New Delhi, India—UPF-India commemorated the UN International Day of Peace and International Day of Nonviolence 2020 with the “Peace to Non-violence” 12-day online campaign, held from September 21, the International Day of Peace, to October 2, the International Day of Nonviolence and also the birthdate of Mahatma Gandhi.
Eleven webinars were organized by the UPF chapter during the 12 days, and on September 27, the campaign supported the second virtual Rally of Hope, convened by UPF International and broadcast live from Korea. In total, more than 5,000 people participated in the campaign, which hosted 70 speakers representing all sectors of society, including government, religion, academia, media and civil society.
A video message from Hon. Rameswar Teli, a minister of state of the government of India, and Hon. Bhubaneswar Kalita, a member of parliament and chairman of the International Association of Parliamentarians for Peace (IAPP)-India, was shown in every webinar. The vice chancellor of the Royal Global University, Guwahati, Dr. S.P. Singh, who is also the vice chair of the International Association of Academicians for Peace (IAAP)-India, joined all the webinars live in support of the campaign.
The inaugural online event on September 21 was addressed by Hon. Teli and nine other speakers, including Hon. Indra Hang Subba, a member of parliament, Lok Sabha; Amb. K.V. Rajan, former ambassador of India and chairman of UPF-India; and Mr. Alok Mehta, former president of the Editors Guild of India and chairman of the International Media Association for Peace (IMAP)-India.
The campaign concluded with a webinar on “Peace & Non-violence: Message from Artists" (अमन और अहिंसा : कलाकारों का पैगाम in Hindi), which featured 10 artists from various fields.