Program areas at Tanenbaum Center for Interreligious Understanding
Tanenbaum's education program builds behaviors of respect for difference, including religious difference, in students, and fosters their social and emotional growth through collaboration with educational institutions. We provide teachers and education professionals with innovative resources including curricula, lesson plans, and holiday planning guides for celebrating diversity in all its forms within the classroom. We also train school communities in our curricula and pedagogy through webinars and train the trainer sessions. (see schedule o for continuation) in 2022, we trained, at trevor day school in new york city, over 170 teachers and over 500 students and parents on respecting religious differences and conflict resolution. Tanenbaum's education advisory board engaged 9 teachers and now reaches over 400 students in new york city, metro detroit, houston, and raleigh. The workplace program engages business leaders, global employers, managers, and dei and human resources professionals to counter harassment and discrimination. Through trainings and materials on how to effectively work with a global and increasingly religiously diverse workforce and customer base, companies improve the bottom line and become more productive and inclusive environments for their national and global workforces. In 2022, we hosted 7th annual summit, "imagine. Create. Build. Embracing religious diversity." We had over 200 registrants and over 1800 views of the videos. Highlights included comedian and award-winning writer, actor, and director, ramy youssef's conversation with Tanenbaum ceo mark fowler around respectful representation and authentic storytelling. The health care program builds health care providers' capacity for offering religiously competent health care and thereby preventing disparities in treatment. Tanenbaum invests in the future of health care with targeted trainings, e-learning and by disseminating curriculum to medical schools, residency programs, and nursing schools to prepare the next generation of medical providers for an increasingly religiously diverse patient population. In 2022, we debuted a webinar series conscientious care conversations, engaging 100+ attendees and attracting 900+ views on youtube.the peacebuilding program identifies and coordinates a network of religiously motivated peacemakers worldwide, who support and cooperate with each other to counter violence and war. Tanenbaum also studies and documents their work through publications so that their specialized techniques can be shared and replicated by others. This year, Tanenbaum staff represented the peacemakers in action network at the european commission through its global exchange on religion in society (geris) program in a televised panel. In addition, peacemakers in action network issued a statement condemning the russian invasion of ukraine. Over the long-term, this program is advancing the recognition and institutionalization of the vocation of religious peacemaking. Interreligious affairs informs our programs (workplace, health care, education, and peacebuilding) by furthering the work of our namesake, rabbi marc h. Tanenbaum to build a safer, more equitable world for people of all belief systems. Today, rabbi Tanenbaum's longtime scholarly partner, dr. judith banki continues the research, analysis and dialogue that was such an important part of rabbi Tanenbaum's legacy. In 2022, judy banki was honored at Tanenbaum's annual gala and received the rabbi marc Tanenbaum award for the advancement of Interreligious Understanding.