Season for Nonviolence 2024

The Season believes that every person can move the world forward in the direction of peace through daily nonviolent choices and actions. The Season also recognizes and celebrates those who are using nonviolence to build communities that honor the dignity and worth of every human being. The 2024 program was developed in Arun Gandhi, the founder’s honor. This is the first Season since his passing.

Daily Acts of Ahimsa 2024 Calendar | Click Here


Sampling from the 77 page nonviolence education presentation containing 64 Days of Action

Actions and lessons available for middle school, high school, college level and adults.

Season for Nonviolence Corrections Program for men, women and youth.

Behind each hyperlink is the lesson, the action for the day.

Posting daily on Facebook Page Jan 30 – April 4

The Daily Acts of Ahimsa are in addition to the Season for Nonviolence 64 Days of Action.

Ahimsa Peace Institute Seasons Submissions due by April 4, 2024 | Learn More

The MK Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence (MKGINV), Rochester New York founded by Arun Gandhi has partnered with the Ahimsa Peace Institute, Nevada to implement the Season for Nonviolence prison program, led by Jonathan Jones, aimed at bringing this initiative to prisons in Nevada for the benefit of inmates, including both women and men, as well as our youth. We are also interested introducing the program into the schools, community centers and churches in order to cultivate nonviolent education, foster dialogue and deepen understanding.  Every 10 days participants receive a certificate of completion, local challenges and national United States Institute of Peace challenges are woven into the tapestry of our Season for Nonviolence 2024 program.

Season for Nonviolence Synchronicities   

January 30, 2024, is Coretta Scott King’s 18th anniversary of her passing which is the same day as Gandhi’s assassination date (Jan 30, 1948) and the launch of the Season for Nonviolence!  

May 2, 2023, Arun passes, after Nelson Mandela voted for himself at Ohlanga, he walked over to Dr. Dube’s gravesite and said, “President, I have come to report to you that South Africa is today free!” Five days later, on May 2, 1994, at the ANC victory celebration in Johannesburg, Coretta Scott King spoke after De Klerk conceded.  She took the podium and raised her hand and stated, Free at last, free at last! | Olhanga visit www.gandhitour.info/safrica

The Season for Nonviolence has been launched at the United Nations each year from 1998. These events have brought forth substantive endorsements and commitments from the former UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan, the U.S. Ambassador to India, Vice President Al Gore, Coretta Scott King, and the Director General of UNESCO on behalf of its Culture of Peace and nonviolence appeal by the Nobel Peace Laureates. The significance of the Season is emphasized by the bookend memorial anniversaries of Gandhi (Jan 30) and Martin Luther King Jr. (April 4), Tibet Uprising Day (March 10), the birthday of Cesar Chavez (March 31), and Freedom Day in South African — a public holiday celebrating the first post-apartheid elections held in 1994 (April 27). 

In 2013, His Holiness, the name of the Dalai Lama of Tibet was added to the Gandhi King Gyatso Season for Nonviolence honoring his compassionate and nonviolent leadership in the face of Tibetan human rights oppression. Said Tenzin Tethong, former President of the Dalai Lama Foundation, “… those of us who work for peace should not only ‘follow’ in the footsteps of great peacemakers who have gone before us but should ‘walk with’ those who still show the way.” The lifetime of the late President Nelson Mandela has been added recently to celebrate him in an SNV Featured Program.

April 27th is the anniversary of Nelson Mandela voting for the first time in his life and for himself in 1994 from Ohlanga High School and founder John Langalibalele Dube’s home which overlooks Gandhi’s first ashram, the Phoenix Settlement in Durban, SA where Arun Gandhi was born and raised.  Dr. John Langalibalele Dube and Mohandas Gandhi were friends, and both ran their own newspapers.  In 1901 Dr. Dube, founded Ohlanga High School based on the Tuskegee Institute founded by Booker T. Washington. www.gandhitour.info/safrica. *April 27th is Coretta Scott King’s birth anniversary.

After Nelson Mandela voted for himself at Ohlanga, he walked over to Dr. Dube’s gravesite and said, “President, I have come to report to you that South Africa is today free!” Dr. Dube was the founding president of the South African Native National Congress (SANNC), which became the African National Congress in 1923.  www.gandhitour.info/safrica

The first African Black man in history to receive the Noble Peace Prize was Albert John Luthuli in 1960.  Nelson Mandela met with Albert Luthuli at Ohlanga School “HQ for the ANC” during this time; Madiba leaves this location on his way back to their hideaway “Liliesleaf” when he was captured-arrested by the SA police beginning his 27-year incarceration. www.gandhitour.info/safrica.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King traveled to India February 9 – March 10, 1958 on the infamous trip that transformed his life.

Arun Gandhi, founder of Season for Nonviolence, birth anniversary April 14th, the first year for the Season since his passing. The movement’s opportunity to honor the founder.

64 Days of Action January 30th – April 4th

Schedule a Screening

Sponsor or Host Community Screening(s) 

Sponsor Youth Impact Screenings

North America Sponsorship(s) Available

Sponsor or Host Season for Nonviolence 2024 Screening

Plan Now!

Book Panelists

Contact – lynnea.bylund@gandhiforchildren.org

Reflecting on a Night of Ahimsa:
UNLV Screening Unites Hearts for Peace and Change

Plant Trees

Nonviolent Tree Journal

Season for Nonviolence Resource

Based on a lesson Mahatma Gandhi taught his grandson

Arun between ages 12-14 years old.

seeds of light paractical guide to self understanding

Announcing the 6-month companion journal to the publication Seeds of Light Planting Seeds of Love, Kindness, and Compassion: Living Your Legacy!   

Seeds of Light Planting Seeds of Love, Kindness, and Compassion is filled with nonviolent practice consideration ideas, activities, and examples at the end of each chapter.  The Foreword by Arun Gandhi spotlights the importance of value-based education.   Seeds of Light begins with a Montessori Peace Tree planting and concludes with Gandhi’s Tree Lesson.  The last chapter in the book is dedicated to Gandhi’s Tree lesson where he has his grandson document acts of passive and physical violence cultivating his education in the path of nonviolence. This legacy journal is a guide geared toward the youth, yet applicable to people of all ages and stages of growth. |  Mahatma Gandhi and Maria Montessori 

With violence on the uptick, especially in our schools throughout the nation, it is time we re-evaluate our curriculum and begin to integrate value based options to help children understand and overcome passive-violent tendencies. 

As Arun Gandhi explains –  

Instead of teaching people the importance of respect and compassion we teach them that success means material gains and that everyone must aspire to make a lot of money.  We teach our children to be motivated and be successful in life.  In insidious ways we teach them to be selfish and greedy.  This means they do not learn how to love, respect, understand or be compassionate towards those who are less fortunate.  It also means they are unable to build good relationships.

In short, education is not only what one learns in school but what kind of foundation they get at home and whether the young people realize that education is a lifelong experience.  We must have an open, absorbing mind that will learn from every experience and every encounter they have through their lives.  Most of the time young people are given the impression that once they get their certificate their education stops.”   

Seeds of Light Living and Journaling Your Legacy provides a simple and encouraging method to discover your innate intelligence and focus on deeper meanings and evolutionary growth and healing from within.  This journal makes an ideal gift for loved ones.

 

Available on Amazon 

“Seeds of Light Planting Seeds of Love, Kindness, and Compassion: Living Your Legacy”
Seeds of Light: Living and Journaling Your Legacy

https://www.amazon.com/author/lynneabylund

Download Sales Sheet Seeds Journal

 

Peace Tree Planting Video

Let’s Go, Nevada!

Together Let’s Inspire

State and Citywide Proclamation 

Vision for Season for Nonviolence 2024 in the state of Nevada

Season for Nonviolence Las Vegas Community Challenge

Templates

Gandhi Worldwide Education Institute 2013 | Season for Nonviolence Tennessee press release below.  “Season for Nonviolence” Program Receives Statewide Recognition.

Gandhi Worldwide Education Institute Effort First Ever – State of Tennessee in 2013 to Proclaim Season for Nonviolence statewide Jan 30 – April 4th.  A model for other states.  Every City and State! | No one left behind…. | The state of Tennessee is where MLK Jr. was assassinated.

TEMPLATE SAMPLE PROCLAMATION A Season for Nonviolence  (State Version) 

WHEREAS violence prevention and conflict resolution programs in schools and communities throughout the nation and world are positively affecting our families and our neighborhoods one day at a time, and   

WHEREAS every person can move the world in the direction of peace through their daily nonviolent choice and action, and  

WHEREAS an awareness of nonviolent principles and practices is a powerful way to heal, transform, and empower our lives and communities, to recognize the dignity of every human being, and to promote peace and harmony among all people, and   

WHEREAS the Nonviolence Coalition of Southern Nevada seeks to make education a meaningful and visible strategy to recognize the value of a diverse community and to promote acceptance and respect for diversity through educational programs and activities to discourage all forms of discrimination, and  

WHEREAS the principle and practices of nonviolence work epitomized by the lives and work of two international leaders, Mahatma K. Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and  

WHEREAS, January 30, 2023, marks the 75th anniversary of the assassination in India of Mahatma Gandhi and April 4, 2023, marks the 55th anniversary of the assassination in America of Dr. Martin Luther King,  Jr., and  

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that I, _________,  Governor of the State of Nevada, proclaim January 30, – April 4,as A Season for Nonviolence, and further declare April 4th as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Nonviolence and encourage all citizens to participate in local, national,  and global education and community action campaigns to honor those who are using nonviolence to build  communities that respect the dignity and worth of every human being, and 

THEREFORE, BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that citizens of Nevada, have a great opportunity to focus the hearts and minds of our citizens on nonviolence in recognition and celebration of A Season for Nonviolence.  

NOW, THEREFORE, as Governor of the State of Nevada, I do hereby proclaim January 30, – April 4, as A Season for Nonviolence, and further declare April 4th as Dr.  Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Nonviolence in the Silver State.  

Nevada NV = Nonviolence = NV, could be the second state to follow in the tradition of what Tennessee did.

SAMPLE CITY-STATE COOPERATIVE MODEL TEMPLATE

Gandhi Worldwide Education Institute engaged with the state of TN, where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated. 

Press Release | Gandhi Worldwide Education Institute | Season for Nonviolence in Chattanooga, TN 2013 | First State Ever to Adopt SFNV 2013 

Tennessee has given statewide recognition of the “Season for Nonviolence” program, Missy Crutchfield, administrator of the city’s Education, Arts and Culture department, said. She stated, “This year the nation reflects on 150 Years of the Emancipation Proclamation, 50 Years of Civil Rights, and now a new movement for peace and nonviolence gains traction as Tennessee steps up embracing Gandhi’s “Season for Nonviolence.”

“Mahatma Gandhi’s grandson Dr. Arun Gandhi established “A Season for Nonviolence” as a yearly event celebrating the philosophies and lives of Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. And now in its 15th Year, with over 250 cities across the nation commemorating the “Season”—Tennessee leads the country in a first-ever, statewide recognition.

“The “Season” begins with the anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination on January 30 and ends with the anniversary of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s assassination on April 4. Bookended between these dates are Black History Month in February and Women’s History Month in March. The state of Tennessee set a pivotal stage for the American Civil Rights Movement—from being the home state of Alex Haley, acclaimed author of “The Autobiography of Malcolm X” and “Roots,” to the Sanitation Workers March in Memphis and the last moments of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s life before he was assassinated at the Lorraine Hotel (now the location of the National Civil Rights Museum). Upon moving to the United States, Dr. Arun Gandhi chose to live in Memphis, Tennessee—where he built a Gandhi Center for Nonviolence.”

She said establishing statewide recognition of “A Season for Nonviolence” gained ground under the Education, Arts & Culture department. Ms. Crutchfield, who was recently elected to the board for Gandhi Worldwide Education Institute, has been working with the board to continue expansion of “Season for Nonviolence” education and outreach across the United States.

Ms. Crutchfield worked with Dr. Arun Gandhi to organize “Gandhi Visits Chattanooga” 2012—a five-day social justice tour. The week featured speaking engagements at places ranging from project housing neighborhoods where gang violence has recently taken the lives of several youth to a visit to The Howard School, nationally-acclaimed for students who led the only high school sit-ins in the country during the Civil Rights Movement. During his visit to Chattanooga, Tennessee, the Mayor’s Office and City Council presented Dr. Arun Gandhi with a proclamation, officially declaring Chattanooga a “Season for Nonviolence” city.

Ms. Crutchfield said, “Achieving this statewide recognition of ‘Season for Nonviolence,’ is a dream come true. In September 2012, we hosted Dr. Arun Gandhi for what we call Chattanooga’s answer to the annual ‘Gandhi Legacy Tour’ following in his grandfather’s footsteps across India. We didn’t stop with Chattanooga though, when ‘Season for Nonviolence’ 2013 began in January we reached out across the state to connect our students with over 15,000 youth in the Building Bridges organization in Memphis—an ‘East Meets West’ partnership for learning.”

“Congressman Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.) and Congressman Chuck Fleishmann (R-Tenn.) offered bipartisan support of the “East Meets West” Season for Nonviolence partnership.”

Dr. Arun Gandhi, grandson of Mahatma Gandhi and President of Gandhi Worldwide Education Institute said, “On the inaugural Season for Nonviolence in Chattanooga, I would like to commend Chattanooga’s Mayor and City Council, with the launch of ‘East Meets West’ across the state from Chattanooga to Memphis, with Congressman Steve Cohen recognizing Memphis’ own proclamation and making this the first official statewide commitment to the ‘Season for Nonviolence.”

As this inaugural “Season for Nonviolence” concludes for 2013, organizers say this partnership “is ready to be shared with other cities and states across the nation. The crowning moment of this Tennessee movement for “A Season for Nonviolence” came when Senator Lamar Alexander wrote a letter of support recognizing the efforts.”

“I want to commend the citizens of the City of Chattanooga for their participation in the Season for Nonviolence,” wrote Senator Alexander. “The willingness of good people to get involved in their local communities is very important. My good friend, Alex Haley, lived his life by these six words: ‘Find the Good and Praise It.’ Your efforts are praiseworthy indeed. I applaud your efforts in building awareness across Tennessee as you have done in Chattanooga and Memphis. I wish you the very best as you work towards your commitment to reducing violence in our communities.”

Senator Alexander’s letter will be shared during Chattanooga’s Emancipation Proclamation 150th event to be held on Saturday, April 13, at 4 p.m. at the Community Theatre inside Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Auditorium at 399 McCallie Ave. The event is free and open to the public.

 

Current Programs 2024

AHIMSA GANDHI: The Power of the Powerless by Ramesh Sharma

Season for Nonviolence 2024

Daily Acts of Ahimsa 2024

AVANI Sponsor the Children Fund

Gandhian Books  | Ahimsa Merch

Satyagraha Tour of South Africa 2025

United Nations EcoSoc Consultative Status since July 23, 2015

Ahimsa Impact