Professor of Religion Jan Willis wasn’t quite sure what to expect when she heard that she was one of a few individuals selected by the American State Department to attend a bilateral conference on religion in Indonesia. However, after the intensive three-day meeting had concluded—and a three-page policy statement was produced outlining common goals for religious leaders in Indonesia—she could say without a doubt that the experience had been worth it. In Willis’s words, “Sometimes you get to use your expertise for good work.” Willis sat down with The Argus to share her experience.

Argus: How did you find out about the conference?
Jan Willis: I received this invitation, and it was almost like, “Pack your bags.” [The invitation read]: “Pursuant to President Obama’s speech in Cairo, we are about to begin the first of six proposed meetings to carry forth his idea about international interfaith gatherings, with the aim of having religions come together for social change.” Hey, sounds good to me! After all, I teach a course called “Engaged Buddhism,” and it’s all about wedding the tenets of Buddhism to social activism.

A: How many people were at the conference?
JW: There were a couple of 100 [people] who came to the plenary sessions. Then we broke up into smaller groups, where it was just the specific delegations to the conference. There were about two rooms of 20 of us each, with a mixture of Indonesian and American delegates. In total, the U.S. State Department brought about 20 people; 10 people who were called regional representatives, who came from Cambodia, Malaysia, places like that; and then 20 Indonesians. Most of them came from Jakarta, but the second largest contingent came from central Java.

A: What was your schedule like?
JW: The conference ran from the Jan. 25 to 27. Every day we’d wake up, have breakfast with the other delegates, then the plenary sessions, then break up into workshops, then lunch. It all took place in this one hotel.

A: What do you feel was the most valuable aspect of the experience for you?
JW: The smaller groups and the times where we were more casual were probably when I got the most out of the trip, because you got to meet people and find out what they were doing. But I was mostly learning there, because even though I had ideas and experiences, which they hoped we’d all talk about, they were after a policy statement. It was at that level, which isn’t really my discourse. “We want to come out of these three days with a statement of intent that will take us further,” and that’s what I think they did, so it was pretty effective.

A: It’s interesting that you mentioned Obama’s Cairo speech, because that was so long ago, but now that these types of events are being carried out, it seems like it’s flying under the radar.
JW: Because Haiti happened. In his Cairo speech, he was really talking to the Muslim world, so naturally the first of these meetings is in Indonesia, which is the largest Muslim country in the world. But they wrote a constitution in 1998, which says we’re a multi-religious country, even though they’re 90 percent Muslim. I think Secretary of State Hillary Clinton mentioned it once before it occurred, and it was mid-December when I first found out about them getting it together. It wasn’t exactly last minute, but it was hurried. I think the next one will probably be in Washington, D.C. It’s very interesting because if religions can come together on common principles, that’s where you find people that can be educated, influenced, and motivated.