Interested in applying for 1) the non-degree certificate program or 2) the Ph.D. degree in Peace Studies at Payap University? Please Contact Us. For customized peace programs, please Contact Us. For information about our latest events, please visit Latest Activities. Thank you.
2024 ACTIVITIES
Please check and like our FB page for photo and video documentation. Thank you.
Please check our About Page to find out what are our planned activities for the current academic year. You are welcome to join us. Thank you.
HYBRID 3rd ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON RELIGION, CULTURE, AND PEACE EDUCATION: You are cordially invited to 1) register online and 2) submit your ABSTRACT for the Third Hybrid Annual International Conference on Religion, Culture, and Peace Education 2024, Department of Peace Studies, Payap University, Chiang Mai, Thailand. If you will only register to attend the event but not present a paper, write “participant only” in all boxes of the Abstract Submission section. We need all to register for headcount, profiles, budgeting, and meals prep. The Conference will be held at the Singtoh Conference Hall at the Sirindhorn Learning Resource Center, Payap University, Mae Khao Campus, Chiang Mai, Thailand 50000.
Please download this Fact Sheet for more information and templates. Thank you.
Note: Free Registration. Free Publication. We don’t have travel-related grants.
Important Dates
| Call for Abstract | Download here |
| Online Registration and Abstract: | March 01, 2024 |
| Notification of Acceptance: | March 16, 2024 |
| Submission of Accepted Papers in WORD format only here: | April 02, 2024 |
| Word File Name: | <LastName-FirstName-PaperTitle-v1> |
| Hybrid International Conference: | April 25-26, 2024 |
| Publication of Proceedings | First Quarter of 2025 |
| Visit our website | RCP Lab |
| Visit our FB page | RCP on FB and FB Bulletin Board |
| Join the FB closed group | Closed FB groups for Conference Attendees |
Join Zoom Meeting
Meeting ID: 844 0581 1621
Passcode: 874665
Please post online and share widely with other researchers by mail and other means. Thanks!
2023 ACTIVITIES
Hybrid Second Annual International Conference on Religion, Culture, Peace, and Education
Co-Sponsor: Consortium for Global Education (CGE), U.S.A.
April 27-28, 2023
- We cordially invite scholars, researchers, and practitioners to share your cutting edge and state-of-the-art findings of your academic or professional research outputs related to religion, culture, peace, or education. For the 2023 Conference, see Call for Abstract Proposals, Co-Sponsor CGE, Co-Sponsor CGE Research Institute, Conference Poster, Dr Mark Tamtha as the Opening Keynote Speaker, and All Keynote Speakers.
- See 2022 Book of Abstracts and 2022 Conference Proceedings to give you an idea of writing your 200-word-maximum abstracts.
- If you have a completed doctorate, please click here to join our International Editorial Review Board which has a roster of international peer reviewers. You will be a permanent member and your name will appear in the Conference Proceedings in this and succeeding proceedings. A certificate of membership in the international review board will be issued upon request.
- 2023 Program Schedule Hybrid Second Annual International Conference on Religion, Culture, Peace, and Education
Important Dates
| Public Announcement | 2023 Jan 15 |
| Registration and Submission of Abstract Proposals | 2023 Feb 15 |
| Notification of Acceptance | 2023 Mar 01 |
| Submission of Final Paper | 2023 Mar 22 |
| Hybrid Conference | 2023 Apr 27-28 |
HOUSING
Wednesday, 2023 January 11, 9:30 AM to 11 AM, Interfaith Dialogue with Ajan Jirachai Srichandorn, Mohsen Mousavi and Pornchai Krutnate. See photos here and here.
2022 ACTIVITIES
Wednesday, 2022 November 16, 2022, whole day, from 9 AM to 4 PM. Interreligious Pilgrimage to Doi Suthep Temples and beyond. See photos here and here.
Wednesday, 2022 November 09, 9 am to 1 pm, Interreligious Pilgrimage to Seven Fountains Jesuit Retreat Center, Lunch Fellowship, and Reflections. Photos here.
Wednesday, 2022 November 02, 9 am to 1 pm. Interreligious Pilgrimage to St Vladimir Orthodox Church. Photos here.
Thursday, 2022 October 27, 09:00-10:30 am Bangkok Time. Peace Studies Present Dr Mere Skerrett and Dr Jenny Ritchie. “An International Seminar on Decolonialization from Aotearoa Speakers.”
Zoom Link:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88985392113?pwd=aGRoZWFLMmFHcjB4Y05TNnJCaVdDQT09
Meeting ID: 889 8539 2113
Passcode: 12345
Wednesday, 2022 October 26, 9 AM to 1 PM, Interreligious Pilgrimage to the Baha’i Center in Chinag Mai, Lunch Fellowship, and Reflections. Photos here.
Tuesday, 2022 October 25, 13:30-14:30 Bangkok Time. Peace Studies Present Dr Kevin Kester: A Hybrid International Seminar on Higher Education Peacebuilding in Conflict-Affected Societies: Beyond the Good/Bad Binary. For copies of his papers, please click and download from here. Zoom photo here.
Wednesday, 2022 October 19, 9 AM to 1 PM, Interreligious Pilgrimage to the Sikh Temple, Lunch Fellowship, and Reflections. Photos here.
Thursday, 2022 October 06, 8:30 AM to 10 AM, Bangkok time, International Seminar on Academic Research, Writing, and Publication.
Wednesday, 2022 October 5, 8:30 AM to 1 PM. Interreligious Pilgrimage to the Hindu Mahadeva Ashram. Navaratri Holy Day. Ordination of priests. Congregation of 20 Hindu priest from all over Thailand. Photo here. Video here. 6 PM – 9 PM, Interreligious Prayers in Thapae Gate. Photo here. Video here.
Tuesday, 2022 October 4, 2022, 9 AM to 4:30 PM, Bangkok Time. Peace Studies Present Dr Prasong Saihong for a Story Telling Workshop. Onsite Only. Free Admission. Open to the Public. Location: Department of Peace Studies Seminar Room. Certificates of Attendance Will be Issued upon Request. Photo here and here. Video here.
Wednesday, 2022 September 28, 9 AM to 1 PM, Interreligious Pilgrimage to a Chiang Mai Mosque, Lunch Fellowship, and Reflections. Photo here. Group photo here.
Tuesday, 2022 September 27, 9 AM to 4 PM. Peace Studies Present “Creativity, Resilience, and Peacebuilding” Workshop with Jenn Weidman. Mark your calendar. ONSITE workshop only at the Department of Peace Studies Seminar Room, Payap University, Main Campus. September 27, 2022. CERTIFICATES OF ATTENDANCE Will be Issued upon Request. Free admission. Open to the Public. Action photo here. Group photo here.
Friday, 2022 September 23, 12 noon. Farewell Meal with Dr Tony and Ajan Dagmar Waters. We cordially invite all friends of Dr Tony and Ajan Dagmar Waters for a modest farewell buffet lunch at the Department of Peace Studies. Dr Tony started teaching at Leuphana University in Germany in April 2022 and will continue there in the coming years as his main academic appointment. Congratulations!
Wednesday, 2022 September 21: United Nations International Day of Peace. “End Racism. Build Peace.”
Tuesday, September 6, 2022, 13.00 – 18.00 PM, Bangkok Time. Muslim-Buddhist-Christian Dialogue. Peace Studies Present An International Seminar on Education under Attack: Culture, Resistance, Conflict, Education, National Security, and Peacebuilding in Southern Thailand. Poster here.
2022 May 31. We are sad to announce that our PhD student, Mr. Saw Eh Htoo, has passed away this morning due to cancer. Keep Eh Htoo and his family in your thoughts or prayer.
Successful Completion of the First Annual International Conference on Religion, Culture, Peace, and Education
Thursday April 28 to Friday April 29, 2022 from 8:30 AM to 6 PM
by Dr. R.Ty, Conference Chair and Organizer
The hybrid onsite and online First Annual International Conference on Religion, Culture, Peace, and Education was launched on Thursday, April 28, 2022 at 9 AM, Bangkok time, at the Singtoh Conference Room, Sirindhorn Learning Resource Center, Payap University, Mae Khao Campus, Chiang Mai, Thailand. For all the Conference videos, please go to this link.
In his Opening Speech, Payap University President Ajan Dr Apicha Insuwan formally declared the Conference open.
For the video of the President’s opening speech, please click on this link.
Following the presidential opening remarks, members of the Christian Communication Institute (CCI) of the Church of Christ in Thailand (CCT) performed the classical Thai welcome dance.
Vice President for Academic Affairs and Research and Dean of the Faculty of Humanities and Communication Arts Ajan Asst. Prof. Dr Nongnaphat Phanphonkrit was online for her welcome remarks.
The speech of Rev. John Butt, the founder of the Institute of Religion, Culture, and Peace (IRCP) was read.
Dr Mark Tamthai, the founder of the Ph.D. program in Peace Studies presented a backgrounder of the genesis of the program.
Dr.R.Ty, as the conference initiator, organizer, and chair presented the Conference orientation and overview. It was live-streamed on Facebook simulcast.
For the video of the opening session speeches, please click on this link.
Three monographs were launched at the Conference:
- Yurii Sheliazhenko. (2022). The Ukraine Crisis. Monograph Series. Chiang Mai, Thailand: Payap University Department of Peace Studies & Religion, Culture, and Peace Lab. He is a peace activist and a lecturer at Krok University in Kyiv, Ukraine. Content: analysis of the Ukraine crisis and recommendations for peace.
- Cathy Chang. (2022). From Michigan to Manila. Monograph Series. Chiang Mai, Thailand: Payap University Department of Peace Studies & Religion, Culture, and Peace Lab. Monograph Series. Chiang Mai, Thailand: Payap University Department of Peace Studies. Content: Her international advocacy for migrant workers.
- Aung Mya Soe. Monograph Series. Youth Development and Cultural Dimension. Content: His professional work in vocational training for tourism-related industries in Myanmar. Monograph Series. Chiang Mai, Thailand: Payap University Department of Peace Studies.
The keynote panel reflections on the pandemic and war followed. Lea Gentile represented the Baha’i community. Phra Ajarn Maha Angkaan Yanamethi of Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya Buddhist University, Chiang Mai Campus represented Buddhism. Rev. Grace Jung Eun Moon of the Christian Conference of Asia (CCA) represented Christianity. Dr Swamini Sarveswaran Nanda Saraswati Gurudeva Maharaj Ji sent a representative for Hinduism. Ajan Jirachai Srichandorn represented Islam. Frank Sethi represented Sikhism.
For Video of the Keynote Inter-religious and Intercultural Reflections, please click on the link.
There were 49 submissions. Papers were subjected to blind peer reviews as part of a standard academic practice. Of the 49 submissions, over 30 academic papers were accepted for presentation at the international academic conference and publication in the Conference Proceedings.
As a hybrid conference, there were conference paper presenters and observers both onsite and online. Authors and session moderators literally came from different continents spanning different time zones, including Dr Tony Waters of the Department of Peace Studies who at the time of the Conference was in Germany.
At its height, there were 254 online viewers on Facebook live streaming during the Opening Session, 137 observers on Facebook live-streaming simulcast, 35 participants on Zoom and over 30 authors, faculty members, and observers onsite in Thailand.
Authors and moderators come from or reside in Argentina, Canada, Germany, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Morocco, Myanmar, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines, Poland, South Korea, Taiwan, Tanzania, Thailand, Turkmenistan, the U.K., and the U.S.A.
When it was 9 AM in Thailand during the Opening Session, it was night time in North America (9 PM in New York) and in Latin America (11 PM in Argentina); and, it was from post-midnight to pre-dawn in Europe (2 AM in the U.K., 3 AM in Germany, and 4 AM in Poland), Sub-Sahara Africa (3 AM in Nigeria), the Middle East, and North Africa (2 AM in Morocco). The sessions of authors from the above time zones were scheduled for their convenience. Authors in Asia experienced minor time difference and inconvenience.
Faculty members of Payap University presented academic papers, among whom were Ajan Wutthichula Khunpatwattana, Ajan Benjamaporn Mekara, Dr.R.Ty, and Dr. Tony Waters. Peace Studies Ph.D. students likewise presented papers, including Aung Mya Soe, Catherine Chang, Nai Japhet, Cecilia Jung, and Alma Ruiz.
Faculty members, professionals, and Ph.D. students in hybrid online and onsite presence teamed up to serve as Moderators in different sessions. Moderators included Spencer Benson (U.S.A.), Gulshirin Orazova (Turkmenistan in the U.S.A.), Al Quillope (Philippines), Buenafe Quillope (Philippines), Joanna Rak (Poland), Steven Rogers (U.S.A.), Jonathan Seitz (U.S.A. citizen in Taiwan), Payap University faculty members (Le Ngoc Bich Ly, Tony Waters, Wutthichula Khunpatwattana, R.Ty) and Payap Peace Studies Ph.D. students (Aung Mya Soe, Nai Japhet, Matthias Rimarzik, Prof. Alma Ruiz). Thank you!
For video recording of the First Session, Thursday, April 28, 2022, 9:30-10:30 AM, click on this link.
For video recording of the Eighth, Ninth, and Tenth Sessions on Friday, April 29, 2022, 2-5:30 PM, please click on this link.
The Conference proceeded smoothly from the start to finish, with minor glitches due to the nature of a hybrid event, such as audio issues both onsite and online. Due to the pandemic, buffet lunch and congregating for meals were forbidden. Thus modest and simple Thai refreshments and bento box meals were served onsite at lunch time during which the participants were socially distanced.
The Conference ended at around 6 PM of Friday, April 29, 2022, Bangkok time. Dr. Ly gave the speech at the Closing Session. Dr R.Ty acknowledged and thanked everyone involved with the Conference: from authors, university administrators, as well as interfaith and intercultural representatives to faculty, our partners, and all staff members. Please click on the link to see a complete list of acknowledgments here.
Online evaluation form shall be sent to all the authors.
Peer reviewers, all with doctorate degrees, hail from or live in Colombia, Germany, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Libya, the Philippines, Thailand, U.K., U.S.A., and Vietnam.
Authors with doctorates were invited to join the editorial peer review board for the next rounds. Some have already signified their acceptance of our invitation and have indicated their areas and fields of expertise. Thank you!
Dr.R.Ty conceived, initiated, planned, implemented, monitored, and evaluates this first ever regular annual Conference. The Department of Peace Studies and the Religion, Culture, and Peace Lab of the Faculty of Humanities and Communication Arts of Payap University organized the Conference in partnership with the Mennonite Central Committee (MCC). See banners.
More photos and videos are available at our open and public FB page.
All conference videos are stored in our public Facebook page.
The Conference Proceedings is now distributed online as a free publication here and here.
Free online and onsite registration. Free online and onsite admission. Free
See you all next year!
If you did not present an academic paper in the First Annual Conference and did not get published in the Conference Proceedings but would like to join the Second Annual Conference at the end of April 2023, please Contact Us. Write “Second Annual Conference” in the Subject Line. Thank you.
Repository of Conference Documents:
- For more photos of the event, please visit the Facebook page of the Lab.
- 2022 Poster. Credits: Dr. Al Quillope and Shayne Rochfort
- 2022 Program Schedule
- 2022 Conference Screensaver
- 2022 Conference Orientation, Overview, and Closing Acknowledgments
- Yurii Sheliazhenko. (2022). The Ukraine Crisis. Monograph Series. Chiang Mai, Thailand: Payap University Department of Peace Studies & Religion, Culture, and Peace Lab.
- Cathy Chang. (2022). From Michigan to Manila. Monograph Series. Chiang Mai, Thailand: Payap University Department of Peace Studies & Religion, Culture, and Peace Lab.
- Aung Mya Soe. Monograph Series. Youth Development and Cultural Dimension.
- Proceedings of the International Conference on Religion, Culture, Peace, and Education. Chiang Mai, Thailand: Payap University. Coming Soon! Please monitor this page.
First Annual International Conference on Religion, Culture, Peace, and Education
- Thursday to Friday, April 28-29, 2022
- Start time: 8:30 AM Bangkok time online and onsite registration
- End time: 6 PM Bangkok Time
- Onsite: Singtoh Conference Room, Sirindhorn Learning Resource Center, Payap University, Mae Khao Main Campus, Chiang Mai, Thailand
- Join Zoom Meeting
- Meeting ID: 895 9037 5179
- Passcode: 54321
- Join Facebook: Facebook Live Stream Simulcast
- Download Program Schedule
- Download Poster
The Department of Peace Studies, and the Religion, Culture, and Peace Lab of the Faculty of Humanities and Communication Arts conducts an International Conference with the theme of “From Weakness to Strength” April 28-29, 2022.
Call for Proposals and Free Registration
First International Annual Conference on Religion, Culture, and Peace, and Education
Theme: From Weakness to Strength
Department of Peace Studies and Religion, Culture, and Peace Lab
Faculty of Humanities and Communication Arts
Payap University
Chiang Mai, Thailand
Accepted papers are published in the electronic Proceedings
Proposal Deadline: February 15, 2022
Paper Deadline: March 22, 2022.
International Seminar: April 28-29, 2022
Submit Proposals by February 15, 2022
Inter-religious and Intercultural Tree Planting, November 15, 2021
Video Playlist: Participatory Action Research on the Environment, Religion & Culture in Thailand
On Monday, November 15, 2021, an interreligious and intercultural tree planting program took place on the grounds of the Department of Peacebuilding and the Institute of Religion, Culture, and Peace, on the main campus of Payap University. The event started at 2 PM and ended at around 4 pm. In this time of the pandemic, all health precautions were put in place attendees put on face masks, had access to hand sanitizer and gloves, as well as maintained social distance.
The afternoon program included the following:
Opening Ecumenical Prayer
Welcome Remarks
Cherry Tree Planting
Chestnut Tree Planting
Interreligious Representatives’ Reflections of Their Scriptures on Nature and Environmental Care
Student Reflections
Students Offer Plants to Religious Representatives and Community Members
Group Photos
Refreshments
Fellowship
The afternoon event started with Rev. Grace Moon of the Christian Conference of Asia (CCA), which is based in the Genesis (Pathomgarn) Building on campus, giving the opening ecumenical prayer. Ajarn Komgrit Wongnam, who represented Payap University President Ajan Apich Insuwan, gave the Welcome Remarks on behalf of the university president.
The participants of the event are very diverse in terms of religion, culture, national origins, and professions, among them were religious leaders, students, faculty, university administrators, staff, expats, and retirees. Religious representatives came from different faith traditions, including Baha’i, Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, and Sikhism. There were Americans, Asians, and Europeans in attendance.
After the welcome remarks, all the attendees went to the plot where the cherry sapling was planted. Each volunteer, of different religions, took turns in shoveling in some garden soil and peat moss onto the new plant. A Buddhist monk and a Muslim imam shared in the planting efforts, as well as a British Anglican priest and a female Thai Hindu monk. The next tree that was planted was a chestnut sapling. People of different faiths took turns in shoveling in some garden soil and peat moss onto the walnut sapling. Dr. Le Ngoc Bich Ly, Department of Peacebuilding Chair, Dr. Tony Waters, Institute of Religion, Culture, and Peace Director, Dr. Ken Dobson, and students, among others took turns to shovel some garden soil and sprinkled water on the newly planted saplings.
Thereafter, the religious representatives sat on the presidential table from which each one gave a thoughtful reflection from their own Holy Books about the importance of nature and the environment as well as environmental care and the relationship of human beings with the natural world. The participants of the event heard words of wisdom from different Scriptures about caring for the natural world. The readings from the sacred texts were followed by students offering plants to each representative of the different faith traditions as a symbol of spreading the knowledge, skills, and values of environmentalism to every corner, every culture, and every religion. The original plan was to have a tree planting event in different sites; however, the pandemic changed all that. Group photos were taken after the gift giving. Representing Baha’i were Mr. Satit Photchanatthamrong (Karen Thai) and Teerayoot “Tee” Kulpraiwan (Lanna Thai); Buddhism, Mr. Manit Khanthasima and Thonthep Charoensuksombat who is a novice at Wat Ta Pong; Christianity, Rev. Grace Moon (South Korea) and Rev. Fr. Iain Baxter (U.K.); Hinduism, Swamini Sarveswaran (Thailand); Islam, Ajan Jirachai Srichandorn; and, Sikhism, Mr. Frank and Mrs. Vanitha Sethi. A Muslim Indonesian student in a General Elective (G.E.) class in Truth and Service gave his reflections of the Qur’an on environmental care on behalf of the students.
Afternoon refreshments composed of Thai food, Indian food, Thai coconut and rice desserts, and assorted Thai iced tea drinks were served. In a display of empathetic fellowship, people of different cultures, faiths, and professions mingled when they broke bread together, informally learning from each other about each other, regardless of religion, sex, culture, national origin, and other differences.
Dr. Rey Ty of the Department of Peacebuilding, who served as the master of ceremony for the event, organized this event under the Institute of Religion, Culture, and Peace with a participatory action research grant from the United Board for Christian Higher Education in Asia (UB) through the Institute for Advanced Study in Asian Cultures and Theologies (IASACT) of the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK). The research paper on this community participatory action research was solicited and accepted for publication in an international academic journal.
IRCP Activities under Dr. Tony Waters (Up to March 15, 2022)
Dr. Tony Waters and five of the Dept. of Peace Studies students recently attended the 1st annual meeting of the Dept. of Anthropology and Ethnology meeting at Yunnan University in Kunming, China. The six papers presented discussed a wide-range of subjects including education in peace, peace philosophies, history, NGO politics, and other subjects.
A new academic year at IRCP started in June 2019. We were very happy to bring in five new PhD students which brings our total to 15 students. Two of them this year moved into the fourth year, with a successful dissertation proposal in June, 2019. Five more students took their qualifying exams in August 2019, and are continuing to get dissertation proposals approved in early 2020.
Dr. Mary Wong from California, and PhD students Min Htun, Moe Thida Lwin, and Qamaruzzaman Amir were at Mandalay University conducting workshops for peace educators, January 20-24, 2020.
- Dr. Tony Waters and five of the Dept. of Peace Studies students recently attended the 1st annual meeting of the Dept. of Anthropology and Ethnology meeting at Yunnan University in Kunming, China. The six papers presented discussed a wide-range of subjects including education in peace, peace philosophies, history, NGO politics, and other subjects.
- A new academic year at IRCP started in June 2019. We were very happy to bring in five new PhD students which brings our total to 15 students. Two of them this year moved into the fourth year, with a successful dissertation proposal in June, 2019. Five more students took their qualifying exams in August 2019, and are continuing to get dissertation proposals approved in early 2020.
- Dr. Mary Wong from California, and PhD students Min Htun, Moe Thida Lwin, and Qamaruzzaman Amir were at Mandalay University conducting workshops for peace educators, January 20-24, 2020.