ISI Bangalore Celebrates International Day of Peace
The Peace and Reconciliation Unit of Indian Social Institute, Bengaluru, in collaboration with the Jesuit Conference of South Asia (JCSA) Peace and Reconciliation Network organised an hour long online celebration of the International Day of Peace on 21st September, at 4.00 pm. The programme began with a video on the “Culture of Peace” and a welcome address by Mr. Amith Pereira. Dr. Denzil Fernandes SJ, the Head of the Peace and Reconciliation Unit, was the moderator of the programme. In his introductory address, he reminded the audience that this year marked the 25th anniversary of the United Nations General Assembly’s adoption of the Declaration and Programme of Action on a Culture of Peace, which recognised that peace is not only the absence of conflict, but also requires a positive, dynamic participatory process where dialogue is encouraged and conflicts are solved in a spirit of mutual understanding and cooperation. On this occasion, Dr. Mazher Hussain, Director of COVA Peace Network, Hyderabad, delivered a lecture on the United Nations theme for the year 2024, namely “Cultivating a Culture of Peace”. In his lecture, he highlighted the phenomenon of ‘othering’ of communities or nations and branding them as evil, which was fuelling conflicts in India and the world. He urged the participants to change the narrative to ‘embracing the other’ citing his own initiatives in Kashmir, Hyderabad and Indo-Pak amity. He outlined four steps from moving from conflict to peace, namely confidence building measures, empathetic understanding, collaborative analysis of contentious issues and arriving at mutually acceptable resolution to conflicts. Finally, he showcased the efforts of COVA to foster compassion in the education system in Telangana through its Compassionate Citizenship program. About 64 participants actively participated in the program and interacted with some insightful questions on peace-building in different parts of the country. At the end of the programme, the moderator proposed the vote of thanks and exhorted participants to build alliances with peace activists to address conflicts and create a culture of peace across the country.