United Nation’s UNESCO has taken the initiative to start Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Education for Peace and Sustainable Development (MGIEP) with an emphasis on kindness.
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi aka Mahatma Gandhi, a symbol of peace for political struggles and peaceful protests for rights, is the de facto father of nation in India. “To inspire societal change through the power of kindness, there is a need to give agency to the 1.8 billion people of the world – the youth. Inspired by Mahatma Gandhi, in commemoration of his 150th birth anniversary celebration, the first World Youth Conference on Kindness aims to provide young people with a global platform where they can actively engage with decision-makers towards finding innovative ways of propagating non-violence as a way to resolve conflicts. In order to impart critical competencies (i.e. empathy, compassion, mindfulness and critical inquiry) in global youth to inspire, empower and enable them to transform themselves and build long-lasting peace in their communities. The World Youth Conference on Kindness will provide an innovative, engaging and inspiring platform to global youth leaders and policymakers to come together and strive to discover ground-breaking pathways for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals,” a press statement released by UNESCO’s MGIEP noted.
Mahatma Gandhi (2 October 1869 – 30 January 1949) was a political ethicist and anti-colonial nationalist. He has lived, studied and worked in the British colonial countries of India, South Africa and the UK.
“The UNESCO Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Education for Peace and Sustainable Development (MGIEP) is UNESCO’s category 1 Research Institute that focuses on Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4.7 towards education for building peaceful and sustainable societies across the world. In line with its vision of ‘Transforming Education for Humanity’, the Institute employs the whole-brain approach to education, with programmes that are designed to mainstream Social-Emotional Learning in education systems, innovate digital pedagogies and to put youth as global citizens at the center of the 2030 agenda for Sustainable Development,” said the agency.
On this occasion the first ever World Youth Conference for Kindness will be held. Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam: Gandhi for the Contemporary World | ‘Celebrating the 150th Anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi’ will be held at Vigyan Bhavan in New Delhi on 23rd August 2019. The conference will be inaugurated by Shri Ram Nath Kovind, President of India. After the daylong session with panel discussions and seminars, there will be a kindness concert and the release of kindness anthem by Ricky Kej and collaborating artists. Ricky Kej is a US-born music composer, producer and an environmentalist.