ICIS Salons
ICIS Salons bring people from diverse fields and backgrounds together for informal dialogue on a wide range of topics. The purpose of Salons is to deepen assimilation, understanding and appreciation of diverse human perspectives and to foster more integrative responses to critical issues.
Upcoming ICIS Salons
The schedule for the 2008 ICIS Salon series is below. Additional topics will be added during the year.
November 25, 2008
The World Crisis: The Geopolitical Fallout from Wall Street with Bret Stephens.
January 23, 2008
Climate Change and the Nature of Collaborative International Relations with Richard Jordan.
February 24, 2008
Affiliation vs. Alienation with Carole Malsin.
March 13, 2008
Human Trafficking: Raising the Profile of Child Sexploitation and Implementing Practical Solutions - Using the Media and the Entertainment Industry to Effectuate Social Change with Guy Jacobson, President, Priority Films.
May 4, 2008
American Buddhism: Origins, Essence, Attractions and Potential with Tenzin Ganden Tai Thurman, Executive Director, Tibet House U.S.
June 12, 2008
The Culture of Peace with Ambassador Anwarul K. Chowdhury, Permanent Representative of Bangladesh to the United Nations (1996-2001) and United Nations Under Secretary General and High Representative for the Least Developed Countries and Small Island Developing States (2002-2007).
September 23, 2008
Is It Possible to Apologize for and Forgive the Unforgivable? The Meaning and Value of Political Apology with Jean-Marc Coicaud, Head, United Nations University Office at the UN in New York.
Date To Be Announced
Understanding Hope - Personally and Organizationally with ICIS Hope Consulting Services consultant team
Salon Topics from the Past
Over the years, ICIS Salons have covered a broad range of topics. Topics from recent years are listed below:
March 8, 2007
Love of Oneself and Love of Others in the Contemporary World with Jean-Marc Coicaud, Head, The United Nations University.
April 17, 2007
Don't Lose Your Temper - No One Wants to Find It - Understanding the Causes and Consequences of Anger and How to Harness It with Dawson Ambosta .
May 15, 2007
The Future of Journalism - Can it Survive the Media? with Bret Stephens, Foreign-Affairs Columnist of The Wall Street Journal and a member of the Journal's Editorial Board.
September 19, 2007
Genocide: " Never Again" Revisited with Jacqueline Murekatete, herself a Rwanda genocide survivor and internationally recognized for her work as a humanitarian, speaking out for victims and survivors of genocide.
October 16, 2007
The Magic and Miracles Encountered in the Making of the "Ancient Ones" with Hans Li, writer, photographer, architect
November 11, 2007
Corporate Green - A Commitment to Sustainability with John A. Lijewski, Senior Vice President / Interior Designer Executive, Bank of America Corporate Workplace
December 9, 2007
Building Green in America ... One Home At A Time with Kevin Contreras, Executive Producer and Host of the PBS series "Building Green"
January 24, 2006
May 6, 2006
September 20, 2006 October 15, 2006 November 13, 2006 June 7, 2005 September 27, 2005 October 30, 2005 February 19, 2004 May 5, 2004 June 21, 2004 September 14, 2004 October 24, 2004 March 9, 2003 June 26, 2003 October 28, 2003 November 30, 2003 October 3, 2002 Other topics from past salons included:
Diversity in a Divided World>
Wayne C. Winborne - Vice-President, Business Diversity Outreach at Prudential Financial, New Jersey
• Discussion toward reconciling the notion of specific group identities with the need for a unified national identity.
An Inquiry into World Citizenship in a Time of Great Integrations and Great Divisions
Nancy Roof - Editor and publisher of the journal "Kosmos"
• Exploration of signs, actions and insights into the emerging awareness of participatory democracy taking a deeper hold and of more people acting out of an awareness of the global community.
The Power of Image
Leonid Lubianitsky and Lev Poliakov - photographers
• Illustrating and discussion of the art of photography and comprehending the force of an image across time and cultures.
Media, Mystics, Musings
Rolland Smith - broadcast journalist and poet
• Discussion of the challenges confronting broadcast journalism and the importance of themes in the media that present values inherent in human nature that feature positive acts of service, courage, spirit, gentleness, kindness and acts of service.
Creativity as A Way of Life
Erika Landau - psychotherapist and educator
• Discussion of the creative approach to education in general and to psychotherapy with adults as well as gifted children, based on her aim to uncover and develop creative abilities in her students as well as in the adults
Capturing Life Energy - How to Enhance Your Health and Live a Long Life
Aristide H. Esser, M.D. - Psychiatrist on the staff of Rye Hospital Center; Research Professor of Psychiatry Emeritus at the New York University Medical School and Research Associate of the Nathan Kline Institute
• Discussion of Chi, the Chinese concept of Life Energy - how it can be kindled and released to optimize the operation of one's mind and lengthen one's life.
Collage, Culture and Society
Pavel Zoubok - Art historian and gallery owner
• Discussion of how the collage art form expresses the character of the twentieth century with clarity and immediacy. Collage is a mode of perception, a multi-dimensional language with aesthetic implications that span the histories of art, architecture, literature and theatre - engaging us with an immediacy that is distinct from other mediums.
Living Vicariously through Opera
Joseph Colaneri - Conductor of opera, oratorio and symphonic works, educator and lecturer
• Discussion of how the timelessness of opera is relevant to the conditions of life today and to the future.
Images of Later Life
Msgr. Charles Fahey - Marie Ward Doty Professor of Aging Studies, Emeritus, Fordham University
• With the political and public policy conversations of the times largely concerned with alleviating the burdens of later life (question of health care, housing, financial support), this Salon focused on what is gained in the human experience of aging and what can be shared or given back. The discussion included how perspectives change as people age - connections to other generations, the mystery of life, sources of happiness, time and space and contributions to one's living community.
The Web of Life
Marcos Terena - Of the Terena people who live in the Pantanol Region of Matto Groso do Sur, Brazil, Marcos Terena is a leader working for the rights of indigenous peoples both in Brazil and internationally
• Marcos Terena shared his reflections under the theme of the web of life, discussing how much we do or do not understand of the operating systems of nature, the sustainability or not of ways in which we live and work, and the need for an evolutionary understanding of the interdependency of systems.
The Healing Meeting in the Life and Work of Martin Buber
Maurice Friedman, Ph.D. - Professor Emeritus of religious studies, philosophy
and comparative literature at San Diego State University
• Discussion of the element of dialogical psychotherapy presented in his book, The Healing Dialogue in Psychotherapy and his other extensive writings on Martin Buber. Drawing upon his experience as professor of religious studies, philosophy and comparative literature and his book The Healing Dialogue in Psychotherapy, Professor Friedman discussed the potential for confirmation and healing through true dialogue and meeting. 
A Conversation on Science and Consciousness
Hans-Peter Duerr - Member, Board of Directors of Max-Planck-Institut fuer Physik und Astrophysik, Munich
• Exploratory discussion of modern science and spirit, matter, and transcendence, and the implications of quantum physics on our perception of reality / the world / the universe.
The Promise Ahead: A Vision of Hope and Action for Humanity's Future
Irene B. Seeland, M.D. - Psychiatrist, author and lecturer
• A discussion based on Duane Elgin's book Promise Ahead , particularly the human evolutionary journey and the role of humanity's responsibility for securing a viable and promising future.
The Sense of Being Stared At
Rupert Sheldrake, Ph.D. - Biologist, researcher and writer
• Discussion of Professor Sheldrake's investigations of perceptions that don't seem to correlate to our known senses. Drawing on more than 4,500 case histories of "apparently unexplained perceptiveness by people and by nonhuman animals," Dr. Sheldrake suggest that certain scientific beliefs are so widely taken for granted that they are no longer regarded as theories but are seen as scientific common sense. His book, The Sense of Being Started At, explores the intricacies of the mind and discovers that our perceptive abilities are stronger than many of us could have imagined.
On the Possibilities and Limits of Forgiveness
Tony Stern, M.D. - Psychiatrist
• Discussion drawing from Simon Wiesenthal's personal history in the book The Sunflower which reveals the complexity and depth of the question of forgiveness and raises personal, moral and religious issues.
Chaos and Order
David Appelbaum and Martin Barrett - Editors of Parabola Magazine
• Discussion of the dance of chaos and order in history and mythology and the nature of this interrelationship. Discussion focused also on whether understandings have changed over time and whether creative development requires both order and chaos.
On Hope
Lamar Carter, Steven Knoblauch, Ph.D., William J. Paul, Ph.D. and Irene Seeland, M.D. - Consulting Advisors and Associates of Hope Consulting Services, ICIS Center for A Science of Hope
• Discussion of perspectives as to what hope is and is not. Hope perspectives are diverse and enriched in flavor as expressed by various disciplines or fields. Research is showing how hope is increasingly recognized as a driving force - or energy - in human affairs. The discussion engaged in an exploration of the role hope plays in the life of the human individual and in the institutions we create.
Reflections on Memory Fields
Slomo Breznitz, Ph.D. - Lady Davis Professor of Psychology and the Founding Director of the R. D. Wolfe Centre for the Study of Psychological Stress, University of Haifa
• Discussion of fear and anxiety and the effects of hope on coping with stress, drawing on Professor Breznitz's book, Memory Fields, in which he drew on his experiences upon being placed in a Sisters of Saint Vincent orphanage just hours before his parents were taken to Auschwitz.
