May
23, 2011 Ottawa-area Bahá'í youth
receives
Tony Blair Faith Foundation Fellowship
Eric Farr, a 24-year old Bahá'í
from Chelsea, has been selected from among 700 applicants for a
fellowship with the Tony Blair Faith Foundation. Eric was one of 30
young people from around the world who were selected for the Faith Acts
Fellowship, which includes a ten-month period of service dedicated to
building understanding between different faith communities.
Tony Blair, former UK Prime Minister, said: “Too often we hear about
the negative aspects of faith but the number of applications we
received shows the enthusiasm which exists among young people to use
their faith as a force for good. Faith can build understanding and
provide unity and strength to counter those who see faith as a source
of division and discrimination.”
In accepting the Fellowship, Eric spoke about his motivations to apply:
“Religion, I believe, has a crucial, positive role to play in the
spiritual, social and material progress of humanity. I applied to be a
Faiths Act Fellow because I want to contribute as much as possible to
the process of interfaith collaboration towards a peaceful and just
global society, which strives for unity while embracing diversity. I am
honoured and humbled by the opportunity.”
During his fellowship, Eric will spend a month in London, UK for a
training program, after which he will spend a year working alongside
another fellow at the International Development and Relief Foundation
in Toronto.
Eric holds an Honours degree in Religious Studies from McGill
University and is completing a Master of Arts in Religious Studies with
a concentration in New Testament from the same university. His current
research, funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council
of Canada, is focused on the portrayal of children and childhood in the
literature of early Christianity, especially the Gospel of Mark. From
2008-2009, he served as the director of Transformation for Peace, a
community-building youth empowerment program based on the teachings of
the Bahá'í Faith.
The Ottawa Citizen carried an article about Eric on May 20, 2011.
It can be accessed here.
