Today was Sari Day at EsF. All the women attending had the option to dress up in a sari, many ably assisted by the Indian attendees to ensure the saris were worn correctly. The men dressed up too in traditional Indian dress and so the day began with everyone all abuzz in their finery. We read a quote from Gandhi and sang to call Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth, to our home. Photographs of Maria and Mario Montessori in traditional Indian dress were also shared. Mid-morning, the Assembly joined together for official and unofficial photographs outside in the lush garden. Our guest speaker for the morning, Rajagopal P. V. introduced his talk by teaching us to sing the inspirational ‘Jai Jagat Pukare Ja’ (Victory to World). He went on to explain how Gandhi’s ideas permeated his work in social change. Any development plan should empower the poorest. Rajagopal stepped participants through a structured process he has found successful in working with angry youth and other groups. He spoke at length on non-violence, explaining that violence can be direct or indirect. Indirect violence is a breeding ground for direct violence. Rajagopal invited us to network goodness. After lunch, Victoria Barrès spoke about AMI and UNESCO: Partnerships for Advocacy and Networks. Victoria became AMI’s Ambassador to UNESCO in 2003. Her self-imposed task is to build bridges between UNESCO and the Montessori movement. This can take time and require great patience and persistence. However, AMI has progressed from being an NGO ‘accredited’ with UNESCO, to the new category of ‘partner’ and this has brought AMI additional opportunities. Victoria invited participants to learn more about this work. She explained some of the history of the Montessori Peace movement, including current efforts to support UN initiatives. Lynne Lawrence shared a beautiful poem with the participants that was written by US Montessori sage, John Snyder, especially for the Fifth EsF Assembly. Amira Nagati spoke in the Open Space part of the day, sharing her Montessori work with African Refugees in Cairo. Amira highlighted the challenges of language, culture, additional needs and shared premises that she has faced so far. Yet her slides showed she has overcome many obstacles to create a lovely prepared environment for young children and now has future plans that include medical care, professional development and research.
