nonviolence

International Day of Non-Violence

The International Day of Non-Violence is observed on 2 October, the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi, leader of the Indian independence movement and pioneer of the philosophy and strategy of non-violence.

According to General Assembly resolution A/RES/61/271 of 15 June 2007, which established the commemoration, the International Day is an occasion to “disseminate the message of non-violence, including through education and public awareness”. The resolution reaffirms “the universal relevance of the principle of non-violence” and the desire “to secure a culture of peace, tolerance, understanding and non-violence”.

Introducing the resolution in the General Assembly on behalf of 140 co-sponsors, India’s Minister of State for External Affairs, Mr. Anand Sharma, said that the wide and diverse sponsorship of the resolution was a reflection of the universal respect for Mahatma Gandhi and of the enduring relevance of his philosophy. Quoting the late leader’s own words, he said: “Non-violence is the greatest force at the disposal of mankind. It is mightier than the mightiest weapon of destruction devised by the ingenuity of man.”

To learn more about how and why the UN commemorates this observance, including definitions and principles of non-violence, please visit un.org/en/observances/non-violence-day.

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on Disarmament, Peace, and Security, please visit ngocdps.wordpress.com. For more information on the NGO Committee on Human Rights, please email the co-chairs at bknotts@uua.org or bobbinassar@gmail.com. For more information on the Committee of Religious NGOs at the United Nations, please visit rngos.wordpress.com

[Webinar] Local to Global: Agents of Change, A Youth Led Initiative

1. Nature of event: Webinar

2. Organizers | Sponsors: Nonviolence International New York

3. Title of event: “Local to Global: Agents of Change, A Youth Led Initiative”

4. Concept note about or brief introduction to the event:
This Side Event will feature Agents of Change, youth from all around the world who have led significant initiatives in response to pressing social issues,  with a focus on disarmament, nonviolent methodologies, and civil society. This event hopes to highlight and encourage youth involvement in civil society as well as provide information on how to effectively get involved in advocacy and social justice, whilst highlighting avenues for active engagement in accomplishing the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. The Agents of Change will be joining us to share their own experiences and anecdotes on how they are personally involved in sustainable peace.

5. Day and date, start and finish time (including time zone), venue: Wednesday, July 15th, 2020, 1:00 – 2:00 pm EST

6. Speakers, moderator:

– Parker Dolton, Research Analyst NVI-NY (moderator)
– Joshua Kirshbaum, Executive Director NVI-NY (speaker)
– Nicole Himel, Research Analyst NVI-NY (speaker)
– Veronika Leitmanova, Research Manager NVI-NY (speaker)
– Inci Sayki, Research Analyst NVI-NY (speaker)
– Meredith Carbonell, Research Analyst NVI-NY (speaker)

7. Links or information about registration and participation: Please RSVP for the event here. If this link doesn’t work, please copy and paste the following in your browser:
https://www.nviny.net/remote-programs/local-to-global-agents-of-change-a-youth-led-initiative  

8. Announcement posters or background documents:
Please visit our website for background information on NVI-NY: www.nonviolenceny.org  and this will lead up to the set of webinars that this team will be hosting in late July through August (dates TBA)

AUGUST EXPERT PANELS 

The series of online panels hosted by NVINY’s Civil Society Engagement (CSE) team will consist of 3 panels and will take place through 3 consecutive weeks, with one panel taking place each week.

  1. Nishka Malik’s panel discussion will be concerning indigenous people and mining,
  2. Parker Dolton’s will be on education initiatives in developing countries,
  3. Arielle Rosenthal’s will be on the future of humanitarian aid.

Each panel will feature 4 speakers and will be 60 to 90 minutes. The panels will take place on Zoom, and will preferably be broadcasted on Youtube and Facebook for more engagement with the audience.

We are still looking for a few more panelists and if you know anyone who would want to speak in the expert panel on one of these three topics if you could encourage them to reach out to the CSE Team lead Inci Sayki at  incisayki@nonviolenceny.org
Organizers | Sponsors:
a) Nonviolence International New York – Nonviolenceny.org
b) the New York Graduate Plan – newyorkgraduateplan.org