A two-day workshop was organised by the Society for Nature, Education and Health (SNEH) in collaboration with the Henry Martyn Institute (HMI), Hyderabad and the Mennonite Central Committee (MCC), Kolkata on Tuesday and Wednesday at the Sampriti Centre for Peace and Non-violence, established by the SNEH here.
Inaugurating the programme, Dr Bhagaban Prakash, Chief Advisor to the Election Commission of India, gave a historical perspective to several conflict situations in the country as well as in the world at large. He also recalled his participation in a delegation which met the Dalai lama a few years ago in Tibet, where the religious leader prescribed three things for peace, finding out the best in other religions, understanding others as they understand themselves and developing a holy envy for other religions, that is, always appreciating the best practices of other religions.
Dr Prakash also recommended the inclusion of peace education in the regular academic curriculum at the school level to instil in the young minds the values of mutual respect, sharing, cooperation and tolerance.
The workshop focused on various aspects of peace-building through understanding of conflicts and their resolution by acquiring practical skills. The programme was attended by social workers, lawyers, MSW students and teachers. Jahan Ara of HMI and Manjula Patnaik of MCC jointly conducted the programme. SNEH president Subarna Ghosh welcomed the participants.