Ms. Greshma Raju (pictured), a young peacebuilder from India, started Ecopeace Teen Cafe with a vision to create an inclusive space for young people to have dialogue. She earned her Master's in International Peace Studies from United Nations University for Peace, Costa Rica. Life at the university and her internship at Earth Charter International Secretariat motivated her to integrate her interfaith peace work with environmental peacebuilding.
Ecopeace Teen Cafe is a global movement led by young people. The vision of this global movement is to create an inclusive and safe space for young people to have dialogue and equip them to take action for a better and more peaceful world. Since 2021, Ecopeace Teen Cafe has hosted 65 events including webinars, workshops, in-person training, interviews and global interfaith prayer focusing on climate action, social justice and peacebuilding.
This movement is for young people led by young people from all over the world. Greshma, the founder of Ecopeace Teen Cafe, believes that teenagers are the agents of change. Society can prosper and live in harmony through empowering them with the right knowledge and path. She aims to connect teenagers globally and motivate them to take action locally. These small acts will speak for great changes.
Above Picture: This initiative started with a four-month training program
for 30 teenagers in India on community building, environment conservation,
social justice and peacebuilding. Then, the movement expanded to Latin America
and Africa by connecting more than 100 young people. They all experienced a
love for nature through planting trees at home and nurturing the tree with love
and care. The experience of interacting with people of different religions and
cultures enhanced their empathy, care, respect and understanding for diverse
communities.
Ecopeace Teen Cafe is one of the cooperation circles of the
United Religions Initiative Multiregion. United Religion Initiative is a global
grassroots-level interfaith peace network that cultivates peace and justice by
engaging people to bridge religious and cultural differences and work together
for the good of their communities and the world.
Ms Greshma Raju and Ms Merylene Chitharai (RfP-IYCF) met at the environmental conference in Manresa, Spain from 27-30 November 2022, "At a Crossroads: A Multi-religious Intergenerational Response to the Social and Environmental Crises", which was in honour of Saint Ignatius of Loyola. Click here to listen to Ms Merylene's Talk at the Conference at the panel, Multisectoral and Multireligious Collaboration to Realise Sustainable Cities for All.
Ms Greshma Raju and Ms Merylene Chitharai (RfP-IYCF) engaged in a LIVE eco-interfaith dialogue on Instagram on Eco Peace Teen Cafe. Ms Merylene shared about her interfaith journey with Religions for Peace and how we all can "Pay it forward" and make lasting impactful eco-actions on this earth that can benefit our communities.
"You cannot get through a single day without having an impact on the world around you. What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.” - unknown
Follow us: https://www.facebook.com/RFP.IYCF
Comments
Post a Comment