Session 11 - Youth Session - Personal Identity and Peace

Ms Ufra Mir - The young speaker spoke of her experiences growing up as a muslim woman in Kashmir who chose a forward field for emplyement. She found that her Kashmiri identity was under the limelight due to her unique situation. She then pondered upon her identity and decided to combine psychology and peace.

Pratik Gauri - The young speaker started by revealing his own reasons for supporting peace initiatives. He came from a privileged background and he saw the disenfranchised individuals and how they are in need of assistance. He thought someone has to stand up and solve the world’s problems rather than get a cushy job. He wished to create a profitable sustainability. He started his first company at 16 which he sold by 21.

Neil Dougan - The learned speaker started my amicably explaining his background. He then spoke of the great catholic vs protestant divide in Scotland and the Troubles in Ireland. He saw this firsthand but also saw the resolution of these issues, and it made a great impact on him. He believes in peace and believes that there is a way to solve things peacefully. He was politically motivated but felt something was missing. That was resolved when he took up transcendental meditation and the reading of vedic scriptures which gave him peace. And to bring about peace you have to change yourself.

Neha Panchamiya - The learned speaker is deeply involved with animal rescue and rehabilitation, particularly of wild animals. She spoke of how she had to first change some core tenets in herself before she could dedicate herself to the vocation she had chosen. She explained how peaceful integration is the way forward and by first accepting your own personal identity can an individual move towards understanding peace, then accepting peace and then spreading peace.

Iana Minochkina - She spoke of her background as an ethnic russian who is married to a musklim alabanian and her first stint with the UN as a volunteer was in Kosovo, a region with a very charged history. This gave her the perspective of identity and how it foments as well as resolves conflicts. She states that most of the region is very young and thus needs special attention lest it slips back into violence.