Chandigarh,Prabhjot , March 15; Today, Indian Council of Gandhian Studies, New Delhi, Department of Gandhian Studies, Panjab University & Yuvsatta (an NGO) as part of their wide multifaceted peace promotion programmes, organized a day long workshop on the theme of promoting culture of peace by way of active participation of youth, especially girls & women in the society.
Around 115 girl students & youth Peace Club members from Dev Samaj College of Education, Sector 36, Chandigarh, Divya Shiksha Gurukul College of Education, Derrabassi, Satyam College of Education, Moga, Chitkara College of Education for Women, Rajpura-Patiala, Department of Gandhian Studies, Panjab University & Yuvsatta participated in the initiative.
Prominent amongst those who addressed and interacted with youngsters included Internationally acclaimed Gandhian Scholar & Activist Prof. N. Radhakrishan, Mr. Sanjay Sharma, Chief of Bureau,Times of India, Chandigarh, N. Vasudevan, Secretary Indian Council of Gandhian Studies, Shri Babu Lal, a Gandhian activist, Dr. ML Sharma, Chairman, Department of Gandhian Studies, Panjab University & Parmod Sharma, Coordinator, Yuvsatta.
Participating in the deliberation Students discussed many important issues like building youth Peace clubs in Educational institutions & community while Identifying structures and forms of violence at family, school, college, work place, and in Society including neighbourhoods also in Politics, Religion, caste & Media. Realizing the importance of environmental issues another sub-theme was ‘The planet is speaking, but are we listening’, with focus on issues of global warming, afforestation and water. Girl students also discussed on working towards a harmonious society and Impact of globalization on peace. Empowerment of women as a tool for peace building was another important area which received their attention.
Addressing the gathering Prof. N. Radhakrishnan said that to build a peaceful world, there is a need to create safe forum spaces for youth to engage in dialogue. He was of the view that such workshops could create awareness and then formulate some recommendations for solutions.
On the occasion Prof. N. Radhakrishnan also honoured Sanjay Sharma, Chief of Bureau from Times of India for showing utmost courage of conviction in journalism and participating Colleges by presenting them framed quotes of Mahatma Gandhi. In the end participating girls decided to promote the culture of peace by strengthening Peace Clubs in their respective Colleges.