Hindu American Seva
Charities
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Media Contacts: Niki Shah: niki@hinduamericanseva.org; 202-299-7475 Religion, Peace and Development: Afghanistan and Pakistan Washington, D.C., December 1, 2010 – Hindu American Seva Charities, the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace and World Affairs at Georgetown University and the World Faiths Development Dialogue will host a student-led roundtable to explore ways in which the faith-based communities can actively bring peace and prosperity in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Participants will share strategies and best practices for interfaith cooperation and intercultural understanding. The Hindu American Seva Charities (HASC) Young Scholars Program will also provide information on upcoming service and refugee projects to engage the academic community. The discussion will be held on December 3 from noon to 2:00 p.m. at Georgetown University’s Berkley Center for Religion, Peace and World Affairs. President Obama’s Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships recommended advancing multi-religious cooperation and partnerships among the government, civil groups and the academic community in order to uplift local and global communities, to improve health and education, address environmental issues, and promote economic recovery. Faith-based groups, such as Hindu American Seva Charities, founded by Anju Bhargava, member of the White House Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, are becoming catalysts to foster peace and help shape development to establish regional and global security around the globe. “Mahatma Gandhi strongly believed in the power
behind the Vedic statement — “Ahimsa Paramo Dharmah”— or nonviolence—as
mankind’s foremost duty. Based on this
principle, HASC supports the efforts undertaken by the college students to
deepen understanding of society and world affairs, as it relates to effective
governance and delivery of and access to services in Afghanistan and Pakistan—where both nations
represent abundance of historical, cultural, religious and artistic treasures
—and where civilizations across the region once flourished,” Bhargava says. The Berkley Center commends the Hindu American Seva
Charities for its important work in engaging students to learn about and
promote interreligious and intercultural dialogue and cooperation among faith
communities in Afghanistan and Pakistan. “As the next generation of leaders, it is
crucial that students become producers, and not just consumers, of knowledge in
order to craft lasting strategies for peace in this turbulent region” the Berkley Center’s Melody Fox Ahmed says. Hindu American Seva Charities (HASC) is progressive organization whose mission is to advance seva or community service and promote pluralism, interfaith dialogue, tolerance, social justice, civic engagement and sustainable activism to ignite grassroots social change and build healthy communities. Seva is an integral part of Hindu and Dharmic traditions and sadhana (practice) and is transforming. To achieve its mission, HASC seeks to mobilize community resources in the United States, bridge the gap between the U.S. agencies and Hindu institutions to connect with America. HASC is a non-religious NGO formed in 2009 under the guidance of the White House Office of Faith Based and Neighborhood Partnerships and is a service partner with the Corporation for National and Community Service. |
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