“Let us come together in a show of solidarity with people around the world who seek peace, justice, and economic well-being for all of humanity.”

This was the main objective of last November’s “It’s Your World” Festival in Columbus, Ohio. Sponsored by the United Nations, the 54th Annual Columbus International Festival honored the unique traditions and perspectives of a variety of cultures. This event was an opportunity to celebrate and experience the beautiful diversity of our world and to expose attendees to a multitude of international traditions through crafts, performances, and cuisine.

Given its global appeal, it was an ideal forum for promoting initiatives of peace and understanding. For Denise Cartwright and a number of others who have been inspired by Prem Rawat, the two-day festival seemed like a unique opportunity to introduce others to his message of peace.

A group of more than 230 volunteers in Latin America has developed the project “EHDMI” in order to make DVDs and written material about Prem Rawat’s message easily available in Spanish via the Internet for the first time. The volunteers behind the project say that the objective of EHDMI (Equipo Hispano Distribución Materiales Introductorios) is to increase the availability of the message in all Spanish-speaking countries, even in small villages and remote areas.

At the end of 2009, such easy access to Spanish materials had already become a much–appreciated resource all over South America for volunteers wanting to host local introductory events.

On October 26, 2009, the inmates of the Anexo Chorrillos Penitentiary Center in Lima, Peru, were first introduced to Prem Rawat’s message. Since then, EHDMI has continued distributing DVDs and materials to the prison, and so far 117 people have been introduced to the message, and 12 inmates have requested the Keys.

Recently, more than 5,000 police officers have been introduced to the message of Prem Rawat in Taiwan. It all started in Kaohsiung, where officers in every police station (over 4,000) came to an event where a Words of Peace video with Chinese subtitles was shown. About a third of them picked up materials to bring home, and several have shown their interest in receiving the Knowledge that Prem Rawat offers by beginning the Keys preparation. Since then, four of the city’s police stations have requested materials from WOPG for their libraries, and one station held another presentation for its 200 volunteers in November.

Little effort – big impact

How did this happen? In the last few years, a couple from Hualien, Taiwan’s largest county, have been telling their friends that they discovered something permanent in their lives that they could enjoy. In 2007, they invited Belkis Shah, who works internationally to help make Prem Rawat’s message available to more and more people, to visit Taiwan and help the local teams in their efforts.

India is a land of farmers, with about 75 percent of the 1.1 billion people in the country connected to agriculture.

Govind Ballabh Pant University, in the Pant Nagar town of Udham Singh Nagar, is the first university in India to blend technology with agriculture and has been praised by Nobel Laureate Dr. Norman E. Borlaug as the “Harbinger of the Green Revolution” in India. Established in 1960, the university is situated in the lush green foothills of the Kumaon range of the Himalayas. Since 1966, it has held an All-India Farmers Fair (Kisaan Mela) twice a year, a forum for scientists, farmers, and industry-related people. Of mutual benefit to both the farmers who attend and the exhibitors, it also attracts a large number of agro-industrial firms.

In March 2009, over 15,000 people from all over India participated in the Farmers Fair in Pantnager in the state of Udham Singh Nagar. This is an industrial district, and many industry-related professions are prevalent here. It is the perfect example of a harmonious culture, for which India is so widely known. Various religions and lifestyles blend there harmoniously.