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Civil20 India Inception Meet starts at Nagpur

The future belongs not to single entities but to those who cooperate and mingle and everyone must obey the universal law of inclusion: Chair, C-20, Mata Amritanandamayi Devi
There is a need to have a robust system of civil society so that the voice of the last man is heard by the Government: Maharashtra DCM Devendra Fadnavis
Under its G20 Presidency, India should raise the voice for more effective representation of the Global South: Nobel Laureate Kailash Satyarthi
357 delegates from 26 countries are attending Civil-20 Inception Meet in Nagpur

The future belongs not to single entities but to those who cooperate and mingle and everyone must obey the universal law of inclusion, stated the Chair of Civil20 India Mata  Amritanandamayi Devi at the inaugural session of Civil20 India 2023 in Nagpur today (March 20, 2023).  The session was chaired by Mata Amritanandamayi Devi and Nobel Laureate and Founder of Satyarthi Foundation, Kailash Satyarthi was the Chief Guest in it. The Guest of Honour included Maharashtra’s Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Vice Chairman of Rambhau Mhalgi Prabodhini and Patron of Civil20India 2023 Secretariat Dr. Vinay Sahasrabuddhe, Civil20 India 2023 Sherpa and former Ambassador Vijay Nambiar, Sherpa of Civil20 Indonesia Ahmad Maftuchan, Alessandra Nilo from GESTOS, Brazil and Troika Member of Civil20, and Vice President of Vivekananda Kendra in Kanyakumari Nivedita Bhide.

Speaking on the occasion, the Chair of Civil20 India Amritanandamayi Devi said that people experience two types of poverties in world – first is poverty of food and shelter and second is poverty of love and compassion. She said that there is a need to cultivate the qualities of love and compassion. A healthy mingling of diversity is essential for human culture to flourish. Amritanandamayi Devi further said that the Government of India under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has accomplished a great deal of progress which is creating a huge transformation.  She said that from ancient times ‘the world is one family’ has been the mantra of Indian soil. It still is today and will continue to do so in the future. The Presidency of the G-20 nations is a unique opportunity to model this truth before the world.

Maharashtra Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis welcomed all the guests and delegates to the city of Nagpur. He said that, under the leadership of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the G20 has been democratized. It has become a people’s movement. The role of civil society is very important as governments have legal power but civil society has moral powers, he said. There is a need to have a robust system of civil society so that the voice of the last man is heard by the government, stated the Deputy CM of Maharashtra.

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Dr. Vinay Sahasrabuddhe informed that 357 delegates are attending the Inception Conference. There are representatives of 26 countries and 130 international delegates have arrived in Nagpur for the C-20 Inception Meet.  He further said that India believes in an autonomous society and this is reflected in Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of Aatmanirbhar Bharat. He said it is time to move towards a duty-based approach from a rights based approach. He presented a report of the activities of CIVIL20 India Secretariat.

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Welcoming the participants and members, Civil20 India 2023 Sherpa Vijay Nambiar said that the Civil 20 India 2023 Inception Conference is a meeting for grouping of civil society.  Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) have been, and continue to remain, a strong support to governance, he added. “To complement and supplement these efforts, there needs to be a constructive and productive relationship within CSOs”, he said. This was most apparent during the time of disasters, be it the recent pandemic or past earthquakes and tsunamis, he further said. Vijay Nambiar said that any successful intervention is only possible with the proper engagement of CSOs. CSOs can work beyond all barriers and act as a bridge between governments and public. He said that CSOs can play a major role in solving modern day problems such as realisation of net zero commitments and also in achieving the targets outlined in the Sustainable Development Goals. He further stated that the logo of the  CIVIL 20 India 2023 signified selfless service and the tagline ‘You are the Light’ urges everyone to make their own path.

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Nobel Laureate Kailash Satyarthi said that it was for the first time that CIVIL20 is being driven by spirituality.  “‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’ and ‘One Earth, One Family One Future’ are not merely slogans but have roots in spirituality”, he said.  He further said that India is the motherland of one billion solutions. He remarked that 130 people from 26 countries gathering in the Inception Conference made this world a family.  He also said that India has some of the best social protection programs in the world such as Mid-day meal program and Beti Bachao Beti Padhao program. Kailash Satyarthi also said that, under its G20 Presidency, India should raise the voice for more effective representation of the Global South. He said that India should also lead globalisation of compassion.

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Ahmad Maftuchan congratulated Civil20 India Presidency 2023 for hosting the inception meeting in Nagpur. This was a significant gathering of civil society actors, he said. He also stated that CSO leaders must strengthen their engagements with G20.

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Alessandra Nilo said that the role of civil society in today’s world is very important. Civil20 is tirelessly working to solve the problems faced by modern society, she further said. She also said that implementation of the progressive commitments made by various governments are either lagging behind or are being neglected. The implementation of these commitments will be possible only if Governments effectively engaged with the civil society, she opined.

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Swadesh Singh, Sous-Sherpa of CIVIL20 India 2023 delivered the vote of thanks.  He said that the tagline of CIVIL20 India You are the light culminated in the CIVIL20 India 2023 Inception Conference.

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Jadav payeng, Environmentalist from Majuli, Assam addressing the Plenary session on ‘Balancing Development with Environment’ before the C-20 inception meeting in Nagpur on 20th March 2023.

First Plenary Session of Civil 20 India 2023 Inception Conference on the theme ‘Balancing Development with Environment’ takes place

Session focuses on Integrated Holistic Health, Sustainable and Resilient Communities, LiFE and Revival of Rivers and Water Management

The first plenary session of the Civil-20 (C-20) India 2023 Inception Conference was held in Nagpur today (March 20, 2023). The theme of the session was ‘Balancing Development with Environment’. Former Chief Information Commissioner Satyananda Mishra chaired the session.

The speakers in the session included Dr Andy Carmone, Clinical Director at The Clinton Health Access Initiative, Dr Merle De Kreuk, Professor, Environmental Technology, TU Delft, Netherlands, Jadav Payeng, Environmentalist from Majuli, Assam and Indira Khurana, Commissioner, People’s World Commission on Flood and Drought.

The session covered the following Working Groups of Civil20 India 2023: Integrated Holistic Health: Mind, Body and Environment; Sustainable and Resilient Communities: Climate, Environment and Net Zero Targets; Lifestyle For Environment (LiFE); and Revival of Rivers and Water Management. The respective coordinators of these Working Group also spoke in the session. They were namely, Dr Priya Nair, School of Medicine, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Dr Maneesha Sudheer, Provost, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Dr Gajanan Dange, President Yojak and Vasuki Kalyanasundaram, The Satsang Foundation, India.

Satyanand Mishra as the Chair remarked that a common theme runs across all the subjects of the working group which was that human beings were interdependent on their surroundings and nature. This is thought that Mata Amritanandamayi (Amma) has been propagating in her thoughts as the CIVIL20 India 2023 Chair.

Dr Priya Nair elaborated on the concept of holistic health which entailed a relationship between health and environment. She said that her working group looked for best examples (Udaaharan) related to activities of her working group on Holistic Health.  She elaborated on mental health, focus on nutrition, elderly health and life care’ holistic health, non-communicable disease, one health, and women and child health as integral components of holistic health.

Dr Maneesh Sudheer said that the working group focussed on four-sub themes: Climate Resilience and social justice; Environmental Sustainability,  Net Zero Emission Management, and Compassion Driven approach to sustainable development

Gajanan Dange  said that lifestyle and development was linked . He said that we should add goal based frameworks with a value based framework. Adding of value based approach framework will be key to environment centric lifestyle. He said that we will carry forward the Indian way of development to the world.

Vasuki Kalyanasundaram talked of the importance of conservation of rivers. The disappearing of rivers and pollution of water bodies was a concern, She highlighted the role of 5Rs in water management. – Reduce, Re-use, Recharge, Recycle and Respect. She said that it was a positive sign that governments across the world such as in India and New Zealand  were recognising rivers as a living entity.

Dr Andy Carmone said that two themes were very important while discussing health: Equity and gender integration and wholistic health.  She stressed that we needed to look into the health problems of people living in remote areas and of  those who were from the marginalised society.

Dr Merle De Kreuk spoke of the importance of water cycle. She said that humanity broke the water cycle. As scientists and researchers, we are looking into ways to improve it, but we needed to fix it.  Addressing and limiting climate change was our only chance to fix the water cycle.

Indira Khurana spoke on the theme climate change, drought and floods. She spoke of the importance of rainwater conservation. She talked of decentralized water conservation approach which looked at indigenous wisdom and crop cultivation in sync with ecology and rainfall of the region as essential aspects She highlighted the significance of community involvement. She said that focusing on emissions were not enough and there was a need to focus on water and water conservation. Any discussion of climate must have water in its agenda.

Jadav Payeng spoke about his work in forest conservation.  He stressed on the role of planting and nurtured trees. Trees had not only to be planted but also to be nurtured.  He said that his planted forests have ushered in a diversity of fauna. A project was opened under his forest which was teaching to love and respect the environment and plant trees. He appealed to all to plant one tree on their birthdays rather than cutting cakes.

Satyanand Mishra concluded the session by thanking all speakers. He said that a number of important issues related to the environment were discussed in the session.

Satyananda Mishra, former Chief Information Commissioner (CIC) chairing the Plenary session on ‘Balancing Development with Environment’ before the C-20 inception meeting in Nagpur on 20th March 2023.
Jadav payeng, Environmentalist from Majuli, Assam addressing the Plenary session on ‘Balancing Development with Environment’ before the C-20 inception meeting in Nagpur on 20th March 2023.
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The first plenary session at the Civil20 Inception Conference is now ongoing!

The first plenary session at the Civil20 Inception Conference is now ongoing! 

It is being chaired by Satyananda Mishra, Frmr CIC, India and covers working groups related to environment and sustainability.

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Conflict avoidance is key, rather than resolution: Sous-Sherpa of C20 Swadesh Singh

Swadesh Singh, sous-sherpa of C20 India told TOI that the civil society focussed seminar is crucial to the ultimate changing global political reality. Singh tells TOI that for the first time ever, India will endeavour to gain consensus among C20 nations on civil issues.

Here are the excerpts…..

When it comes to global conflicts, you are thinking of a different approach

We should try to think about conflict avoidance, rather than resolution. The latter happens after a conflict has arisen and that obviously brings a lot of different problems with it. We must try to see how conflicts can be avoided and for that involvement of civil society is crucial. If you look at the G20, the presidency is with countries which are in the so-called ‘global south’. Earlier it was Indonesia, now us and Brazil will get it in 2024. So the changing global-political equations are also to be looked at when discussing things with a civic perspective.

Consensus in C20, a new strategy is being tried out

If that happens, it will be a first. We are trying to build a consensus among all nations with regards to policy suggestions which is not very easy considering there are 20 countries involved and everyone has their interests.

How do you react to statements that right-leaning groups are involved in C20

I would say it’s a very democratic and diverse set up. Our C20 chair is spiritual leader Mata Amritanandamayi, the chief guest for inaugural event is Nobel laureate Kailash Satyarthi and even delegates come from different backgrounds.

Source: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/nagpur/conflict-avoidance-is-key-rather-than-resolution-sous-sherpa-of-c20-swadesh-singh/articleshow/98761612.cms