Three-day global youth peace fest commences in Chandigarh

CHANDIGARH: The 13th Global Youth Peace Festival, aimed at forging youth partnerships in achieving sustainable development goals by 2030, kicked off here on Sunday. The event, organised by an NGO, saw participation of over 250 youth from over 30 countries.

Delivering the keynote address at the event, brand ambassador of the Global Youth Peace Festival Bernie Meyer said, “The challenges of sustainable development need to be tackled with creativity. We all can learn a lot from Mahatma Gandhi, who fought discrimination with creativity and wisdom.”

Meyer, who has been an integral part of the festival for several years, also talked about issues like climate change and proliferation of nuclear weapons, both of which are endangering the planet. “The youth must come together in a global partnership to ensure that we make the planet better for our future generations,” he said.


“Young people today have a choice to work for a better future for everyone on the planet. The youth today have a lot of exposure to the world through social media and other social networking channels. Therefore, they are in a better position to make decisions, unlike earlier times when decisions were forced on them,” Punjab advocate-general Atul Nanda, who was the chief guest of the event, said. “It is the responsibility of the youth to harness this opportunity positively. They must shun falling prey to misinformation and fake news,” he added.

Qas making positive changes in the world. “The youth today must work with a pure heart and an open mind,” he added.

Tanya Shanti Spisbah, head of strategic international engagement at the University of New South Wales in Australia, said, “It is crucial to solve today’s challenges keeping the spirit of camaraderie in mind. If we want to bring peace in the world, we must keep our egos aside.”

Sharing some of her life lessons, Spisbah said that being open to working with others and not focusing on personal profit was the first step towards building a better world. She said she hoped young people would acquire peace building and conflict resolution skills, which can be acquired by having a conversation with an open heart and mind.