From the 30th January to 3rd February, Dignity International participated in the International Conference on the Non-Violent Economy in Bhopal, India, organised by Gandhi International, Ekta Parishad and the South Asia Peace Alliance. Over one hundred scholars and activists from India and many other countries of the world who are committed to social justice gathered for a full 5-day deliberation and constructed a local-global economy that is not driven by consumerism and material wealth instead, based on human dignity using three key concepts advanced by Mahatma Gandhi.

Dignity International was represented by Aye Aye Win, then Executive Director, and Jerald Joseph, then Advisor for the Capacity Building programmes. Both actively contributed to various aspects of the conference programme.

Indigenous leadership of Ekta Parishad at the opening of the conference

On the final day of the conference, P. V. Rajagopal, President of Ekta Parishad, and members of the board of Dignity International presented the plans for Jansatygraha 2012, a non-violent protest march that will involve 100,000 landless people from different states of India who have been deprived of their livelihood and natural resources. The conference ended with a Call to Action, with concrete plans at national and organisational levels to support the Jansatygraha in 2012.

The March for Dignity, 3 February 2010, Bhopal, India

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