His Holiness the Dalai Lama and President of India Mr Pranab Mukherjee graced the inaugural session of the first ever Laureates and Leaders for Children Summit held today at the Rashtrapati Bhavan (Presidential Palace) in New Delhi.
The summit brought together around 25 laureates and leaders.
The honorary guests include Princess Charlene of Monaco, Julia Gilliard, former Prime Minister of Australia, Princess Laurentien of Netherlands, Nobel Peace laureate Jose Ramos Horta, who is also former the President of East Timor, Kerry Kennedy, President, Robert F Kennedy Human Rights Centre and the First Lady of Panama, Lorena Castillo.
His Holiness Dalai Lama called for making the 21st century a century of peace and said today’s education was “materialistic”. “The world is facing a lot of troubles, a lot of issues most of which are man-made. Basic human nature is of compassion, so there is hope,” said His Holiness.
Nobel Laureate Kailash Satyarthi envisioned the Summit to harness the collective intellectual, moral and political will of the Laureates and Leaders for the benefit of the world’s children. The summit will deliberate on issues such as child trafficking and child slavery. The inaugural ceremony the leaders called for urgent action for the world to allow children to enjoy their childhood years unhindered.