Peace, Nonviolence and Empowerment - Gandhian Philosophy in the 21st Century was a conference held in New Delhi January 29–30, 2007. The conference was held to commemorate the centenary of Mohandas Gandhi's satyagraha movement. [1] It was organized by the Indian National Congress. [2] 122 organizations from 90 countries participated in the conference. [1] A number of Nobel Prize laureates attended the event, including Desmond Tutu, Lech Walesa and Professor Mohammed Yunus. [3] Nelson Mandela addressed the meeting via satellite link. [4]
Congress President Sonia Gandhi attended all four panel sessions of the conference. [1] The conference appealed to the United Nations to declare Gandhi's birthday (October 2) as the International Day of Non-Violence. [1] Subsequently, on June 15, 2007, the United Nations General Assembly unanimously adopted October 2 as International Day of Non-Violence, a motion tabled by the Indian Minister of State for External Affairs Anand Sharma. [5] [6] The conference appealed to create an international civil society forum to institutionalize Gandhian approach of non-violence. [1]
Domestically, the conference received criticism for being used to promote the political ascendancy of Rahul Gandhi. However, Rahul Gandhi held a fairly low profile at the event. [1]
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The following people (among other people not listed in the following list) attended this conference: [7]