Responses to Prepared Statements
The evaluation form contained 8 statements. The participants were asked to respond to these statements. They were given five choices for each of the five statements: “Strongly Disagree”, “Disagree”, “Neutral”, “Agree”, and “Strongly Agree”.

We received 37 completed forms from the participants. The following is a summary of the responses:

41% of those who completed the form checked“Agree” and 59% “Strongly Agree”..

3% “Neutral” responses, 48.5% “Agree” and 48.5% “Strongly Agree

6% did not respond to this question, 3% “Neutral”, 51% “Agree” and 40% “Strongly Agree”.

3% did not respond to this question,13% “Neutral”, 41% “Agree” and 43% “Strongly Agree”.

41% “Agree” and 59% “Strongly Agree”.

30% checked “Agree” and 70% “Strongly Agree”.

6% did not respond, 3% checked “Disagree”, 27% “Neutral”, 32% “Agree” and 32% “Strongly Disagree”.

3% did not respond, 3% checked “Neutral”, 37% “Agree” and 57% “Strongly Agree.”

3% did not respond to this question, 5% responded neutral, 38% responded that their general level of satisfaction was high and 54% responded very high.

Written Responses to Specific Questions

“Speakers were excellent”, “Speaker- the spectrum of talks, fascinating conversation that followed.”, “Had not heard of SHEN prior, found it enlightening & accepting of all.”, “Speakers on Saturday were exceptional.”, “Presentations” , “Liked it all!”, “No human being is inferior or superior”, “Wide range of excellent speakers in different disciplines.”, ”Speakers were outstanding.”, “Meeting so many different & yet like- minded people.”, “The candor of the speakers.”

“Liked the idea of meditation toward Oneness.”, “Allowing scholars to share personal experiences.”, “Enjoyed the speakers and small groups.”, “Generally satisfied.”, “Loved the closeness and possibility to talk to the speakers.”, “Good diversity among speakers & participants- A. Khalils presentation most excellent.”

‘Quality of the content was good.”, “Excellent key note speakers.”, “Most of the speakers were excellent and carefully chosen-Great effort taken by Dr. Shiv and his team.”, “Scope and caliber of speakers”, “Excellent speakers and drumming circle.”, “Dialoging at the end of speakers was great.”, ‘Liked the mediation and yoga aspects.”, “The underlying message and Oneness of all traditions- Ethical and moral practices in business and economy.”, “Quality of presenters was .outstanding and broad- can’t identify a weakness.”, ‘All was good. Excellent idea to include drumming & yoga.”, “Talk of speakers very inspiring and positive.”, “The speakers were the best.”, ‘Circles for conversation.”, “Well organized and well coordinated.”

‘Organization for meals at noon not great, provide sandwiches for donation.”, ‘Posts in auditorium blocked view of speakers”, “Youth panel responses ran on. Perhaps shorter more succinct responses would allow more questions.”, “Could questions be prepared in advance for the youth so they could prepare more direct response?’, ‘Wished I could have attended the Sunday morning events. I wonder if Jewish could attend on Sat.?”, “Better is all speakers had slides. ”Missed connecting with spirituality with me in the Material life.”, “Need to explore catered lunch”, ‘Photography and sound system for recording.”, ‘Nice if more interactive.”, ‘More hands on activities.”, “Perhaps some handouts outlining the subject matter.”, ”Indian philosophy difficult to follow.”

“better appreciation of the core of religion- being the same.”, “Reinforced my belief that my personal experiences are not uniquely mine.”, “The elders that organized the event and follow what is being lectured in the conference.”, “Good company.”, “Understanding other traditions.”, ‘Great need for expression of gratitude and reflection with others absolutely necessary.”, “Strengthened my resolve.”, ‘Understanding of Oneness in all faiths.”, “Refreshed in listening to wonderful speakers.”, “Reinforced ideas I already have.”, “Good to learn new approaches to thinking-Indian and Muslim approach to gratitude.”, “Encouragement to grow Spiritually.”, “Takes all people from all walks of life, backgrounds to contribute to globalize the mind.”, ”Motivation to continue my spiritual pursuits.”, ”More aware about spirituality.”, ‘Excellent program of SHEN objectives.”, “Idea of being able to meditate.”, “Good exposure”, “Increased my open mindedness.”

“Growth- I am a lifelong student and grow always.”, ‘More about different religions and learning we all go through a spiritual journey.”, ‘Affirmation of my global perspective.’, “All share in a larger humanity- birth, death, love, loss. Growth all a part of the human family.”, ‘More sensitivity to the nuances and the pain of leaving your original tradition.”, ‘Meet people from across the globe and see other peoples perspectives.”, “Reflections unify our thoughts and actions.”

“Profoundly affected by the breadth of speakers sharing singularity of one message.”, “Common goal- positive energy.’, “gained an understanding of myself, my weaknesses & strengths that I can surrender to the Divine and his/her work.”, “An ability to talk with an open heart to any or all no faith /religions.”, “added to my concepts.”

“Change the date so it’s more accessible to students.”, “More effective publicity.”, “Ads at schools and churches”, ‘Keep up the good work.”, “More exposure announcing upcoming conferences to reach wider audience from community and out of town.”, “More publicity- maybe one day conference be better for most people?”, “Workshops on deeper spirituality technique.”, “Continue offering opinions from individuals from various religious backgrounds.”, “Meditation was great- perhaps more activities and exercises and hands on learning.”, “More interaction between audience and presenters.”, “more youth and controversial questions.”, “Accommodating youth participation with their suggestion of how to improve participation.”, “Approach students with different ideas to bring them closer to SHEN.”, “If speakers can connect to solutions.”, “Having female speakers. Quite male dominated.”, “Continued reflection on each speaker.”, “Have all participate and introduce themselves at beginning of conference and bring business cards to exchange.”, ‘Teaching an inclusion of ethical and moral principles in all disciplines.”, ‘Greater attendance. Many missed out on a great opportunity.”, “Contact the board of education reach out to high school students of separate schools.”, “More involvement with youths.”, “Perhaps a few shorter talks- loved the speakers but perhaps more viewpoints then could be shared.”, “More and more theorization is required.”

“Yes.”, “Only time can tell”, “Of course”, “I now have more awareness of the needs of people.”, “Yes - I always appreciate conferences in our region with diversity in speakers, panels, and activities, and diverse participants.”, “Absolutely we are the same.”, ‘I believe so.”, “Yes, perhaps SHEN could promote the need to help the less fortunate.”, “Yes- absolutely.”, “Especially Dr. Khalil’s presentation on gratitude.”, “Yes- well organized.”, “No- I think I already have that perspective.”, “Multicultural sharing/gathering= breakdown of barriers/prejudices personal awareness/growth. Excellent awareness building of the global human mind.”, “Some concern about including those with lesser mental capacity. This was pretty esoteric in places. How do we include others, more distracted less reflective.”, “It has focused me on the need to look more externally and be a catalyst for change.”, “It was illuminating and informative.”, ”Definitely amongst the attendees.”

“Graded lessons to be prepared. A project to prepare an anthology of universal thoughts.”, “Enjoyed myself immensely.”, “All talks powerful & inspiring & interesting thoroughly enjoyed the conference.”, “Fine well organized event”, ‘Well organized!”, “Congratulations!”, “ Possibly break the conference down to two separate days. Extend in to the evening to allow interaction and discussion.”, ‘Shiv, thank you , thank you, thank you.”, “Work on sorting out audio issues, wonderful thank you!”, “Very well done! Should always seek to improve grow and transform”, “Overall very nice.”, “More time for question and answer.”, “Good to include younger people in discussion.”, “Enjoyed.”, “Unfortunately some people do not take advantage of this conference as they do not want to or afford to pay the cost.”, “Thank you very much-great conference.”, “Great to include play and create do this again. Book list would help since they sold out early of some things.”, “Very well organized. Great speakers.”, “Wholistic approach to education.”, “One word outstanding. Thank you for the opportunity.”, “Hope we all have learned and put to practice. Keeping an open mind, Reach out to authorities of education institutions with one voice and spirit.”, “Gratitude.”, “thank you to all volunteers who made this possible.”, “Press coverage? Someone to attend several sessions as a guest? Not necessarily to write but for future years?”