India: 3000 young people gather for peace and dialogue
Christians, Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs from all over the world will gather in Coimbatore for “Supercongress 2009”. The event is organised by Teens for Unity and the young Hindus of the Shanti Ashram. LIVE TRANSMISSION SATURDAY 8 AUGUST
07/08/2009
LIVE INTERNET BROADCAST http://live.focolare.org/rpu in English, with Italian commentary:
Central European Summer Time: 7.30 - 9.00 and 12.30 - 14.00
local time India: 11.00–12.30 and 16.00 - 17.30
 The young people will show a face of India that is far from religious sectarianism and violence.
They will witness that by living the Golden Rule “Do to others what you would have them do to you”, all the walls between different cultures and faiths can be broken down, and universal fraternity can be achieved.
This is the objective of the Supercongres 2009 organised by Focolare’s Teens for Unity and Hindu young people from the Gandhian institution Shanti Ashram. It will take place in Coimbatore (in Tamil Nadu in southern India), from 8 to 12 of August.
Besides the Hindus and Christians of India, who planned the event, and a large multinational group of Christian Teens for Unity, there will be Christians and Muslims from Jerusalem, Christians and Sikhs from Ireland, and Muslims and Christians from the Philippines and Holland.
There will be a very full programme of events:
  Saturday 8 August - Kumaraguru College of Technology in Coimbatore.
Through testimonies, and artistic and cultural contributions they will explain, to 3000 of their peers, what has been achieved over recent years by living the Golden Rule: in projects aiming to resolve problems of marginalisation and poverty; by promoting peace and solidarity at all levels, and taking practical steps on the journey of interreligious dialogue.
Sunday 9 August – “Peace Festival” with an open invitation to local people, at the Avinashi Hall. Civil dignitaries and religious leaders, both local and national will attend. In a symbolic gesture, the youngest participants of the main religions will demonstrate their commitment to “take the first step” for peace and unity so as to be visible witnesses of a united world.
 10-12 August – in the villages of Tamil Nadu and the schools of Coimbatore - 700 representatives from various countries will enter into the life of the villages and schools of Coimbatore. Through workshops of solidarity and animation of activities with local children, and thanks to the hospitality of hundreds of families, the young people will come into contact with the local culture, and discover the traditions of rural India, in an enriching cultural exchange. Finally they will make proposals and lay plans for the future in the presence of Abdul Kalam, former president of India.
Supercongress 2009 is the fifth international gathering of Teens for Unity, and for the first time it is taking place outside Rome, and promoted and organised in collaboration with another organisation, the Gandhian Hindu movement Shanti Ashram, giving the event a clear interreligious and intercultural orientation.
There is already a blog available for sharing messages and photos from all over the world during the preparations and during the event itself (http://supercongres2009.blogspot.com/)
How collaboration between Focolare and Shanti Ashram happened – It came about through the meeting between Doctor M. Aram, lifetime senator and one of the presidents of the World Conference on Religions for Peace (WCRP), and Chiara Lubich during the inaugural session of the VI th World Assembly in the Synod Hall of the Vatican in 1994.
 On that occasion Chiara was invited to visit India, a visit that happened some years later in 2001, when Shanti Ashram and the Sarvodaya Movement awarded Chiara the “Gandhi award – Defender of Peace.” This event marked in important stage in dialogue between Christians and Hindus and led to a continuing series of meetings and symposia as well as the planning of common projects for the fulfilment of universal fraternity.
From 1994 the New Families Movement, another part of Focolare became involved, with its adoptions at a distance project. Supercongress 2009 aims to be a witness of this common journey and to project it into the future through the younger generations who aim to take up and develop this precious legacy.
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