Chandigarh, October 1:After an exciting night of dancing and cultural performances at PGI’s Bhargawa Auditorium, young delegates at the Youth Peace Festival woke up early alongwith both American Gandhi’s Bernie Meyer & Donald Mac Avinchey to pledge for peace at local schools.
Chandigarh children acted out scenes from Gandhi’s life and inaugarated a new Peace Club at Carmel Convent School, Gurukul Global School, Government Model Senior Sr. School, Sector 8 and other nearby locations.
The sixth official day of the peace fest held the theme of AIDS and HIV. Messages about prevention and awareness lined the fences of GGDS SD College, and a lively forum was held on the topic in the form of quizzes and games.
As the sun beat over SD College grounds, students from Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Nepal, US, Afghanistan, India etc. organized Cricket for Peace teams with help of Chandigarh Women Cricket Association and UT State AIDS Control Society. Some seasoned players, and some newcomers just learning the game, the students learned one of India’s favorite pastimes just in time for the Commonwealth Games.
Simultaneously, students learned how to play ultimate frisbee and also dotted the sky with colorful kites with messages of HIV/AIDS and healthy life style.
As the afternoon wore on, the chief guest Rani Sharma, President of Chandigarh Social Welfare Board and Donald Mac Avinchey spoke to a crowd of of multicultural gathering in the SD auditorium.
In the late afternoon, students prepared for tomorrow’s peace parade by painting hundreds of placards and bookmarks with slogans of peace,unity & in support of a world without wars. “Bread not Bombs” and “Peace not Pieces” were some of the messages being spread.
The Peace Parade will start tomorrow at 9:30 am from the parade grounds. Over 10,000 students will march for a “world without wards” toward Punjab University, where the festival will hold it’s final
A second multicultural evening took place in the evening, filling SD College once again with various music and dancing performances. Delegates from Nepal, Bhutan, India, and France, among others, shared traditional and modern music from their countries.
For the event, SD college’s main auditorium was decorated with posters & flags of India and China to celebrate “60 Years of Indo-China Relations”. The two world powers came together in a display of artistic talents and cultural sharing, symbolizing their commitment to building stronger relationships amongst youth in the future.
Prominent amongst those who graced the evening includes Justice Rajesh Bindal, Dalbir Singh Dhillon, Chairman, Punjab School Education Board & SK Setia, Addl. Director, Census Department, Haryana.
Tomorrow’s valedictory function will take place at 12 o’clock at Punjab University and will feature Chief Minister of Haryana, Bhupinder Singh Hooda, who will inspire youth to create a better future of peace.
The International Youth Peace Festival is being organized by NGO Yuvsatta,GGDSD College and international organization Oxfam India.