This month, East meets West, but not quite in the traditional way. Peace Revolution will visit both Eastern and Western Africa during their stay in Kenya and Nigeria as part of their 2012 Change the World Tour – In the Beginning.  Four innovative young African peace agents joined forces to create peace empowerment through meditation to the people in East and West Africa during September 2012.

 

The African series of the 2012 Change the world tour starts off in Kenya on the 24^th of September, with seminars to schools and universities in the Nairobi region, organized by Mediatrix Shikoli and Kubwimana Venuste.  They explain from their own perspective why meditation is so important to peace empowerment and conflict resolution in Africa.  Mediatrix says “…I think meditation leads to peace, because it has helped me get peace. A kind of peace (that comes from within) that I could not get from anywhere else in the world...” 

Kubwimana says, “We want to introduce Peace Revolution’s approach to pass on culture of everlasting peace in Nigeria. A Peace not gained through gunfire, spears or politics but rather an approach that surpasses military enforcements as remedy to stabilize Kenyan society, and other current innovative approaches in force but all result in continual human blood shedding and the revenue conflicts which actually is the root of all these violence.  Introducing and encouraging Kenyan Youth to practice mediation for inner Peace discovery is the only way to spread a tranquil and peace life in Kenya. In these two days of Peace Revolution’s visit to Kenya on 24th and 25th September we will be able to meet  about 1000 students and introduce the easy and accurate peace approach.  But most importantly, the approach that doesn’t require any external materials to develop a culture of PEACE. An approach that eventually leads to the discovery of everything they need in life. When you meditate you take your mind to the natural source of PEACE, wisdom, and wealth to accomplish everything in peace and tranquility.”

The venues include: Outering High School, Catholic University of Nairobi, Kenyatta University, Fornax College and St. Bakita Girls Juja .  About one thousand students are expected to attend lectures concerning PIPO, or peace in-peace out, which is the Peace Revolution slogan.  The underlying principle of PIPO is that if we want to spread peace to the world around us(peace out), we need to first cultivate peace within us(peace in). 

Next the Peace Revolution team stops at Imo State in Nigeria, for seminars from the 27^th to 28^th, organized by peace agents, Udochukwu Kennth Ajunwa and Aya Chebbi.  The two day seminar in Owerri, will be opened by the Imo State Governor, His Excellency Rochas Anayo Okorocha, and the event will be attended by both Muslim and Christian Nigerian graduate and undergraduate students.  Topics of discussion will include “achieving peace and development in Nigeria using PIPO” and “Peace and how PIPO can transform our corrupt environment”, all of these lectures will be supported by meditation practice which will be lead by Venerable Somsak Piyaseelo from the Johannesburg Meditation Center. 

Concluding the tour is the seminars in Abuja University on the 29^th of September.  The event will be opened by the Minister of Federal Capital Territory, Bala Mohammed, and special guests include the Youth Development Minister and the Minister of Women Affairs.  The theme of this seminar is “Peace in Nigeria for Youth, by Youth: Harnessing the Peace in and out of us”

 

 

Ajunwa shares why PIPO is a practical way to build peace in not only Nigeria but anywhere in the world, “PIPO, peace in peace out: when you have peace within yourself it radiates.  It affects every other thing you do, the way you talk to people, the way you behave to people even when things are going wrong in the establishment you can approach them peacefully and get things sorted out amicably using diplomacy.  So, it works.   It starts with me, and that “me” can be one million people.”