Let there be peace

Vandana Shukla in Chandigarh

The binding of India and Pakistan is such that the two appear to be mirror images covered by layers of dust. Yet images speak, at times, when no one except the two, are listening, with a little prompt. That’s what happened at a session of the 11th Global Youth Peace Festival (GYPF). There were tales of nostalgia the youth from both sides had heard from their grandparents. These are the youth who volunteer in peace initiatives.

The unique experiment of assembling youth from different cultures and countries, initiated by Yuvsatta, now brings close to 250 young volunteers from 33 counties. They come to Chandigarh on the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, to revitalize the values of Ahimsa and vasudhaiv kutumbakam (the world is a family). 

The peace volunteers brought David Caprara, VP, strategic alliances, Global Peace Foundation (GPF), Washington, to the city. Caprara is credited with promoting youth volunteerism, low-income entrepreneurship and asset development, mentoring children of prisoners and other initiatives to strengthen children and families throughout the US. He also wants five violence-free zones across the United States. As a nonresident fellow with the Brookings Institution, he is researching volunteering and service policies, best practices and impacts. 

He is committed to addressing the “unfinished work of Gandhi-ji.” Based on his experience in Sub-Saharan Africa, Middle East, Latin America and North and South Asia as well as the US, he has come to believe that peace and spirit of volunteerism has resonance across political divides. He is not perturbed by the rise of the right, globally. 

His optimism rests on the fact that Gandhian vision of treating the globe as one family is found in all cultures, manifested according to various cultural traditions. He says the universal values of inclusiveness can serve as a rich resource for binding peoples across divides.

The GPF is assembling world leaders of diverse faiths in Manila at the Global Peace Convention due February 28-March 3. It is meant to forge a ‘global ethical framework’ informed by universal values for peace and their applications in hot spots today.

“Youth from various regions can be motivated by the examples of counterparts who have overcome violence and similar life challenges,” says Caprara. The GPF is advancing character and creativity initiatives advancing youth entrepreneurship with partners such as Airtel, Google and IBM. 

Caprara says people are reacting in a positive sense to the resonance for peace. “Coupling interfaith and peace engagement has been particularly effective in our work across East Africa (Kenya and Tanzania) and Nigeria, as well as across the Korean Peninsula, and other regions.”

In India, GPF is partnering with the Swachgraha and Interfaith Wash Alliance to advance Swach Bharat, an effort to foster civic engagement with volunteerism. “Peace begins from within. Youth and women are natural leaders for peace and extended family values.”