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THE WORLD CULTURE FESTIVAL 2016 Celebrating Life!

WHAT IS THE WORLD CULTURE FESTIVAL (WCF)?

§  An event of epic proportions being organized by the Art of Living Foundation in New Delhi from March 11-13, 2016

§  The aim of the WCF is bring humanity together from all around the world to: –  demonstrate that the whole world is one family and people can

live and work together in harmony in spite of all the differences –  provide a platform to individuals, business, religious and

political leaders from across the globe to renew their commitment to work for the welfare of society

–  encourage traditional musicians and artists from around the world

–  demonstrate care for the environment –  bring together people who care for life

§  The festival is a celebration of The Art of Living’s 35 years of service, humanity, spirituality and human values

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AN IDEA OF EPIC PROPORTIONS TO UNITE THE WORLD

§  3.5 million people from 155 countries expected to be present physically in New Delhi

§  Global presence through media (both traditional and social) expected to be several times more

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A SCALE COMPARABLE TO OTHER LARGE GLOBAL EVENTS

§  As large as the Soccer World Cup 2014 in Brazil (~3.4 million turnout in 64 matches)

§  3x bigger than the Winter Olympics in Sochi in 2014 (1.1 million overall turnout)

§  3x bigger than ICC Cricket World Cup in 2015 (1 million overall turnout )

WORLD CULTURE FESTIVAL

FIFA WORLD CUP

SOCHI WINTER

OLYMPICS

ICC CRICKET

WORLD CUP

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ONE OF THE WORLD’S LARGEST STAGES

§  A stage measuring more than 7.5 acres - area larger than 6 football fields!

§  Total area for event spread over ~300 acres opposite the Mayur Vihar Metro Stations in Delhi (East)

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THE EVENT

§  The event will be spread over three days and include: –  Mega dance and musical cultural performances from around

the world –  An inter-faith meeting –  A Global Leadership Symposium by the World Forum for Ethics

in Business –  Meditation on all the days by H. H. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar –  Keynote addresses

§  A reception committee with leaders from across the world extending the invitation to people across the world

§  Business, social spiritual and political leaders from across the globe expected to attend, several of whom have already committed their attendance

§  The Hon. Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi will be inaugurating the event 6

CO-CHAIRMEN

§ Justice R.C. Lahoti –  Hon. Former Chief Justice of India

§  Dr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali

–  Hon. 6th Secretary General of the United Nations

VICE-CHAIRMAN

THE RECEPTION COMMITTEE CHAIR

§ Prof. Ruud Lubbers –  Hon. Former Prime Minister, Netherlands

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§  Mr. Lal Krishna Advani –  Hon. Former Dy. Prime Minister, India

SELECT RECEPTION COMMITTEE MEMBERS

§  Dr. Karan Singh –  Hon. Member of Parliament, India

§  §  §  §  § 

§  Dr. Mahesh Sharma –  Hon. Minister of Culture, India

§  Mr. Nirj Deva –  Hon. Member of the European Parliament

§  Mme. Anne-Marie Lizin –  Hon. Speaker of the Senate, Belgium

§  Mr. Hakubun Shimomura –  Hon. Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science & Technology, Japan

§  Ms. Nancy Pelosi –  Hon. Congresswoman, Minority Leader of the House of Rep., USA

§  Dr. Abdelsalam al-Majali –  Hon. Former Prime Minister, Jordan

§  Prof. Vytautas Landsbergis –  Hon. Former President Lithuania, European Parliament

§  Prof. Alojz Peterle –  Hon. Former Prime Minister – Slovenia, European Parliament

§  Prof. Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu –  Hon. 9th Secretary General of Organization of Islamic Cooperation

§  Ms. Tatyana Poronova –  Hon. Deputy Governor of Murmansk, Russia 8

LARGEST MUSICAL SYMPHONY & CULTURAL PROGRAMS FROM ACROSS THE WORLD §  One of the world’s largest musical symphony comprising of ~10,000

musicians and including more than 40 instruments §  Select cultural performances confirmed (until Nov 30)

§  300 Assamese dancers §  1,000 Bhangra dancers §  1,000 Bharatnatyam dancers §  1,000 folk dancers from Chhattisgarh §  1,500 Garba dancers §  1,000 folk dancers from Himachal §  1,250 Ghoomer dancers §  1,000 Kathak dancers §  2,100 Kuchupudi Dancers §  1,000 Odishi dancers §  1,500 Mohiniattam dancers §  1,000 Rabindra Sangeet artists §  1,000 Dhol players §  1,000 South Indian pundit chanting §  500 Kathi dancers §  500 Maruni dance §  1,500 dancers from Haryana §  1,000 North Indian pundit chanting

INDIAN PERFORMANCES

§  ~200 Indonesian dancers §  ~500 Russian ballet dancers §  ~1,000 Chinese performers §  ~650 African drummers §  ~200 Tango Dancers from South America §  So What (Yoga Rave) team from Argentina

INTERNATIONAL PERFORMANCES

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THE WORLD PEACE MEDITATION

§  An individual meditating can effect the environment almost 5 km around him/her – the effect of 3.5 million people meditating will be to send ripples of positivity around the entire world

§  Participants will be led into a guided meditation by H. H. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

102.5 million people meditated during the Silver Jubilee Celebrations in 2006

THE GLOBAL LEADERSHIP SYMPOSIUM

§  The Global Leadership Forum (the “Indian Forum” or “GLF”) is a special forum being organized by the World Forum for Ethics in Business - a foundation based in Belgium whose aim is to provide a platform to promote and establish ethical foundations of business, in conjunction with the WCF

§  The aim of the forum is to provide a platform for business leaders and change-makers to participate in and to promote the dialogue of ethical leadership and governance

§  The WFEB organizes the International Symposium on Ethics in Business annually at the European Parliament and other forums around the world and has become a well-regarded voice for ethics in leadership, especially in Europe. The Symposium is now in its 11th year.

§  In the current environment, ethics has become less of a matter of practice and more of a matter of discussion. The forum aims to shift the attention on action-oriented ethical solutions to business issues and allow for like-minded individuals to collaborate and participate in creating a more value-based business environment and community

§  The symposium will be organized at the Kempinski Hotel in New Delhi on March 12 and 13, 2016

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ART OF LIVING’S HISTORICAL ABILITY TO ORGANIZE SIMILAR EVENTS §  Even though the event seems challenging to organize, Art of Living

has had a successful history of organizing extremely large cultural events to celebrate unity in diversity, several of which have entered into the Guinness Book of World Records.

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ART OF LIVING SILVER JUBILEE CELEBRATIONS

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2.5 million people - In Silence and Celebration Jakur Airfield, Bangalore - February, 2006

WORLD CULTURE FESTIVAL BERLIN

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In a unique celebration of harmony in diversity the

World Culture Festival brought together 50,000

participants from 151 countries

Olympiastadion, Berlin - July, 2011

MOHINIYATTAM, KERALA

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1,200 Mohiniyattam dancers

Cochin, Kerala

ANTARNAAD

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2,750 Hindustani Classical vocalists Pune, Maharashtra

BAGPIPE PERFORMERS

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333 Bagpipe players Sofia, Bulgaria

SELECT GUINNESS WORLD RECORD

§  The Art of Living has received various world record titles in organizing large cultural events

§  Njanappana –  46,660 people simultaneously read aloud “Njanappana”, a poem

written by the 16th century poet Poonthanam - Thrissur, Kerala §  Vaadya Vaibhavam

–  The largest Kombu Horn ensemble of 444 musicians - Kollam, Kerala §  Taal Ninaad

–  The largest hand drum ensemble of 1,230 people playing the Tabla - Solapur, Maharashtra

§  Abhanga Naad –  The largest Dhol Drum ensemble of 1,356 participants - Kolhapur,

Maharashtra §  Brahm Naad

–  The largest Sitar ensemble consisting of 1,094 participants - Noida, Uttar Pradesh

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SELECT GUINNESS WORLD RECORD CONTD.

§  Naatya Vismayam –  The largest Kathakali dance performance by 150 participants -

Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala §  Naada Vaibhavam

–  The largest Choir consisting of 121,440 people - Chennai, Tamil Nadu

§  Mehran De Rang –  The largest Bhangra dance performance by 2,100 participants -

Ludhiana, Punjab §  Annam Brahma

–  The largest vegetarian Buffet consisting of 5,612 different dishes - Ahmedabad, Gujarat

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SELECT GUINNESS BOOK OF WORLD RECORD TITLES

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SELECT SUPPORTERS

§  Several organizations have already expressed a strong desire to support this event, including the Ministry of Culture, Govt. of India

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FOLLOW US

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The World Culture Festival

@WCF2016

wcf2016

www.artofliving.org/wcf

World Culture Festival 2016