Connecting East and West Through Meditation in Georgia

From Estonia to Kazakhstan, from Moldova to Armenia; from Ukraine to Tajikistan; 38 young people from 15 countries in Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia come together to meet at the International Scout Center of Rustavi, Georgia and participate in the 3rd Peace Revolution  Bridge Fellowship taking place from March 16 to 19. Together they will learn about the culture of peace, tolerance and conflict prevention through the means of meditation and self-development.

The Fellowship in Rustavi will include a variety of activities, like meditation and yoga sessions, mindfulness practice, lectures and discussions providing participants with the skills for a non-violent resistance, peace education, enhanced creativity and stress-management. Participants will have a chance to explore meditation as a practice which can cultivate skills to deal with daily challenges within peace-building and youth work.

Participant Dāvis from Latvia is checking in. Photo from Peace Revolution archives.

Throughout the training program, participants will enjoy a retreat environment refraining from the use of internet, hurtful speech, luxurious lifestyle, as well as the use of intoxicants instead focusing on the self-development and the cultivation of inner peace.

The activities will be led by a Teaching Monk Venerable John Paramai Dhanissaro from Thailand, as well as certified meditation trainers Anna Oleshkevych and Kateryna Kulyk from Ukraine both representing World Peace Initiative Foundation (WPI).

Teaching Monk LP John Paramai. Photo from Peace Revolution archives.

Bridge Fellowship takes place for the third time and welcomes participants from 15 countries (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan). Please see the video of previous fellowships.

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