On the occasion of International Day for Peace 2018, in a class on citizenship and social change at James Madison College, Michigan State University, students wrote short acrostics summing up their view of “change”, and what it takes. What is your view of change and what is the change you would like to see in … More Celebrating ‘change’ through poetry
When I moved to an unfamiliar town because of the man I had married, I realized in some time that all relationships – acquaintances and all – described loosely as ‘friends’ were invariably people we spent time with as a couple over dinners, watching movies in their company but never quite walking below the surface. … More Friendship Fortnight: Mickey and I, by Preeta Balia
Asmita and I by Anoushka Zaveri Domestic helpers are a blessing to every household. They bring efficiency to the monotonous task of running a home and a kitchen. They are those family members we forget to include in our families sometimes. They are hard-working, long-term employees who get married to your home, burrow through its … More Asmita and I: A Friendship Fortnight Post
A few weeks ago, I realised that July 30 is International Friendship Day; August 5 is Friendship Day in India; August 12 is International Youth Day, and of course, August 14-15 are when Pakistan and India celebrate their independence–as also, remember the trauma of Partition–a trauma that makes friendship ever so hard for many to … More International Friendship Day Reflections
By Anoushka Zaveri Two years ago, I exited the regular Maharashtra board college education model and enrolled myself at FLAME University, Pune. My teachers were tuned in with what they were teaching, and allowed room for discussion and disagreement. The quality of my interactions within the classroom changed. My classmates and I were more sensitive … More Learning with an open mind
By Anoushka Zaveri Thus the little minutes, Humble though they be, Make the mighty ages Of eternity. ~ Excerpt from Julia Carney’s “Little Things” My dad effectively terms his chartered accountancy as “the worst decision of his life”. He’s 47 years old, satisfactorily rich but professionally unhappy. My eleven-year old brother is a passionate little … More Little Things Schools Can Do to Better Equip Young Boys: A Student’s Opinions
[This blogpost is a compilation of extracts from Impact and Success of District Inter Religious Committees: Religiously Working for Change published by National Peace Council, Sri Lanka, January 2016.] “Whether in Sri Lanka, Europe or the United States, coping with the challenge of religious and ethnic diversity is the challenge of our times… An important … More #DialogueForPeace: Religiously Working For Change in Sri Lanka
By Juhi Waeerkar If I could define cultural diversity, I would define it as, “the coexistence of culture and ethnicity within an individual as well as a society.” In an increasingly globalized world, we have individuals born in one culture, and raised in another. There is a lot of interaction and exchange. Through this, we … More #DialogueForPeace: What It Means to be a Global Citizen
By Devika Mittal After graduating in history, I had devised three options for my further studies – to continue with my discipline, switch to archaeology which had been my childhood dream, or to pursue sociology which was my new-found interest. I chose sociology. I did not have the option to study sociology in my school, … More #DialogueForPeace: Cultural Diversity, A Vital Condition for Human Freedom
By Archana Rao A few years ago I had the immense privilege of meeting the folks at the National Equity Project. I was personally challenged to question my unconscious biases. Having lived a very diverse life, around the world, with a life long association with Initiatives of Change, an international organisation committed to bridging divides … More #DialogueForPeace: The Value of Listening to Every Voice
