Voz de Paz - Culture of Peace, Self Development, Raja Yoga, Living Values

The Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University (BKWSU) was founded in India in 1936 and works at all levels of society seeking to help bring about positive change in the world. It offers a range of courses in spiritual understanding, meditation, the development of the human personality and related topics. These aim to build a greater awareness of the worth and dignity of the human person and recognition of the intrinsic goodness of every human being. The University is an international non-governmental organization in general consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and in consultative status with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). It is also affiliated to the Department of Public Information. Through about 4000 branches in over 72 countries, the University’s work supports UN programmes on a wide range of developmental, humanitarian and other issues. Its special competence allows it to bring a particularly ethical and spiritual approach to world concerns and for these to be expressed clearly within the broad forum of UN circles.

Working with the UN, UNICEF and UNESCO at headquarters as well as within the national committees and commissions, the University promotes values-based programmes and initiatives through its local and national centres, including some activities especially for women, youth and children. As an organization largely administered by women, the University has promoted development of values such as spirituality, empowerment and leadership in women through active participation in the UN World Conferences for Women since the 1970s. A follow-up to the Beijing Conference, "Young Women of Wisdom" is a programme designed by young women for young women and aims to create a safe learning environment where they can combine creativity, silent reflection, play and in-depth dialogue. Workshops, seminars and interactive programmes are held in which young women examine such subjects as self-esteem, self-confidence, decision-making, equality, personal growth and holistic development.

Other social and humanitarian work includes training in parenting and care-giving skills such as outlined in "The Family Pack" published in honour of the International Year of the Family. Training programmes have also been specially designed to help refugee workers, prison officers and inmates, hospital staff, terminally-ill patients and victims of substance abuse. Against the backdrop of an increasing environmental crisis the Brahma Kumaris have long been calling for a change in attitude and behaviour towards the natural world. Research has also been initiated in recent years into the use of renewable energy sources and environment-friendly construction techniques and The Academy for a Better World, the University’s new village complex in Rajasthan, India was submitted as a Best Practice at the UN Habitat II Conference in Istanbul in 1996.

Among the many and varied activities of the University that have taken place over the years are a number of international outreach projects which have sought to offer the wider community the opportunity to participate in building a better world.

A Million Minutes of Peace was dedicated to the United Nations International Year of Peace, held in 1986. It appealed to individuals to dedicate a minute or more of their time to peace, spending it in prayer, meditation or positive thought. People in 88 countries responded to this call and in just one month pledged not a million minutes of peace but a hefty 1,231,975,713 minutes, or 2,344 years of peace!

As a follow-up to this overwhelming display of popular commitment to world peace, Global Co-operation for a Better World was launched at the United Nations in New York and Geneva, and the Houses of Parliament in London, in 1988. Designated as a Peace Messenger Initiative dedicated to the UN, this project essentially asked people to respond, in words or pictures, to the question: "What is your vision of a better world?". For over two years hopes, aspirations and action plans for a better world poured in from tens of thousands of people of all walks of life in 129 countries. Their visions and testimonies, which reflected a widespread call for a number of commonly-held moral and social values, were summarised in The Global Vision Statement. A cross-cutting collection of some of the most inspiring contributions was published in 1993 in the UNESCO-supported UN Peace Messenger publication Visions of a Better World.

Noting this appeal for a renaissance of values, in 1995 the Brahma Kumaris launched Sharing our Values for a Better World, which aimed to deepen people's understanding of human values and offer ways to help implement them in daily life. The project identified 12 universal core values which were the central focus in the publication "Living Values: A Guidebook". This book was published in honour of the United Nations’ 50^th Anniversary and contained a section on how to integrate values in the classroom curriculum. Twenty educators from around the world gathered together in 1996 in New York City to explore the issues of values, attitudes and behaviour and to share their experiences of working with values in the classroom and within the community. The purpose of the meeting was to develop a strategy to support value-based education for all. This included exploring new skills, pedagogical approaches and training programmes for educators and caregivers. The needs of pre-school, primary and secondary age groups were addressed as well as those of children in emergency situations. Opportunities to learn about values were found to be interwoven throughout the educational process crossing the traditional lines of specific subject areas. Using "Living Values: A Guidebook" and "The Convention of the Rights of the Child" as a framework, the educators agreed to work together to develop a programme to set the pace for lifelong learning and to commit to testing in their school communities. The educators produced the "Living Values Educators’ Kit" in consultation with UNICEF, UNESCO and the Brahma Kumaris and it is currently in use around the world.

To help commemorate the Fiftieth Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1998, the Brahma Kumaris drew attention to some of the spiritual and moral dimensions of the Declaration in a project entitled Igniting the Spirit of Human Dignity. As a step towards greater observance of human rights, the University encouraged deeper understanding and personal commitment in relation to the following ten priority areas: Dignity, Freedom, Respect, Tolerance, Peace, Justice, Equality, Brotherhood, Friendship and Education.

On a local level, the University’s centres around the world offer lectures, courses and a range of other activities within the community, helping individuals to recognise their true potential and deal effectively with the pressures of modern living. The University offers all its services free of charge as a community service.