More Friends Without Borders activites
Posted by: isiria, in A BETTER WORLD, PEACE, not war
It may be long before the law of love will be recognised in international affairs. The machineries of government stand between and hide the hearts of one people from those of another. — M.K. Gandhi
Cross-border letter writing
In addition to the World’s Largest Love Letter post, I’d like to mention a couple more activities of the group Friends Without Borders. The ginormous letter is linked to an ongoing world peace project in which tens of thousands of children all across India have begun writing heartfelt letters to students in Pakistan. Vice versa, all across Pakistan, tens of thousands of children are writing back with heartfelt letters. New connections are being made. New friendships are being formed.
Friends Without Borders rightly says: “Children have a natural instinct toward friendship and will jump to reach out and create new friends, when given the opportunity. The simple act of writing a letter leaves deep and lasting impressions that help to humanize ‘the other.’ These are the seeds that promise to mature into a safer, friendlier world.” And so more and more schools are invited to participate in a simple campaign that just might work!
Cross-border concert
Another project is ‘Dil se Dil’ is India-Pakistan cross-border concert to be held as part of India’s Independence Day celebrations in August this year. Here is a brief project description in the group’s own words:
“Sixty years and four generations after Independence, the people of India and the people of Pakistan have never jointly celebrated the political event that gave birth to both nations. This year, all that will change.
On the night of August 14th and into the early hours of August 15th, preeminent musicians and celebrity Masters of Ceremonies will come together across the India-Pakistan border to lead the youth of both countries into a new era of friendship and cultural interaction: Dil se Dil: Independence Day Friendship Celebration.
Though this commemoration will entail a single, unifying concert event, the performances will originate from twin stages, one in India and one in Pakistan, on either side of the Attari/Wagah border. Live performances will alternate from one stage to the other, visible to the entire live audience, no matter on which side of the border they are sitting.
This two-stage-one-concert approach, with its innovative utilization of advanced telecommunications, sound engineering, and broadcast technology is as symbolic as it is practical. It represents the younger generation doing exactly what they do best: harnessing technology to create community and to overcome distance, physical barriers, and outmoded thinking.
Dil se Dil is a celebration of our past, acknowledging our shared history while recognizing that these two great countries are pursuing separate national destinies. It is a celebration of our present, displaying our common humanity. (We dance to the same songs!) It is a celebration of our future, demonstrating that mutual dreams of more peaceful, open, collaborative relations are indeed close at hand.
This historic event will be televised live by major networks in both countries, including Doordarshan. It will commence at 11:00 pm (IST) and conclude at 12:30 am (IST), thereby spanning the midnight hour in both time zones. Because of its significance and scope, Dil se Dil is a made-for-broadcast event and the dictates of first-class, live videographic presentation will be given priority. Notwithstanding the late hour, we believe this event will capture a substantial viewership – and the commercial channels in India have been discussing the desirability of doing a rebroadcast in the afternoon or primetime of 15 August as well.
Production Partners
Friends Without Borders, the unique child-to-child peace project, which has teams on-the-ground in both countries, is the creative author of this event and the coordinating partner for the production.
Routes2Roots, a Delhi-based NGO with an office in Pakistan, is using their decades of experience building social, cultural, and business connections among the peoples of South Asia to tackle the administrative, bureaucratic, and political aspects of the project.”
This has always been a grass-roots, people-to-people project. In that spirit, Friends Without Borders is looking for cash donations from people like you to help them getting started. Donation can be sent payable to “Routes 2 Roots” with a reference to “Dil se Dil” via cheque, bank draft or international money order (it seems) to the following address:
Friends Without Borders
c/o Routes 2 Roots
16 Apsara Housing Society, 2nd Floor
NDSE Part I, New Delhi 110 049
INDIA
+91 98942 77315
www.friendswithoutborders.org
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