Nepal welcomed the 1st and 2nd World March for Peace and Nonviolence and is working to welcome the 3rd WM once more to their native land.
The 1st World March for Peace and Nonviolence was in Nepal on the 9th of October, 2009, with some of the other base team members arriving on October 10. The 1st World March was held on the 10th, in three different districts– KATHMANDU, BHAKTAPUR, and KAVRE (PANAUTI)– a rally in Bhaktapur, another rally and cultural program in Kavre (Panauti), then a conference, press meeting and rally around the Kathmandu Durbar Square. The team then rested, some going to Nagarkot for a trip, before going back to Delhi.
Here are some photos of the 1st WM in Nepal:
The 2nd World March base team arrived on the 23rd of January, 2020, leaving on January 29, 2020, with the base team marching with Nepalese peace-lovers and peacemakers to call for the urgent need to end all wars and all forms of discrimination and violence.
With the 3rd World March in the works to start on October 2, 2024, starting from San Jose, Costa Rica to travel across the five continents, Nepalese humanists have once again joined hands to support and welcome the 3rdWM base team when it comes to the Asia-Pacific region.
Some members of the Nepalese 3rd WM core team met on 17 February 2024 to discuss, share, and interchange the plans that have been brewing.
To bring the message of peace and non-violence to the youth of today, the Nepalese 3rd WM core team is planning to bring the 3rd WM to three universities in Kathmandu. All around in Nepal, there was only one university in 1959, TRIBHUVAN UNIVERSITY. Then, after some time, the eastern part of Nepal established a university called PURBANCHAL UNIVERSITY in 1993. Both of these are public. KATHMANDU UNIVERSITY is the private university in Nepal. The Nepalese 3rd WM core team is also looking into tapping a university in Lumbini, the sacred birthplace of the Buddha, a historic place where a main World March event is being envisioned.
The logistics to do so and connect with other NGOs and organizations are being developed- —
> Letters to the Chancellors of the universities, introducing the objectives and plans of the World March, inviting them to open the doors of their universities to the 3rd WM. Their students, working hand in hand with the Nepalese WM core team, can organize and participate in activities that will allow them to crystallize their thoughts and feelings about peace, and the need to end all forms of discrimination and violence.
> Brochures, banners, and materials are being developed.
> Existing connections with NGOs and different community groups is another open avenue so the message of peace and nonviolence and how it can help make lives better for all humans regardless of class, age, sex, and nationality can be brought to the community level.
Some members of the core team expressed interest in joining the 3rd WM base team to visit nearby countries like Bangladesh and India. The idea is encouraged as anyone interested can participate in the 3rd WM in any country. Being discussed at the global level is the plan to have at least one representative from the different continents present at the activities in San Jose, Costa Rica where the 3rd World March will start and, after traveling the globe, when the base team returns to its starting point, Costa Rica.
Tulsi Sigdel shared a working calendar during a 3rd WM virtual meeting last Feb 10, 2024, with representatives from five countries in the Asia Pacific Region and with Rafael de la Rubia, founder of World without Wars and without Violence and main promoter of the World March for Peace and Nonviolence. In February, invitation letters and brochures to 3 universities– Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu University, and Purbanchal University. March – rally and reels about 3WM with banners and brochures. April – invite more organizations to actively participate in the WM. In May, do workshops with organizations and students. By June, when the dates of the base team visit to Nepal will be finalized, the team will finalize a more detailed calendar and program of activities.
Namaste! Looking forward to the 3rd World March for Peace and Nonviolence in Nepal.
Present in the virtual meeting were: Tulsi Sigdel, Mukunda Baskota, Kabir K.R. Nepal, Kabita Sigdel, Sharada Prasad Dhita with Decler Hague, and Karina L. Santillan, Pressenza. This report was made possible by the inputs from the team and photos from Tulsi Sigdel and Kabir Ranjitkar.
For more information about the 3rd World March for Peace and Non-violence, visit https://en.theworldmarch.org/
