The Art of Living Foundation Organizes Record Breaking Peace Gathering

WASHINGTON, DC--(Marketwired - Mar 9, 2016) -  This week the Art of Living Foundation is hosting the World Culture Festival, a unique gathering that brings influential leaders and people of diverse cultures from around the world to celebrate humanity. The three day event will be held March 11-13 in New Delhi, India and will have nearly 3.5 million attendees from 155 countries -- making it the largest peace gathering in the world. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, international spiritual leader, global humanitarian and founder of the Art of Living Foundation, brings to life his vision of a "One World Family" on a single platform through this unprecedented peace event.

"With the World Culture Festival, we hope to foster deeper understanding between people of different faiths, nationalities and backgrounds. By showcasing rich cultural traditions of dance, music and art from around the world, as well as Yoga, this festival will be unique in spreading the message of global peace and harmony in diversity," said Sri Sri Ravi Shankar. "This event is a momentous opportunity to celebrate our human values and unity in diversity." 

Music and dance performances featuring nearly 37,000 artists from around the world will take place on a seven-acre stage. It's the largest stage in the world and made 100 percent from eco-friendly materials. On this stage, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar will also facilitate daily meditations. These meditations will be the largest gatherings of its kind, breaking world records and creating a powerful forum for social harmony. Additional festival highlights include the Global Leadership Forum and Citizen Peace Conference.

The Global Leadership Forum is an opportunity for senior leaders in business, government, politics, science, NGOs, faith-based organizations, sports, academia and media to reflect on the paradigms of leadership needed to maneuver the world of today. Several representatives from the U.S. will speak during the forum, including Rep. Mike Quigley, Rep. Robin Kelly, Mike Perlis, President and CEO of Forbes, Gary Gauba, President of CenturyLink Cognilytics and Mac Smith, co-founder of the Google [x] user experience team.

"I'm thrilled to be a part of the World Culture Festival as the diversity of all cultures across the world needs to be nurtured and actively promoted," said Rep. Robin Kelly. "Thanks to Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and the Art of Living, more than 100 countries will be represented by different nationalities to celebrate their rich traditions and voices for peace."

The Citizen Peace Conference brings together more than 1,000 international student delegates from the Art of Living Foundation's student-run Yesplus program. This next generation of leaders will collaborate with experienced peace leaders on how to build and scale peace through science and technology, business, government and communications.

For over 35 years, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and the Art of Living Foundation have impacted millions of lives through self-development educational programs and workshops on meditation and yoga. The influence of the Art of Living Foundation and World Culture Festival have extended to communities across the U.S., earning proclamations about its positive impact from several cities including San Diego, San Antonio, Denver, Los Angeles Austin, North Carolina and Fremont. They have also been publically recognized by nation heads, including David Cameron, Prime Minister, United Kingdom and Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister, Canada.

The World Culture Festival can be experienced anywhere in the world through a live stream at http://webcast.artofliving.org/ or via the World Culture Festival Android and iPhone apps. Events will be begin daily at 9:30 a.m. EST/6:30 a.m. PST. More information can be found at the event website.

About the Art of Living Foundation:
Operating in 155 countries, the Art of Living Foundation (AOLF) is an educational nonprofit founded by spiritual leader and humanitarian Sri Sri Ravi Shankar. Its programs and initiatives have touched the lives of over 370 million people and are guided by Sri Sri's philosophy that unless we have a stress-free mind and a violence-free society, we cannot achieve world peace. Visit artofliving.org for more.

About Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Sri Sri has rekindled traditions of yoga and meditation that have helped millions of people achieve personal and social transformation by relieving stress and discovering inner peace in daily life. Named one of the "Seven Most Powerful People in India," by Forbes, Sri Sri played a key role in ending the 60 year conflict in Colombia. He has been credited in bringing opposing parties together through peace talks in many conflict ridden zones such as Iraq, Cote d'Ivoire and India. Visit srisriravishankar.org to learn more.