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Thousands Are Running for International Friendship
In front of the Colosseum in Rome, Italy, the European leg of the World Harmony Run began recently, and in coming months over a million people will be involved in the worldwide, Olympic-style torch relay for international friendship.
The Run, dedicated towards a more peaceful world, received a running start in the Italian capital through the participation of Africa’s first New York marathon champion, Tegla Loroupe, at an opening ceremony hosted by the UN FAO:
“For FAO, the twinning together of sports and development is a long standing tradition” said FAO Deputy Director-General, James Butler, commenting that “sports events such as this are an excellent way to help raise awareness.”
The World Harmony Run was founded two decades ago by spiritual leader Sri Chinmoy, and is described as a grass-roots initiative to foster “humanity’s collective dreams for a more harmonious world.” In recognition of his contributions towards a more fulfilling world, founder Sri Chinmoy was a recipient of the UNESCO Nehru Medallion.
During the course of its 24,000km, globe-spanning route, the Run will visit schools, community groups and civic leaders, taking a message of global harmony by foot wherever it travels. Event organiser Stefano Cenni, wearing running shoes himself, described the Run as “a bid to demonstrate that the world is one family for which peace and harmony are essential to its survival.”
The European leg of the Run will finish, 5 months and 100–150km a day later, in Prague on 6 October 2008.
News from the road: www.worldharmonyrun.org
