General
Report on the first decade of the
GANDHI KING SEASON FOR NONVIOLENCE
(1998-2007)
www.agnt.org
With the exemplary commitment of task
force leaders and volunteers, the Gandhi King Season for Nonviolence
(SNV), January 30- April 4, 1998-2007, has attained unanticipated goals
in a 64 day educational, media and grassroots campaign inspired by the
50th and 30th memorial anniversaries of Mahatma Gandhi and Dr. Martin
Luther King, Jr.
The 10th Anniversary of A Season for
Nonviolence
2007 marked the 10th anniversary of this revolutionary initiative. This
anniversary was a landmark for putting SNV on the map in this decade. A
new model for omni-local, spiritually-based peace governance has
emerged successfully, igniting entire communities everywhere. The
Season for Nonviolence project has evolved through our collective,
exemplary leadership in more than 400 cities in the U.S. and 18 other
countries during the past ten Seasons, which bookend the memorial
anniversaries of Gandhi (Jan 30) and Martin Luther King Jr. (April 4).
Spiritually-motivated peace-building is strengthened by our community's
genius for prayer combined with action. The Seasons for Peace and
Nonviolence (SPAN) campaign continues into the next decade with a
year-round series of offerings coordinated by PEACEPORT OFFICES in your
own centers and organizations. Fall, 2007, launches an era in which
unwavering nonviolence in thought, word and action becomes our chosen
way of life.
At the 10th Anniversary celebration of the Gandhi King Season for
Nonviolence, an international lineup of Gandhi and King contemporaries
convened for the Peace Train and Living Legends of Nonviolence
Conference in Los Angeles and San Jose, California. This
once-in-a-lifetime event hosted internationally recognized legends
including Arun Gandhi, Paritosh Gandhi Prasad, Yolanda King, Anthony
Chavez, Dolores Huerta, Dr. Bernard LaFayette, Bro. David Steindl-rast,
and Dr. Lawrence Carter.
HISTORY
A Season for Nonviolence was co-founded by Arun and Sunanda Gandhi of
the M.K. Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence and a group of ten ministers
forming the Leadership Council of The Association for Global New
Thought, the organization that convenes A Season for Nonviolence on an
annual basis. Its purpose, to focus educational and media attention on
the philosophy of attaining peace through nonviolent action as
demonstrated by Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr.
The Objectives
Our objective each year has been to create an awareness of nonviolent
principles and practice as a powerful way to heal, transform and
empower our lives and communities. Through an educational and community
action campaign, we have recognized those who are using nonviolence to
build a community that honors the dignity and worth of every human
being. By identifying “what works” in these new models for
reconciliation and human harmony, we are demonstrating that every
person can move the world in the direction of peace through their daily
nonviolent choice and action.
Overview of Results
Launching on the January 30th memorial anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, A
Season for Nonviolence draws to a close on each year on the King April
4th memorial, having seeded since 1998 substantial activity in over 400
cities in 40 states, and 18 countries. Fifty percent of our United
States governors, and many mayors issued official proclamations for the
64 day period, and over three hundred unique events and programs have
been developed and carried out at the local level during the Season.
There are 290,000 web pages that refer to Season for Nonviolence. Media
coverage includes radio and television broadcasts, PSA and film
productions, and print publications at all levels from local to
national press. At least 350 major Peace organizations, religious,
business, arts, and learning institutions have elected themselves as
official co-sponsors of the Season for Nonviolence initiative.
United Nations Launch-1998-2007
SNV was launched for the past seven years, beginning with the inaugural
event in 1998, at the United Nations. These events brought forth
substantive endorsements and commitments from the UN Secretary General,
Kofi Annan, the U.S. Ambassador to India, Vice President Al Gore, and
the Director General of UNESCO on behalf of its Culture of Peace AND
NONVIOLENCE appeal by the Nobel Peace Laureates (language officially
added as a result of the SNV inaugural year). Other notable speakers
included Jesse Jackson, Dr. C.T. Vivian, and Dr. A.T. Ariyaratne of Sri
Lanka. Concurrently on that date, task force leaders collaborated to
create additional celebrations in other major cities. In general, A
Season has received the written support of His Holiness, the Dalai Lama
of Tibet, Coretta Scott King, Dr. Robert Muller, and many other serious
and distinguished individuals from virtually all sectors of the world
leadership community.
The Leadership
The Association for Global New Thought is the convener and co-founder
of SNV. Season co-founders are Arun and Sunanda Gandhi of the M.K.
Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence. Co-directors are: Dr. Bernard
Lafayette, former executive assistant to Dr. King, Alison Van Dyke of
the Temple of Understanding, Dean Lawrence Carter of the MLK Jr.
International Chapel at Morehouse College, Dean James Parks Morton of
the Interfaith Center of New York, and Dr. Richard Deats of the
Fellowship of Reconciliation. Co-founder and Project Director is Dr.
Barbara Fields, Executive Director of the Association for Global New
Thought, Program Director for the 1993 Parliament of the World’s
Religions, and for the Synthesis Dialogues 1999, 2001, 2004 (with His
Holiness, the Dalai Lama) in Dharamsala, India, Trent, Italy and
Castelgandolfo, Rome).
