11 Days of Global Unity - Celebrates 10 Years of Compassionate Action for a Better World

By Rick Ulfik  

Each year, during 11 Days of Global Unity, something extraordinary takes place that people never forget. This year, I predict it will be the Summer of Peace 11 Days Tele-Summit on the 11 Global Unity Themes. (Click here to register free.)

I believe that all the participants in 11 Days of Global Unity express some form of compassion in their activities. Here, for example, are the featured speakers of the 11 Days FREE Tele-Summit of the Summer of Peace and the 11 Global Unity Themes they are addressing:

Sept 9 (12noon Eastern Time/USA) OVERVIEW/PREVIEW of 11 Days of Global Unity - Barbara Marx Hubbard and Audrey Kitagawa

All of these calls start at 1PM Eastern/10am Pacific:

Sept 11 - UNITY - Eckhart Tolle, Barnet Bain and Kurt Johnson

Sept 12 - INTERDEPENDENCE - Lisinka Ulatowska

Sept 13 - ENVIRONMENT - Bill McKibben

Sept 14 - ECONOMIC JUSTICE - Hazel Henderson and Riane Eisler

Sept 15 - HEALTH - Deepak Chopra and James Maskell

Sept 16 - CHILDREN & YOUTH - Noah Miller and Nina Meyerhof

Sept 17 - WOMEN - Hassina Sherjan and Gemma Bulos

Sept 18 - HUMAN RIGHTS - Archbishop Desmond Tutu

Sept 19 - FREEDOM - Daniel Ellsberg and Amy Goodman

Sept 20 - DISARMAMENT - Jonathan Granoff

Sept 21 - PEACE (International Day of Peace) - Deborah Moldow, Monica Willard, Dot Maver, and Ambassador John McDonald

You can register free - click here.

(Note: Schedule and speakers are subject to change. Please check WE.net/11days for the latest information)

Another example of compassion in the 11 Days is represented by one of our major partners - The Compassion Games (started by Jon Ramer and partners). It takes place during the 11 Days September 11-21 and this year as they play, the participants will be encouraged to draw on one of the above 11 Global Unity Themes.

Another inspiring example is "Hello From My Heart Days" started by Gary Schineller. Taking place annually during 11 Days of Global Unity, people are encouraged to begin their conversations and communications with "Hello From My Heart". This is a grassroots peace movement now in 115 nations producing measurable results. For example, in 2007 in St. Petersburg, Florida the 750 students of Sawgrass Lake Elementary School began greeting each other with a smile and the words, "Hello, From My Heart" on September 11th. Absenteeism due to sickness was down by 29% and disciplinary actions were down by 36% for the month, when compared to the previous year. In communities using the greeting Hello From My Heart, violence has measurably decreased and health and happiness have increased! (To learn more about Hello From My Heart Days, click here.)

One of our most memorable 11 Days highlights actually became part of the global historic record of compassion! It involved Arun Gandhi, the grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, who has been a supporter of We, The World’s programs and mission. (We, the World co-founded 11 Days of Global Unity in 2004.) In 2006 he informed us, and the world, that 100 years earlier, on September 11th 1906, Mahatma Gandhi did his first nonviolent peace march in South Africa to end Apartheid. To celebrate the Centenary Anniversary of Gandhi’s first nonviolent action Arun proposed aligning and promoting Gandhi‘s 11 Practices of Satyagraha (soul force or truth force) with the 11 Days of Global Unity Sept. 11-21! In addition, We, the World worked with a California sculptor to design a very special “Heart of Humanity Award” which we presented to Arun Gandhi in San Francisco during 11 Days of Global Unity 2006. It was for 100 years of the Gandhi family promoting Nonviolence and Peace.

Other compassionate 11 Days participants have included Amnesty International, Oxfam America, Earthdance, Roots & Shoots, Pathways To Peace, Culture of Peace Initiative, World Peace Prayer Society, United Religions Initiative, The Interdependence Movement, September 11th Families For Peaceful Tomorrows, WBAI Pacifica Radio, Ecofest, as well as Nobel Peace Laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Jane Goodall, Deepak Chopra, Irene Khan, Marianne Williamson, Barbara Marx Hubbard, Robert Thurman, Riane Eisler, Lynne Twist, Paul Winter and many others.

We invite you and your organization to be part of 11 Days of Global Unity.

Click here to send us a brief description of a program or event you’d like us to promote as part of 11 Days. You can also click here to become an Affiliate for the upcoming Summer of Peace / 11 Days of Global Unity Tele-Summit and earn ongoing funding for your group.

Thank you for helping to create a more compassionate world!

Rick Ulfik is founder and board chair of We, The World, founder and a principal organizer of the WE Campaign at We, The World, and founder and a principal organizer of the WE Campaign at WE.net, a global network of collaboration and action. He is co-founder of 11 Days of Global Unity - 11 Ways To Change The World, a platform for change agents worldwide to raise awareness and take action collectively. He is also co-producer of the Visual Voices TV series, which was featured on the Dish Network and available in 15 million homes. Rick is a Nonviolent Communication (NVC) workshop facilitator and leader. He has been working with NVC since 2004 and has participated in many workshops led by internationally acclaimed mediator and creator of NVC Marshall Rosenberg, who is also joined the Advisory Board of We, The World. Rick is also an accomplished composer and musician (keyboards) who has written, produced, arranged, conducted and performed music for ABC TV, NBC TV, CBS TV, the Olympics, radio, feature films, commercials, records, other media, and for major recording artists including Queen Latifah, Phoebe Snow, Carlos Santana, Bernadette Peters and Judy Collins.  

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