Peace, Nonviolence and Empowerment - Gandhian Philosophy in the 21st Century was a conference held in New Delhi 29–30 January 2007. The conference was held to commemorate the centenary of Mohandas Gandhi's satyagraha movement.[1] It was organized by the Indian National Congress.[2] 122 organizations from 90 countries participated in the conference.[1] A number of Nobel Prize laureates attended the event, including Desmond Tutu, Lech Walesa and Professor Mohammed Yunus.[3]Nelson Mandela addressed the meeting via satellite link.[4]
Congress President Sonia Gandhi attended all four panel sessions of the conference.[1] The conference appealed to the United Nations to declare Gandhi's birthday (2 October) as the International Day of Non-Violence.[1] Subsequently, on 15 June 2007, the United Nations General Assembly unanimously adopted 2 October as International Day of Non-Violence, a motion tabled by the Indian Minister of State for External Affairs Anand Sharma.[5][6] The conference appealed to create an international civil society forum to institutionalize Gandhian approach of non-violence.[1]
Domestically, the conference received criticism for being used to promote the political ascendancy of Rahul Gandhi. However, Rahul Gandhi held a fairly low profile at the event.[1]
