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"The work now is to tend the seeds of living oneness that have been planted into our hearts and into the world around us, as we transition this liminal space between eras. To nurture them with our love and care for the Earth. So many thousands of years ago we were awakened to the wonder and magic of divine presence. And the same light that awoke in the Earth is what calls us back to love within the heart, so that the world should not forget."
Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee, Working With Oneness
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Gathering Thought Leaders and young community leaders
in Auroville, India February 2024
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In February GPIW joined with The Auroville Foundation in Auroville, Pondicherry, India, for a gathering called ‘Toward a Collective Awakening: Experiments in Evolution’. The four-day dialogue explored how individual spiritual practice can effect change in the world community. Discussions were held on themes that included education, meditation and spiritual practice, our sacred connection to the natural world, organizational cooperation, new integral economic models, and the power of communities to test governance models and alternative societal structures. One of the sessions featured above, included some of India's dynamic youth leaders. L to R: Naveen Vasudevan, Educator, Peacebuilder & Co-Founder Rithambara, Shashank Kalra, CEO India Youth Alliance, Arun Selvam, Member Auroville Committee, Vibhuti Aggarwal, Co-Creator of Earth Shashtra & India Youth Alliance, Riddhi Shah, Educator, organizer, philanthropic consultant, Pradnya Mathur, Systems Thinking Educator & Founder Dharinya, Prakar Bhartiya, Founder India Youth Alliance & Indian School of Democracy | |
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This meeting in Auroville led to some of young people above organizing their own gathering some months later. Shashank Kalra and Youth Alliance of India teamed up with two organizations in Auroville, Youth Link and Flourish to hold an 8-day Earth Shastra that focused on broad issues such as over consumption, factory-based education, the climate crisis and the importance of inner work. There were 31 participants and a full report of the meeting can be found here.
| Core members of the Contemplative Alliance gather for luncheon and informal dialogue in New York City September 2024 | |
This was a day to meet old friends and fellow contemplatives to catch up and know more of their current work in their communities. We were joined by Rev. Naron Tillman, Director of Urban Yogis and Pastor at OneMinistries NYC, Chiaki Yasue, senior staff at the New York Center of Shinnyo-en, Monique Schubert, artist, yoga instructor at Kripalu and Revival Chorus singer, Rev. Kosen Greg Snyder, professor at Union Theological Seminary and teacher at The Brooklyn Zen Center, Father Michael Holleran, Catholic Priest and former Carthusian monk, Rev. Diane Berke, founder of One Spirit Learning Alliance, Father Adam Bucko, Director of the Center for Spiritual Imagination at the Episcopal Cathedral of the Incarnation, Kurt Johnston, a scientist, activist, and former monastic in the tradition of Brother Wayne Teasdale, and Raven Burrell, therapist and artist activist and longtime GPIW volunteer. | |
GPIW participates in the UN Convention on Biodiversity (COP16) in Cali, Colombia, October 2024 | |
Juan Pablo Restrepo, Liliana Moreno, and Daniel Abreu attend COP16 - The UN Convention on Biodiversity (CBD). This is the first time that GPIW has held official status and participated in the CBD. It was held in Cali, Colombia for ten days in late October, with more than 25 thousand registered delegates, including heads of state and environmental ministers from across the globe. With support from DDMBA, ITRI, and Shumei the young representatives were able to organize several events in Cali open to the public as well as speak at an official UN Side Event. | |
"It is true that, once again, the spaces for negotiation did not lead to clear commitments by the centers of power to allocate resources to the protection of biodiversity on our planet, but the COP16 in Cali was much more than that. It was the meeting of thousands of people - activists, scientists, indigenous people, artists, public officials - who, no matter how adverse the circumstances, dedicate their lives to the care of life."
Liliana Moreno, Reconectando, Colombia
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UNFCCC Climate Summit COP29 Baku Azerbaijan Nov 2024 | |
Short video that highlights issues and learnings - COP29 from Mihir Mathur | |
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Mihir Mathur, a systems thinking practitioner, CEO, DESTA, India,
Ven. Chang Ji Fa Shih, Canada, Dharma Drum Mountain Buddhist Association,
Iman Awad, Iraq/UK, Sustaining all Life Organization,
Kavita Dhamale, India, Sustaining All Life Organization
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Each year GPIW partners with ITRI-USA to bring young people and a spiritual perspective to the meetings of the UN Climate Change Conferences. This year GPIW held an official UN Side Event in collaboration with DDMAA and Sustaining all Life. | |
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"We are at a defining moment, where the climate choices we make today will shape the legacy we leave for future generations. Now is the time for courageous and compassionate action."
-Dr. Anil Kumar Bakshi, Sonali Bakshi
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Side Event with GPIW, DDMBA, and Sustaining All Life on the theme of
'Fostering Regenerative Cultures Through Transformative Education for Children and Youth'
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“We are at 1.5 degree rise in temperature and headed towards 2 degrees. Climate actions need to be scaled up and maybe done differently. Money invested in adaptation actions is not enough and there are problems separating the allocation of funds for disaster management, adaptation and humanitarian response. Large scale green infrastructure development is not always consistent with local priorities and in some cases ends up disrupting the local ecosystems (this was shared at the side event by the participants from Brazil). A proposal on having a COP for children is in the works. The voices of children need to be heard as they will be facing most of the brunt of climate change. The speakers at our joint side event shared the need for us to develop inner changes, as without inner work we cannot achieve outer changes. If we are restless from the inside, then it shall reflect as chaos on the outside. We might change the terminology of climate negotiations to climate offerings - this would make the COP discussions feel positive and not competitive. Lastly, the current process of COP is not producing the desired results. We need to rethink the format and perhaps have decentralized processes to arrive at more pragmatic actions.” – Mihir Mathur, CEO, DESTA | | | | |
