The first evening of the Peace Run here in The Netherlands was dedicated to the Torch Bearer Awards, a special prize presented by the Peace Run to individuals who have served the cause of harmony, understanding and friendship in a special and significant way.
The Peace Run team started off with a rendition of the Peace Run song, composed by Sri Chinmoy.
Team captain Devashishu Thorpy then introduced the Peace Run.
The first recipient of the Torch Bearer Award was actress and director Adelheid Roosen. Through her theatrical productions Adelheid Roosen aims to foster understanding between people of different backgrounds, ethnicities, cultures and religions, bringing them closer together.
A beautiful example of this is her project ‘Wijksafari’ or ‘Neighbourhood Safari’. In this location theatre project the audience is invited into the homes of people from different cultures and backgrounds, who tell the audience about their lives, hopes and dreams. She has organized these neighbourhood safari’s here in The Netherlands, both in real neighbourhoods and in asylum centres, but also as far away as Mexico.
Adelheid gave a wonderful acceptance speech, emphasizing the importance of understanding and having concern for other people. The moment we allow intolerance or misunderstanding to creep into a situation, that is the first step towards war, she said poignantly.
The second recipient was Tijn Touber, an influential author, musician and meditation teacher in The Netherlands. Tijn's mission in life, in his own words, is to make people aware of their own inborn greatness, their true spiritual nature. He has founded the project ‘Cities of Light’, where people open up their living rooms twice a month for joined meditation sessions. In the past decade more than 1500 living rooms have participated.
Tijn also founded the project ‘Schools of Light’ where he aspires to bring meditation and silence into the classrooms of elementary schools. His books about spirituality and meditation have sold thousands of copies in many countries.
In Tijn's beautiful acceptance speech he highlighted the importance of personal growth and spiritual development. He is an inspiration to so many people looking to broaden their horizons and combine a great vision with practicle and actionable steps.
Afterwards we all enjoyed drinks, snack and inspired talks.
The evening went on and on. Nobody wanted to leave!
Two Mongolian and one Croatian team member also arrived in Den Haag for a week of Dutch Peace Running.
Tijn and Adelheid taking a selfie together. Thank you both for uplifting our hearts and spirits with your amazing presences!
