The 19th annual gathering of our youth wing in Europe focused on how to take concrete, courageous and compassionate actions to bring about a better world for all.

With Amma as the first spiritual leader to chair C20, the 2023 initiatives included more than 6,000 civil society organisations from 154 countries.

The documents contain a vision for volunteer actions that are based on compassion as a driving force for the relationship between civil society organisations and governments.

The Civil 20 Summit has concluded in Jaipur, Rajasthan. It is an Engagement Group of the G20 that represents the concerns of volunteer organisations on local, national, and international levels. With Amma as Chair, she is inspiring all of us to become lights that shine with compassion to address urgent global needs.

As Chair of G20 India’s Civil Society Engagement Group, Amma shared that a pathway of hope for the world’s future has opened through C20’s deliberations. Humanity must work as a unified whole to ensure long-term existence and safety for the planet.

Young minds gathered in Surat, Gujarat to discuss the value of integrating the culture and values of ancient India into modern education. Their recommendations will contribute to policymaking for Civil 20.

A thought-provoking Youth Conclave was organised by AYUDH Gujarat at Auro University, Surat, as part of the Civil 20 Education and Digital Transformation Working Group. AYUDH is Embracing the World’s youth wing and has chapters in Europe, North America, South America, Asia, Australia, Africa, and India. It is a dynamic organisation that works towards the holistic development of young people.

The conclave in Surat included 25 core members of AYUDH Gujarat and aimed to foster meaningful discussions on crucial topics related to Education for Life and Global Citizenship. It brought together young minds passionate about shaping the future of education and policy in India and across the world. The participants contributed valuable implementations to be added in the C20 policymaking process, including ways to integrate the culture and values that existed in ancient India into modern education systems.

The result was four key themes: Global Citizenship through Service Learning; The Indian Gurukula Tradition—An Inspiration for Self-Reliant Learning; Heritage and the Ancient Culture of India in the Education System; and Mindfulness and Counselling in the Education System.

“This was such a good opportunity for us. We were able to present our ideas for policymaking and include the necessary changes that can be adapted in the aspect of Education for Life and Global Citizenship,” said Ms Anushree Pandya, Coordinator, AYUDH Ahmedabad.

“Every point we presented was inspired by the values and morals that we learned from Amma and being part of AYUDH. We thank the AYUDH coordinators from the National Coordination team and C20 working group for making this possible for us.”

Brahmacharini Amritatmika Chaitanya and Brahmacharini Niseema, India’s National Coordinators of AYUDH, spoke about Amma’s vision of Education for Life and their direct experience of that teaching. Amma often shares there is education for a living, which is essential for success in the academic and material sense, but Education for Life equips young people with the knowledge, skills and values needed to lead an ethical, empowering and socially beneficial life.

“Youth is the best medium to deliver the inputs on real Education for Life and the implementations to be adapted in the education system under C20. The Youth Conclave impacted the young people here in ensuring them to present the best practices for integrating compassion in education for a better future as envisioned by Amma,” said Bri Amritatmika.

The chief guest was Dr Bhavna Kamlesh Joshipura, Senior Advocate, Former first woman mayor of Rajkot. The conclave was moderated by Brahmachari Ramanandamrita Chaitanya, Director MA Centers and AYUDH Americas, who also led the brainstorming sessions with the AYUDH members.

The discussions and presentations by the AYUDH members provided valuable insights for policymakers, educators, and stakeholders involved in shaping the future of education. By discussing these critical topics, the Youth Conclave ignited conversations that will contribute to the development of progressive policies. They have become catalysts of positive change that address the evolving needs of the education sector in our rapidly changing world, both concretely and digitally.

Photo 1: Brahmachari Ramanandamrita Chaitanya, Director MA Centers and AYUDH Americas, led the brainstorming sessions with the youth.    

Photo 2: The conclave in Surat included 25 core members of AYUDH Gujarat and aimed to foster meaningful discussions on crucial topics related to Education for Life and Global Citizenship.    

Photo 3: Brahmacharini Amritatmika Chaitanya, a National Coordinator with AYUDH India, said youth is the best medium to express what truly constitutes Education for Life. 

Change can take place in society either through force or through compassion. While force may yield some immediate results, it often leads to perpetuation of violence. Compassion leads to a sustainable change and harmonious society with understanding, empathy, and cooperation.

Under the motto ‘Driving change with compassion – Women taking the lead’, a Civil 20 (C20) panel discussion with distinguished guests took place at the MA Center Hof Herrenberg in Brombachtal, Germany. The event was part of the C20 working group for Gender Equality and was attended by 170 people, including participants from India, Spain, France, the Netherlands, USA, Greece, Austria, Luxemburg, Switzerland, Poland, and Germany.

The Mayor of Brombachtal, Andreas Koch, welcomed the international audience and praised Amma as C20 Chair for her tireless commitment to equality and the empowerment of women. He expressed that she advocates for a society where women are respected, their voices are heard, and they have equal opportunities to flourish and contribute to society. He also highlighted that this event is a great effort to make as many voices as possible heard from civil society around the world through an inclusive approach.

Said the mayor: "Such an event is a great opportunity to learn from others and to see that our society is connected as one global family. As the motto of this year's G20 Summit says, ‘One Earth. One Family. One Future.’"

The Coordinator of the C20 Working Group on Gender Equality, Prof Bhavani Rao with Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, addressed the gathering virtually. She presented the work done so far on the topic with her speech, emphasising the importance of a comprehensive approach to women's empowerment, in which compassion plays a major role.

Swami Shubamritananda Puri, the C20 Coordinator in Europe, introduced the topic from Amma’s perspective as Chair of C20. He said: “Change can take place in society either through force or through compassion. While force may yield some immediate results, it often leads to resentment, suppression, and perpetuation of violence. While compassion leads to a sustainable change as it fosters understanding, empathy, cooperation and thus helps in developing a more inclusive and harmonious society.

“If an egg is broken by outside force, life ends. If it hatches from within, a life begins. Driving the change through compassion is like hatching from within. Women have been instrumental in driving social change through their compassion. By challenging societal norms, advocating for human rights, fostering empathy and understanding, and nurturing future generations, women have reshaped communities and societies worldwide.“

Introduced by the moderator, Alena Steffen, the panelists started their discussion about women as change leaders:

Corinna Witzel is a board member of UN Women Germany and has been campaigning for more equality for over 20 years. She knows how important perseverance and patience are in this field. As a practical example, she mentioned that many years ago, with the worldwide campaign "Colour the world orange", an action against domestic violence, public buildings in German cities were also lit up in orange to draw attention to this deplorable state of affairs. She also highlighted that having children should not be of financial and social disadvantage for women.

Lucia Rijker is a world champion kickboxer and Hollywood actress from the Netherlands. After her career in sports, she has been involved in projects that empower young people. She emphasised that in this discussion it is important to remember that we all have our personal contribution to make by looking inwards and "cleaning up" our own beliefs that create inequality and injustice.

Rekha Krings, a young wife and mother of two daughters, is executive director of the Interessengemeinschaft Odenwaldkreis (IGO), parliamentary group leader of the SPD in the Odenwald District, and member of the District Council. In her opinion, gender equality only succeeds when all genders meet each other with respect and eye level and work together as a team on the challenges of a system change.

Dr Rosemary Cadigan has been involved with the non-profit organisation "Tafel'' for over 20 years. The Tafel gives food donations to people in need in Germany. During her time as a teacher, she experienced that not all children in Germany receive equal support in learning the German language, and children of immigrants are especially disadvantaged as a result. Here she would like to see more compassion for the children and a structural change so that all children have the same chances to shine their light one day and to be able to fully develop their abilities.

Photo 1: Swami Shubamritananda began the gathering with a traditional lighting of the lamp. This also symbolised India’s Civil 20 theme—You Are the Light.   

Photo 2: The distinguished speakers emphasised how Amma herself is a global example of how women are already leading societal change based upon compassion.   

Photo 3: Alena Steffen, moderator, with Lucia Rijker, a world champion kickboxer and Hollywood actress from the Netherlands, and Corinna Witzel, a board member of UN Women Germany.  

Photo 4: The panel also discussed how we must work together to create a society that respects people of all gender identities with love, acceptance, and honour.

Photo 5: All participants expressed their happiness at being able to join together to address gender equality, both its strengths and challenges.

As the continent with the highest percentage of women entrepreneurs in the world, society needs to learn to see African women as fighters, rather than with a victim's mindset. They must be equipped by enhancing their financial, digital, and legal literacy.

People worldwide have the ability to join hands to find solutions for the environmental catastrophes, widespread poverty, and civil conflict we are urgently facing. We can save countless lives through the light of empathy and kindness.

The initiative especially focuses on reaching young and school-going girls to eradicate the shame, heavy stigma, and misconception that menstruation carries.