HH the Dalai Lama and fellow Nobel Laureate Kailash Satyarthi–founder of GoodWeave–with PLC staff, Students Opposing Slavery participants, and other young activists during the Laureates and Leaders Summit for Children in New Delhi, India
In early December, President Lincoln’s Cottage staff and participants from its award winning Students Opposing Slavery (SOS) program attended the Laureates and Leaders for Children Summit in New Delhi, India. They were honored to be invited and sponsored by Delegate to the Summit, President Lincoln’s Cottage Board Member Dr. Jean Baderschneider. During the two day international conference, they had the opportunity to meet with people from all over the world committed to harnessing their moral, intellectual and political authority for the benefit of the world’s children.
Attendees of the Summit included 2014 Nobel Laureate Kailash Satyarthi, President of India Pranab Mukherjee, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, and many more. In his speech the Dalai Lama remarked:
“The President here and Kailash Satyarthi like me belong to the 20th century, a time that is gone. Those of you who belong to the 21st century, who are now 30, 20 or 15 years old, are our source of hope. If you make the effort, later in the century the world may be a happier, more peaceful place,” he continued, “There is too much emphasis on division. We must focus on the oneness of humanity. The 21st century must be a century of peace.”
SOS representatives shared how their experiences in the SOS program at President Lincoln’s Cottage have helped empower them to act as change makers in the modern fight against slavery. The staff and participants had the opportunity to attend the Summit, visit an all-girl primary school, and meet trafficking survivors in a neighborhood just outside of New Delhi to cap off the inspiring experience.
SOS participants visited a primary school for girls and talked about the power of ideas to change the world.
On December 11, 2016 the Laureates and Leaders for Children Summit culminated in a youth march from Rashtrapati Bhavan, the official home of the President of India.
SOS and other youth delegates gather outside the Rashtrapati Bhavan (President’s Residence) for the launch of a campaign aimed at eradicating child labor.
Children at the Primary School in New Delhi
SOS Participants and students in New Delhi
For more information on the Laureates and Leaders for Children Summit, click here. Interested in learning more about Students Opposing Slavery? Find more here.
Categories:Archive, Education, Students Opposing Slavery
