Exhibition: Food for Peace and Justice
A World Peace and Friendship Walk with Nitin Sonawane
Friday July 24, 2020
3:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Part of the Madras Café Unlocked event:
A World Peace and Friendship Walk with Nitin Sonawane
More InfoNitin Sonawane left his home in Pune, South India, in 2016, inspired by Mahatma Gandhi to promote peace and friendship. Still on the road, Nitin talks about food as a key element to his walk and to future plans.
Walking as the World Peace & Friendship Movement, Nitin Sonawane, engineer turned peace activist, talks on the eve of leaving Georgia where he was sheltered by a family during the coronavirus restrictions.
The discussion pivots on sharing of food and ideas for promoting Peace, and finishes with plans for when Nitin returns to India.
Nitin has a keen interest in social work, Communal Harmony, World Peace, awareness about the environment amongst young people.
Inspired by Gautam Buddha and Mahatma Gandhi, Nitin worked in Shanti Dal of Maharashtra Gandhi Smarak Nidhi, Pune, as a Messenger of Peace to bring people of different communities and different religions together for a peaceful and happy society. For instance, they successfully arranged several workshops for a riot free society when communal tensions were high. Nitin is particularly interested in working for a casteless society in Maharashtra.
On 18 November 2016, Nitin started the “World Peace & Friendship Movement on Bicycle” at Sevagram Ashram Wardha in India. He then travelled through Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, China, Hong Kong, Japan (walking Tokyo-Hiroshima), South Korea, USA, Mexcio, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia , Ecuador, Peru, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Tanzania, Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia, Sudan, Egypt, UK, Ireland, Germany, Portugal, Spain and currently in Georgia.
On this peace journey Nitin has shared the Gandhian philosophy of Non-Violence and Peace with schools, colleges, universities, public events, in religious places, with families and individuals on the way, on social media, in print and on television.
Heading for Turkey, Nitin does not know where he will stay, eat along the way or find the next stable wifi. He has just completed a 450km walk raising funds for migrant workers in India caught in the Covid-19 chaos, unable to feed their families. After Georgia Nitin will continue his journey to the Middle East and, finally, on to India.
Nitin talks to Fran Wilde, born in India, a retired artist and arts educator. She was a founder member of Action Village India and has been closely involved in Madras Café since it was set up. Now Fran is part of the UK support group for Jai Jagat 2020 and is involved in community arts where she lives in the Black Country.
