volunteers religious and spiritual services to Zoroastrians in South Western Ontario and Michigan. He has published articles on Zoroastrianism, spoken on Zoroastrian topics and teaches courses at the NAMC Institute of Zoroastrian studies. He currently serves as the President of the North American Mobeds Council and heads the NAMC Institute of Zoroastrian Studies. CPA by profession, he is also a marathoner.
In this talk Ervad Tehemton will discuss some of the concepts of Sustainable Development (UN 17 SDGs) in the light of the Zoroastrian Faith.
The Zoroastrian Faith includes timeless time-tested messages that inspire good actions for Happiness and Harmony which encompass all aspects of life including different aspects of Sustainable Development. These principles guide material progress while promoting Mental and Spiritual development at the Collective and Individual levels for the Good of All. The Good of All – at the Collective and Individual Level is also appreciated as the essence of all Faiths, the UN 17 SDGs, Science and good Governance among other groups of Good Thoughts and Actions. Previous webinars have formed programmes at the Parliament of the World’s Religions Recordings available.
This is a revised version of our announcement sent on August 30, 2022.
The Zoom links for our Online Lecture scheduled on Sept. 25 and the Discussion Group presentation on Oct. 23, 2022, have been revised. For your convenience, we have added the zoom links in the body of the message below. Also, the registrar’s email address given below has been corrected.
NAMC institute of Zoroastrian Studies
We are excited to announce our upcoming lectures and courses:
Course – An Introduction to Zoroastrianism – September 10 to October 8, 2022 – Saturdays @ 2:00 pm EDT
Online Lecture – Gahambars in Zoroastrianism – by Mobedyar Jamshid Pouresfandiary – September 11, 2022, 2:00 pm EDT
The next Parliament of World’s Religions, the world’s biggest interfaith event, has been scheduled to take place in-person from August 14-18 2023, at the McCormick Place, Chicago, IL. The theme of this Parliament is: A Call to Conscience: Defending Freedom & Human Rights.
Please share this message with your community members and other contacts, so we enable as many people as possible to learn about this opportunity for them to participate in the Parliament.
We invite you all to a brainstorming meeting on Wednesday, 10th August, at 6:30 pm, to discuss how the North American Zoroastrian Community can best represent FEZANA in the 2023 Parliament of World’s Religions. We also invite other Zoroastrians from around the world to attend and consider participating and presenting programs in the Parliament, under the FEZANA umbrella of Programs.
We will share all the information about the Parliament in the meeting as well as come up with ideas for proposals for live in-person programs at the Parliament. We are here to help you and support you in whatever way we can, and empower you to participate in this Parliament. Like the previous 2021 Parliament, we want to encourage a large participation presenting a wide array of programs.
In the meanwhile, please read the attached document of information ahead of time, so you can come to the meeting with ideas to share about programs you may like to present on the themes mentioned in there. The deadline to submit our proposals is 3rd October, 2022, so we have limited time to accomplish a lot.
Please see the Zoom invite below. Thanks and looking forward to working with you again!
Sincerely,
Bakhtavar Desai and Homi D. Gandhi
Co-Chairs, Interfaith Activities Committee
FEZANA
Bakhtavar Desai is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Topic: Initial Informational Meeting for 2023 PoWR
Time: Aug 10, 2022 06:30 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Dear Friends,