“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 17 people came together in September to prepare. Literature was printed, website labels were made, meetings took place, and requests went out for people throughout the region to help at the Words of Peace Global booth. Soon people were busy preparing materials, contributing financially, setting up both the display and the audio-visual equipment, or manning the booth.

The booth’s banner read “Words of Peace Global … Peace is possible,” while two posters posed the question, “Peace … Are You Feeling It?” Many bookmarks were handed out with the statement “Peace Is Possible” along with information about the wopg.org website. If they wanted, passersby could also take a Designed for Joy DVD. To add yet another media outlet, two televisions were set up at opposite ends of the booth. One showed The Prem Rawat Foundation’s A Spark of Hope about the Food for People program in India, while the other played a video of Prem Rawat’s address at the UN building in New York. Since the programs ran continuously throughout the day, people could put on headphones and watch at their leisure.

Some people were mainly interested in the website, some in the humanitarian aid initiatives of TPRF, and some in a follow-up program about Prem Rawat. Regardless, everyone was happy that this message was being spread in Columbus.

The same team of people had already had experience working together on other efforts before this Festival. A three-day event called Comfest, which embraced the mood of the 70’s, took place in June, and Prem Rawat’s message was presented there for the second year in a row.

During all of these initiatives, the feedback from visitors at the booths was extremely positive. People enjoyed hearing of this global effort for peace that begins with personal experience. Especially popular was the video recording of Prem Rawat speaking at the United Nations building.

Ellen Pettey was sitting at the booth on the first day and recalls these stories:

“A slim little woman, probably in her seventies, browsed the reading materials. The one that first caught her eye was titled, The Wingless Can Fly. After we spoke briefly, she confided that she was taking a yoga class for people with cancer. I said that these readings were very calming. She took one of everything we had. It was a very sweet moment.

“I chatted with the woman running the booth next to us and she asked about TPRF's humanitarian aid efforts. I told her about a food center project and explained that I particularly liked to contribute to TPRF because care is taken to assure that the donations actually reach the people in need. She asked for a brochure and said she contributes to things like this.”

Denise Cartwright was there the second day and relates these stories:

“An American-Tibetan woman came by and pointed to Prem Rawat on the television exclaiming, ‘I know this man! I listen to him on TV, and what he says is true. I have started on the Keys.’ Then she said, ‘I have always believed that peace was possible. I searched and searched, and finally came across him on the Internet. I enjoy his message, but didn’t know there were others in Columbus who also listen to him.’

“A woman was sitting at a booth that protested war. She sat by a sign reading ‘War is NOT the Answer’. She saw our sign ‘Peace is a Feeling … Are you feeling it?’ and came over to our booth. She asked, ‘So, how do I feel peace? I have been protesting war all my life. I believe in peace, and I want to see it in this world, but when I read your sign I realized that I am not feeling at peace.’ After enjoying our conversation, she left with the Designed for Joy DVD.”

Both organizers and attendees were impressed with the enthusiasm and effort that went into this festival. “We were touched by the diverse cultures of this world. There were so many people in one place with so many different backgrounds,” Denise explained. She also enjoyed how easy it was to present Prem Rawat’s message. “We are so happy with the variety of materials for sharing this simple message. How nice it was to be in a place like this where we could present this global message of peace!”