Sevagram International Conference
on
Non-violent Economy and Peaceful World
Commemorating 80th Anniversary of the meeting of
Lanza del Vasto with Gandhi in 1937, Wardha (India)
Gandhi International (France) and the Institute of Gandhian Studies, Wardha (India) have invited organisations, institutions and individuals interested in promoting non-violence and peace in the world to participate in the Sevagram International Congress on Non-violent Economy and Peaceful world at Wardha, India in October, 2017. This conference was organised in commemoration and celebration of the 80th anniversary of the Meeting of Lanza del Vasto, popularly known as Shanti Das or French Gandhi, with Mahatma Gandhi in 1937 at Wardha.
This conference has been co-funded with the Non-Violence XXI Foundation.
You can visualise and download the following documents :
List of participants and contributors
Sevagram Declaration of the Conference (ENG)
Déclaration de Sevagram issue des Rencontres (FR)
English papers :
- Inaugural Speech - Bharat Mahodaya
- A World in Transition - François Verlet
- Gandhi’s Influence on Two Contemporary Indian Women Leaders - Jill Carr-Harris
- Promoting the Legacy of Gandhi : a European point of view - Artur Domingo Barnills
- Rediscovery of the Gandhian legacy from the Ark Community - Guillem Legland-Reus
- Lanza del Vasto and Vision of a Peaceful World - Louis Campana
- The Community of Ark: Result of the encounter between Gandhi and Lanza del Vasto - Margalida Reus
- Vision of Lanza del Vasto and Gandhi Monks Community - Erik Kumedisa
- The non-violent economy in Palestine - An opportunity facing the occupation and blockade of Gaza - Ziad Medoukh
- Natural Farming Movement - Shinya Ishizaka
- After Hiroshima, “A Moral Code for the Atomic Age” - Jean-Marie Muller
- In the face of nuclear weapons, Emmanuel Macron is “Behind in strategy and morality” - Jean-Marie Muller
- Principles of the economy of permanence - Dr. John Chelladurai
- Non-violent economy and peaceful world - Heena
- Sustainable Development: Gandhian Diagnosis and Prognosis - Dr. Jeevan Kumar
- The Search for Radical Alternatives: Key Elements and Principles - Ashish Khotari
- War in Afghanistan: The Accountability of Youths - Medhi Nazari
- Nonviolent Economies - A n Objective Assessment - G.S. Murty
- The Perennial Elements in Gandhi's Thought: Some Reflections - Ram Chandra Pradhan
- Impact of Landlessness on Livelihood in Odisha and Relevanee of Gand bian Alternatives - Sasmita Jena
- Aspirations of Peace and Nonviolence : Learning from Gandhi and Lanza - Chandan Sukumar Sengupta
- In search of Peaceful Co-existence: Andrei Sakharov - Dr. Shambhu Joshi
- Conceptualizing Energy Transition Within Gandhian Framework - Pooja Sharma
- Towards Non-Violent Development - Dr. Mithilesh Kumar
Objectives of the Conference:
- The proposed Conference was aimed at providing an International forum for exchange of ideas and sharing of experiences for worldwide, Gandhian, nonviolent, peace organisations, institutions and individuals working for a sustainable world.
- To commemorate and celebrate the 80th anniversary of the meeting of Lanza del Vasto with Gandhi in 1937.
- To Coordinate and work out common future actions and programmes
Themes:
The Conference discussed the following themes and the related areas in Plenary Session, Concurrent Sessions and Workshops:
Plenary Session
Meeting of two Great minds: Gandhi and Shanti Das
Gandhi’s vision of Alternative Civilization framework for a Non-violent and Peaceful Society
Life and contributions of Joseph Jean Lanza del Vasto (1901-1981) and his search for Alternatives
Pilgrimage to India and meeting with Gandhi and three months stay at Wardha in 1937 and its consequences for his life and times
Community of Ark as creative expression of alternative living and its initiatives and involvements in various Non-violent Struggles
Common Grounds in the Thoughts and Actions of Gandhi and Shanti Das
Concurrent Sessions:
- 1.Conceptualizing Gandhian Economy in the face of liberalized /globalised world
Challenges of Globalised Economy - Marginalization of deprived sections of society, growing inequality-widening gap between the rich and poor, growing unemployment and jobless growth, over-exploitation of natural resources both renewable and non-renewable, Impact on eco-system and environment
Key Ingredients of Gandhian Economy - Need based not greed based Economy, Decentralized production and distribution, Appropriate technology, Trusteeship and Bread Labour
- 2.Ensuring Livelihood / Food Security in a Sustainable Way
Reviving traditional and indigenous means of livelihood through local/rural resource based small scale /village industries using appropriate technology
Promoting organic indigenous agricultural practices to popularize traditional pest resistant seeds and its preservation through farmers, organic manure, local water shed management system to check the onslaught of highly mechanized, genetically modified, MNC controlled seeds, fertilizers and pest-control methods under highly commercialized industrial agriculture system
An appropriate service sector conducive to traditional means of livelihood
Ensuring food security to all including landless and marginalized sections through appropriate and equitable agrarian system
- 3.Towards a Violence /War free world
The growing violence in all walks of life
The imminent threat of Third World War from weapons of mass destruction mainly of nuclear weapons
Gradual Disarmament with focus on all kinds of weaponry systems of mass destruction
Demilitarization of War zones
Combating terrorism through non-violent means
Building up of a Non-violent/ Peaceful World Order- Think Globally and Act locally – Combining global vision with local initiatives
Workshop on mobilizing popular opinions and international movements for a Non-violent Economy and Peaceful World with more representative character in UN system and other international institutions/organizations
