April 7, 2007

Fifth annual Carry the Vision Community Nonviolence conference on April 21

Yolanda King, eldest daughter of the legendary civil rights leader, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., will be one of the keynote speakers at the annual Carry the Vision Community Nonviolence Conference at Evergreen Valley College in San Jose on Saturday, April 21.

Founder and CEO of Higher Ground Productions, Yolanda King has been an advocate for human rights and peace all of her life.  With a goal to educate, empower and entertain, she hopes to "inspire individuals to passionately create peace in their own lives, thereby encouraging the same within their families, communities and across the globe."

Joining King as the afternoon keynote speaker will be Azim Khamisa, author of Azim's Bardo - From Murder to Forgiveness - A Father's Journey. Khamisa will share the story of how through forgiveness he transformed the grief of losing his son into powerful social action.                                        

Now in its fifth year, the daylong conference on nonviolence honors the legacies of Mahatma Gandhi, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Cesar Chavez and demonstrates the power of nonviolence to transform lives.

The conference is sponsored by Vice Mayor Dave Cortese's office, the Center for Spiritual Enlightenment, City Year, Evergreen Valley College, and the San Jose Sikh Gurdwara. With an anticipated attendance of more than 800 people, the conference is intended to provide practical ways to inspire participants to choose nonviolent methods to resolve conflicts and deal with issues in their everyday lives.

"We are living in unprecedented times. Quantum leaps in science are changing the way we see the world, while technology is changing the way we live in it," said Rev. Ellen Grace O'Brian of the Center for Spiritual Enlightenment. "Yet through all this progress, our faculties of understanding and wisdom are lagging behind," she added. "We are in need of a radical technology-a spiritual 'technology of the heart'- if we are to answer the crucial moral and humanitarian questions that we face and meet the challenges that confront us at this unique time in history."

A Youth Leadership Summit will take place in the heart of this year's Community Nonviolence Conference, where a diverse group of youth (17-25) will explore their vision of the future and discover how the principles and practices of nonviolence can be applied to create a visionary model for 21st century leadership in the community and the world.

The Youth Leadership Summit coincides with City Year's National Youth Service Day, where approximately 400 youth will work on a variety of service projects in District 8 of San Jose after participating in the conference's morning procession.

Selected Youth Leadership Summit delegates will also attend the once-in-a-lifetime pre-conference Season for Nonviolence 10th Anniversary Living Legends of Nonviolence National Conference on Friday, April 20.

Workshops and panel discussions comprised of local community leaders will focus on nonviolence principles in the areas of family, community or the world. Each person attending will have an opportunity to make a commitment to a "simple but profound act" that they agree to carry out as a way to promote nonviolence.

This event is part of A Season for Nonviolence, an annual 64-day grassroots effort from Jan. 30 to April 4 designed to educate and inspire people all over the world about the teachings of nonviolence. For more information on the Season, visit the Association for Global New Thought Website.

Cost of the conference is $25 in advance, $30 at the door for adults and $10 for students, which includes lunch donated by the San Jose Sikh community. Onsite daycare will also be available through the YMCA. For more information or to register for the conference online, visit the Website www.carrythevision.org.