‘TOGETHER FOR A BETTER WORLD’ – PRESS REPORT, ODENWÄLDER ECHO, 23.07.2015

YOUTH EXCHANGE – Ayudh Community Impress Again with International Meeting in Kirchbrombach Press-report Odenwälder Echo (http://www.echo-online.de/lokales/odenwaldkreis/brombachtal/gemeinschaftsgeist- fuer-friedliche-welt_15892894.htm), 15.07.2015 Kirchbormbach – Youth from all over the world gather in the municipality of Brombachtal in Odenwald. It is a hot morning in the big riding hall of Hof Herrenberg in Kirchbrombach. Approximately a hundred young people sit in front of a large stage, most of them on the oor. All are barefoot. Many wear a T-shirt with this year’s theme of the exchange ‘Together We Can.’ Some are drinking ‘chai’ – a beverage of black tea, milk, sugar and a mix of Indian spices. They are waiting for the two speakers of the day.

It is the eleventh time that the annual week-long gathering of the international youth movement ‘AYUDH’ has been hosted by the Hof. A total of 250 young people aged 15 to 30 years from twenty countries participated – coming from as far as Costa Rica, Thailand, India and the Ukraine. The common language of the camp is English; and presentations are simultaneously translated into German, French, Italian and Spanish by a few volunteers. Peace Champions are in Demand AYUDH aims to enable young people to become compassionate leaders for a peaceful future. The programmes are designed to help the youth to discover their own creative potential, to gain self-con dence and to share their ideas on how to make the world a better place. Each day during this youth week a lecture is scheduled, today there are two. The session is moderated by Andreas Nath Hirsch, the head of Ayudh Europe. The first speaker is Rabbi Shai Mosche Piron, a Rabbi, educator and politician from Israel. He is a member of the Knesset and was the secretary of education in Israel from March 2013 to December 2014. ‘Education’ is a topic close to his heart and he spoke about how he would like the education system in his home country to adopt a Montessori style pedagogy. With emotion and animation, he told stories of moving experiences with disabled children, who found their place in life. At the end he took his guitar and taught a traditional Israeli song with actions about building bridges to those present. The second speaker was Adi Altschuler who is also from Israel and works closely with Shai Piron. She is a young, contemporary businesswoman, committed to social responsibility who was named by Time-Life Magazine in 2014 as ‘Leader for the Next Generation’. Encounter with ‘Amma’ a Milestone After an encounter with ‘Amma’ she was so impressed that in 2002, at age 16, she founded the nationwide active youth movement ‘Krembo Wings’. ‘Normal’ young people are inspired to meet with physically and mentally disabled peers and talk, play and make music together. The results are two-fold: some learn to assume responsibility and to develop compassion and understanding, and others learn to see themselves as an equivalent part of society. The office of the M.A. Center has been located at Hof Herrenberg since 2005, the two letters standing for the initials of Mata Amritanandamayi. The now 62 year-old Indian lady, who is commonly called ‘Amma’ (mother), has dedicated her life to the relief of the su ering of the poor and disabled by hugging and consoling them. ‘Embracing the world’ is the name of the network founded by her that became a major non-governmental organization with consultative status to the UN. It is not just that she only hugs the people who come to her, but Amma also inspires them to support the basic needs of all those who cannot help themselves, by helping provide access to food, shelter, health and education. The youth organization AYUDH is part of this global network. A big picture of ‘Amma’ is standing next to the stage, framed by owers, candles and small flags of twenty countries.