Friday, February 20, 2009

T H E M A R C H Against Corruption and Terrorism


March 1, 2009: Parliament Street, New Delhi.

Aiming to mobilise over 1 lakh citizens to march together and raise a unified voice against corruption and terrorism.

Pledging to build a corruption free nation.



His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Founder of the Art of Living Foundation, has conceptualized this march to awaken and empower citizens in order to create an on-ground structure that will actually effect a change in societal circumstances and situations. In keeping with His vision and mission of a stress-free, violence-free planet where individuals contribute towards the goal of a One-World Family, this initiative has a three pronged purpose:-


1) Creating public awareness and mobilizing people, organizations and communities towards the cause of rooting out corruption and terrorism from the country.
2) Organizing a forum and an activity structure in partnership with various NGO’s, bodies to involve citizen participation (esp. Youth) in the democratic process and address social issues.
3) Taking sustainable action at the grass root level, system level and policy level towards nation building


WHY DO THIS NOW?
India has the dubious distinction of being one of the most corrupt nations in the world, ranking a poor 45 of the 49 countries evaluated on the World Economic Forum Survey 2003 ‘Honesty’ index.

A dangerous manifestation of corruption is terrorism. According to the database information released by START (The National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terror) 4,108 terrorist incidents occurred in India between 1970 to 2004 which put India into sixth place in Terrorism hit nations list. More than 400 people died in terror attacks in 2008. The actual figure is unknown.

As a country, we need to actively start moving in a concerted way against these twin evils that are now threatening our very existence.

The support and ownership of civil society is an important element in eradicating the problem
of corruption and terrorism.


HOW DO WE ACHIEVE OUR GOAL?
Youth For Equality and the Youth wing of the Art of Living, World Alliance for Youth Empowerment (WAYE) will spearhead this year-long nation wide movement, starting with this march, that will have the active support and participation of all sections of civil society including educational institutions, NGO’s, Residents’ welfare organisations, Youth groups, Social service organisations, Cultural organisations, Corporate houses, and Individuals from all walks of life.

The objective is to awaken and empower people, especially the youth, to participate in the democratic process.

Under the sensitization theme of “Make your Country your Valentine”, we endeavor to catalyze
this movement, across the nation, with a 3 fold solution: AWARENESS, ACCOUNTABILITY & ACTION.

The aim is to make the youth aware of their role and propel them to bring about social transformation by active participation in the democratic process.


So let us send out a call to our country to create a safe society. A society which has no fear in walking into an airplane, train, bus. Or when we enter a mall, cinema, hotel, with our children. Or our very own homes.


Let us take responsibility and bring the change- for our future and our future generations
Ask not what your country can do for you,
Ask what you can do for your country.


Contact: 01164598338/9968880956/9968880958