The Sangyan - द संज्ञान

17/10/2026

International Day of the Intangible Cultural Heritage

Living heritage connects generations through knowledge, skills and practices that shape how we understand ourselves and relate to the world around us. From India’s diverse knowledge traditions to Indigenous and local knowledge worldwide, it offers insights into living with nature, sustaining communities and reimagining our shared civilizational future.

Culture is both a living legacy and a resource for a more sustainable future. Safeguarding it means supporting the people, practices and knowledge that keep it alive, evolving and relevant.

exists because people keep it alive.

Across all regions, bearers, practitioners, civil society organisations, cultural and academic institutions and national and local authorities are working together to safeguard, transmit and celebrate living heritage.

Today, 185 countries are parties to the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage. Its Lists and Register now include 849 elements, including more than 100 multinational elements involving 117 countries.

Passed down from generation to generation, these traditions and practices provide communities with a sense of continuity and belonging.

On the International Day of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, UNESCO recognises and celebrates the living heritage present in our communities and beyond: the knowledge, practices, craftsmanship, foodways, rituals, performing arts and social customs that connect people across generations and cultures.

🔗 https://www.unesco.org/en/days/intangible-heritage

15/10/2026

Practical Inclusion | Post 19 [Repost from Nidhi Jain's LinkedIn Post]

Inclusion becomes truly meaningful when accessibility is built in from the beginning—not added later.

For today’s Practical Inclusion feature, Adv. Abhishek Kumar, Founder of The Sangyan - द संज्ञान, Lawyer, Environmental Researcher and Disability Rights Advocate, shares an important perspective:

Design for accessibility from day one.
Embed universal accessibility into every decision, design, policy, and space—not as an accommodation, but as the default.

Why it matters:
Accessibility is more than compliance. It creates opportunities for participation, independence, resilience, and innovation.

When inclusion becomes part of the culture, we move closer to a future where everyone can participate meaningfully and belong.

Takeaway:
Design for all from the start.
Inclusion is a culture that builds a better future where we all belong.

What would change if we designed every space with everyone in mind?

[Nidhi Jain is Founder & Director at Pinch of Parenting]

LinkedIn Post Link: https://lnkd.in/p/dsN3K94x

Textual Content from the Poster —

ONE PRACTICAL STRATEGY FOR INCLUSION: Embed universal accessibility -for its curb-cut effect - into every decision, design, policy, and space from the very beginning, not as an accommodation but as the default.

WHY IT MATTERS: Universal accessibility is a force multiplier — it turns inclusion from a compliance obligation into a catalyst for participation, resilience, and innovation. Inclusion and sustainability are inseparable and indispensable civilizational imperatives, essential to building forward better, where we all belong. Accessibility is sine qua non for agency, freedom, and intergenerational equity and justice, empowering everyone to participate meaningfully. But this holds only if inclusion is lived as a culture, not confined to strategies and policies. Seen this way, investing in accessibility is investing in equality, justice, and intergenerational equity - a return that leaves no one behind.

TAKEAWAY: Design for all from the start. Inclusion is a culture that builds a better future where we all belong.

Alt Text (Visual/Image Description): Practical Inclusion feature highlighting Adv. Abhishek Kumar, Founder of The Sangyan, Lawyer, Environmental Researcher and Disability Rights Advocate. He advocates embedding universal accessibility into decisions, designs, policies, and spaces from the beginning. Textual Content from the poster — ONE PRACTICAL STRATEGY FOR INCLUSION: "Embed universal accessibility -for its curb-cut effect - into every decision, design, policy, and space from the very beginning, not as an accommodation but as the default."; WHY IT MATTERS: "Universal accessibility is a force multiplier — it turns inclusion from a compliance obligation into a catalyst for participation, resilience, and innovation. Inclusion and sustainability are inseparable and indispensable civilizational imperatives, essential to building forward better, where we all belong. Accessibility is sine qua non for agency, freedom, and intergenerational equity and justice, empowering everyone to participate meaningfully. But this holds only if inclusion is lived as a culture, not confined to strategies and policies. Seen this way, investing in accessibility is investing in equality, justice, and intergenerational equity - a return that leaves no one behind."; and TAKEAWAY: "Design for all from the start. Inclusion is a culture that builds a better future where we all belong." At the footer is the campaign slogan: "Small actions. Big impact. Inclusive futures."

13/10/2026

International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction 2026 | If resilience starts at home, accessibility must start there too.

Resilience is often measured by what a community can withstand. But perhaps we must also ask: who can remain safe, access support, recover with dignity, and participate in shaping what comes next?

A house may withstand a storm and still fail the person who cannot evacuate it. A warning may be issued and still fail the person who cannot access its format. A recovery programme may restore infrastructure while leaving the barriers that existed before the disaster untouched. This is why resilience cannot be reduced to stronger buildings, better equipment or more comprehensive plans. These matter, but so do the social arrangements, public institutions and collective choices that determine whose safety is anticipated, whose knowledge is valued and whose needs receive resources.

The theme 'Resilience Starts at Home' invites us to begin with the places where risk is first experienced, and preparedness becomes personal. Yet the responsibility cannot end at the household door. Homes depend on accessible infrastructure, reliable public services, inclusive information, responsive institutions and communities able to influence the decisions that shape their futures.

Disability inclusion brings this interdependence into sharper focus. It asks us to move beyond treating persons with disabilities solely as recipients of protection and recognise them as rights-holders, knowledge-bearers and participants in building resilience.

Our campaign has been guided by two questions: Bhule Toh Nahi? and What’s Your Plan? Their significance lies not in asking them once, but in making them part of how we remember, govern, invest, design and evaluate. Remembering without institutional learning risks reproducing exclusion. Planning without participation risks designing it into the future. And resilience without accessibility risks leaving people unsafe in the very systems meant to protect them.

On this International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction, Build Forward Better is therefore not simply a call to rebuild after disaster. It is a commitment to question what we restore, whose realities inform what we build, and whether the future we prepare for is genuinely accessible to everyone.

This concludes the ongoing sequence of our campaign, not the work itself. The questions remain relevant long after the observance: in our homes, schools, shelters, public infrastructure, climate policies and disaster management institutions. The measure of a resilient society is not merely how well it recovers from disruption, but whether it uses that recovery to make exclusion less likely the next time. Let's Build Forward Better, where We All Belong.

Through Bhule Toh Nahi?, we have asked what disaster preparedness must remember and learn from. Through What’s Your Plan?, we have questioned whether that learning translates into inclusive decisions, resources and action. These questions converge in a shared responsibility: to build systems in which accessibility is anticipated, participation is meaningful, and resilience does not depend on whose needs happen to have been considered.

The campaign shall continue moving from these foundational questions towards deeper explorations of disability-inclusive climate action and disaster risk reduction. Because the objective is not simply to remember exclusion, acknowledge it or promise to address it. It is to change the conditions that reproduce it. Remember what has been overlooked. Plan for everyone. Build forward better.

Bhule Toh Nahi and What’s Your Plan? — A series under The Sangyan - द संज्ञान’s Build Forward Better campaign advancing disability-inclusive climate action and disaster risk reduction.

Abhishek Kumar | The Sangyan - द संज्ञान

Alt text (Visual/Image Description) —

Poster (Image 1): Square watercolour poster illustrating disaster resilience through a transition from storm clouds to a sunrise over a community. Headline reads “Build Forward Better: Together, for a Safe, Inclusive and Climate-Resilient Tomorrow.” Three signboards introduce “Bhule Toh Nahi? — Have we forgotten?”, “What’s Your Plan? — Are we planning for everyone?” and “Build Forward Better — Let’s create change together.” A house-shaped outline frames the message “Remember • Plan • Act” and “Because a resilient community includes everyone.” A checklist highlights accessible infrastructure, inclusive early warnings, disaster-ready communities, climate-resilient and sustainable solutions, and leaving no one behind. A diverse group, including a wheelchair user, stands together before the community. The footer credits The Sangyan’s disability-inclusive climate action and disaster risk reduction campaign and carries , and . Four logos (The Sangyan, Project Saralikarana, SDG Infinity Loop & the Build Forward Better campaign) appear across the top.

Infographic (Image 2): Square watercolour infographic for The Sangyan’s disability-inclusive climate action and disaster risk reduction campaign. The headline reads “Disability-Inclusive Climate Action & Disaster Risk Reduction: Remember the Gaps. Plan for Everyone.” Two panels connect the series: “Bhule Toh Nahi? — Have we forgotten?” illustrates inaccessible shelters, inaccessible warnings and relief lacking essential assistive devices; “What’s Your Plan? — Are we planning for everyone?” highlights accessible warnings and evacuation, universal design, and participation of persons with disabilities in decision-making. An arrow connects the panels, followed by “Remember → Plan → Change” and “Build Forward Better.” Below, a diverse community approaches an accessible shelter with ramps and tactile paving. The footer reads “ | | .” Four logos (The Sangyan, Project Saralikarana, SDG Infinity Loop, and the Build Forward Better campaign) appear across the top.

12/10/2026

What’s Your Plan? What's our plan going forward?

From awareness to responsibility, resources and implementation. Inclusion is not established by intention. It is demonstrated by implementation.

A disaster management plan may exist on paper. An evacuation drill may take place. A shelter may be designated. A climate education programme may be delivered. But a plan's existence does not mean everyone can access, understand, or act on it. The real test of preparedness lies in the details: whether warnings are accessible across different communication needs; whether evacuation procedures account for diverse mobility requirements; whether shelters and sanitation facilities are usable; whether assistive devices are considered in emergency planning; and whether persons with disabilities participate meaningfully in decisions that affect their safety and well-being.

These are not separate considerations to be added once the principal plan is complete. They are essential questions for the design, budgeting, implementation and evaluation of preparedness itself. Nor can responsibility rest solely with persons with disabilities or their families to navigate systems that were not designed with them in mind. Governments, disaster management authorities, educational institutions, infrastructure planners and communities all have roles to play.

What’s Your Plan? is therefore not simply a question about whether a plan exists. It asks whether the plan is adequately resourced, practically usable, informed by lived experience, universally accessible, and accountable for its outcomes.

As we approach International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction 2026, we must move beyond acknowledging that no one should be left behind. We must examine the decisions, investments and institutional practices required to make that commitment real. Preparedness is measured not by how comprehensive a plan appears, but by whether people can use it when it matters. Inclusion must be planned, funded, implemented, and tested before the emergency.

What’s Your Plan? — A series under The Sangyan - द संज्ञान’s Build Forward Better campaign. Abhishek Kumar

Textual Content in the Infographic —

1. What’s Your Plan . . . For the next flood if the alert isn’t screen-reader friendly?
2. What’s Your Plan . . . When a cyclone knocks, but the shelter is not universally accessible?
3. What’s Your Plan . . . If the evacuation drill at schools excludes children with disabilities?
4. What’s Your Plan . . . For retrofitting public infrastructure with universal design?
5. What’s Your Plan . . . To include disabled voices in disaster and climate committees?
6. What’s Your Plan . . . To teach children about climate education in an inclusive way?

[Note: This is an illustrative list and not an exhaustive one.]

Alt text (Visual/Image Description): Square poster for The Sangyan’s disability-inclusive climate action and disaster risk reduction campaign. A light grey background features faint illustrations of accessibility, nature and disaster preparedness. Five logos (The Sangyan, Project Saralikarana, Infinity Loop: Inclusion X Sustainability, SDG Infinity Loop, and the Build Forward Better campaign) appear across the top. The title “WHAT’S YOUR PLAN” runs vertically along the left in blue and purple. Six questions in dark red text challenge exclusion in disaster planning: flood alerts inaccessible to screen readers; cyclone shelters that are not universally accessible; school evacuation drills that exclude children with disabilities; retrofitting public infrastructure with universal design; including the voices of persons with disabilities in disaster committees; and teaching climate education inclusively. The footer reads “ .”

11/10/2026

Bhule Toh Nahi? — Have We Forgotten?

Forgetting is not always the absence of memory. Sometimes, it is the failure to learn.

A disaster exposes vulnerabilities, but it also exposes the assumptions embedded in the systems meant to protect us. When shelters remain inaccessible, warnings fail to reach everyone, or relief systems overlook assistive devices, the problem extends beyond an isolated oversight. It raises questions about whose experiences informed preparedness, whose needs were anticipated, and whose exclusion was treated as acceptable.

There is a difference between remembering that a disaster occurred and learning why its consequences were unequal. For persons with disabilities, exclusion can recur when lessons from previous emergencies are not translated into accessible infrastructure, inclusive communication, appropriate relief, meaningful participation and institutional change.

This is why Bhule Toh Nahi? — Have We Forgotten? is more than a question about memory. It is a question about collective responsibility. Have we documented the barriers? Have we listened to those who experienced them? Have we changed the systems that produced them? And are we holding ourselves accountable for what remains unchanged? The purpose of remembering is not to remain trapped in the past. It is to prevent avoidable exclusion from being reproduced in the future.

As we approach International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction 2026, let us recognise that preparedness must be informed not only by hazard assessments, but also by the lived experiences of people who encounter barriers before, during and after disasters. A lesson not translated into change is a lesson at risk of being forgotten again.

Bhule Toh Nahi? — A series under The Sangyan - द संज्ञान’s Build Forward Better campaign.

Textual Content in the Infographic —

1. Bhule Toh Nahi . . . Ki cyclone shelters had stairs but no accessible ramps?
2. Bhule Toh Nahi . . . That sign language interpreters were missing from flood alerts?
3. Bhule Toh Nahi . . . That inaccessible toilets turn relief camps into nightmares?
4. Bhule Toh Nahi . . . That warning sirens don’t help deaf communities?
5. Bhule Toh Nahi . . . That relief kits hardly included assistive aids and devices?
6. Bhule Toh Nahi . . . That visual maps in shelters excluded tactile and audio guides?

[Note: This is an illustrative list and not an exhaustive one.]

Alt text (Visual/Image Description): Square poster for The Sangyan’s disability-inclusive climate action and disaster risk reduction campaign. A light grey background features faint illustrations of accessibility, nature and disaster preparedness. Five logos (The Sangyan, Project Saralikarana, Infinity Loop: Inclusion X Sustainability, SDG Infinity Loop, and the Build Forward Better campaign) appear across the top. The title “BHULE TOH NAHI” runs vertically along the left in purple and blue. Six questions in dark red text highlight forgotten accessibility needs: cyclone shelters with stairs but no accessible ramps; flood alerts without sign-language interpreters; inaccessible toilets in relief camps; warning sirens that do not reach Deaf communities; relief kits lacking assistive aids and devices; and shelter maps without tactile or audio guidance. The footer reads “ .”

11/10/2026

World Mental Health Day 2026 | 10 October

For persons with disabilities and vulnerable communities, climate anxiety is compounded by accessibility anxiety: Will I receive the warning, evacuate safely, access essential services, or be left behind? Disaster risk reduction and climate action must address not only the hazard, but also the exclusion that turns a climate emergency into a crisis of mental well-being, agency, and dignity. This World Mental Health Day, let's remember that Accessibility is not an afterthought to resilience. It is a precondition for feeling safe. Build Forward Better, where We All Belong.

Without Universal Accessibility, Inclusive Climate Action and Disaster Risk Reduction Fail!

10/10/2026

Build Forward, Together! Disaster risk is shaped not only by the hazards we face, but also by the choices we make before they arrive.

Who gets consulted when a disaster plan is drafted? Whose needs inform the design of an emergency shelter? Whose access to information is considered when an early warning system is developed? And whose experiences are missing from the lessons we carry forward? These questions matter because exclusion is not always inevitable. Often, it reflects decisions about planning, investment, infrastructure and whose needs are considered from the outset.

As we approach International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction 2026, The Sangyan kickstarts a campaign grounded in a simple proposition: disability inclusion must be integral to disaster risk reduction and climate action, not an afterthought.

Through Bhule Toh Nahi? and What’s Your Plan?, we shall examine the gaps that preparedness must confront and the responsibilities that inclusive planning demands. This is not only about protecting persons with disabilities during disasters and climate crises. It is also about recognising their knowledge, agency and participation in shaping the systems intended to protect everyone.

Our approach is informed by a wider principle: universal accessibility is not a concession to a few. It can strengthen preparedness, improve public systems and make communities more resilient for all (Curb Cut Effect).

As the world observes International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction 2026 under the theme “Resilience Starts at Home,” let us also ask what it takes to make resilience accessible, equitable and genuinely inclusive. The work of building resilience begins long before a disaster or climate emergency. So must inclusion.

A campaign by The Sangyan - द संज्ञान under Build Forward Better.



Alt text (Visual/Image Description): A square, watercolour-style campaign poster by The Sangyan featuring a flood-prone coastal community at sunrise, with a diverse group of people, including a wheelchair user, looking towards the settlement. The headline reads, “Before we build forward, what must we remember?” The poster introduces two campaign series: “Bhule Toh Nahi? — What have we forgotten?” and “What’s Your Plan? — What are we planning for?” It highlights how inaccessible warnings, shelters, evacuation plans and relief supplies can exclude persons with disabilities. The central commitment is “Two questions. One commitment. Build Forward Better.” The poster identifies the initiative as a disability-inclusive climate action and disaster risk reduction campaign by The Sangyan. Hashtags: , and . At the top are the logos of The Sangyan, SDG Infinity Loop, and the Build Forward Better campaign.

04/10/2026

Call by Young People for a New Culture of Peace in the Minds of Women and Men for the 21st Century 🇺🇳🕊️🏛️

Sharing the Call by Young People for a New Culture of Peace in the Minds of Women and Men for the 21st Century, collectively developed by 145 young people from 135 Member States and Associate Members, the same youth cohort brought together through the 14th UNESCO Youth Forum in Samarkand in 2025, and subsequently engaged through the UNESCO80 youth-led consultation.

This Call forms part of a larger process of youth reflection and consultation on the future of UNESCO’s contribution to peace. Following the 14th UNESCO Youth Forum, we contributed to the Reflection Document and the wider consultation process that informed the Implementation of the UNESCO80 Roadmap: Outcomes of the consultations with the young leaders of the 14th UNESCO Youth Forum, before developing this Call as a further collective contribution at UNESCO’s 80th anniversary.

The Call builds on UNESCO’s founding conviction that the defences of peace must be constructed in the minds of women and men, and translates this into seven areas for sustained action: youth partnership in decision-making; education as a first line of defence against hatred and division; memory and culture as bridges for mutual understanding; Open Science and access to knowledge; the integrity of information; ethical governance of AI; and safeguarding education, sciences, culture, communication and information in times of crisis and conflict.

I had the opportunity to contribute to this collective process through written inputs, consultations and deliberations. Subsequently, I served as the Asia-Pacific Youth Focal Point in developing the Reflection Document and Call.

On 3 September 2026, at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, I had the privilege of co-presenting this collective Call alongside 10 fellow Youth Focal Points from different regions, bringing the voices and recommendations of young people into dialogue with UNESCO leadership, decision-makers and the wider UNESCO community.

The Call speaks directly to several areas I have been exploring through my work and engagement, including inclusive education, culture, ethical AI governance, information integrity and meaningful youth participation. It calls for young people to be recognised not merely as passive stakeholders, but as active partners in shaping the policies and systems that affect their lives.

I am deeply grateful to everyone who contributed to this collective process, especially the UNESCO Youth Forum Secretariat, my fellow Youth Focal Points, and the 145 young leaders from 135 Member States and Associate Members whose diverse perspectives, experiences and ideas shaped these collective outcomes.

As the Call concludes: “Together, we call for a new culture of peace for the 21st century: one that we build across generations, make a reality in our time, and pass on to those who come after us.”

I am pleased to share the document here as a collective contribution of young people to UNESCO @80 — a Call not only to reflect on peace, but to continue building it, together and across generations.

From many voices, one Call. From reflection, towards action. 🕊️🇺🇳🏛️

References and Related Documents:

1. Young Leaders Call for a New Culture of Peace [UNESCO News Article]
https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/young-leaders-call-new-culture-peace?hub=200006

2. Implementation of the UNESCO80 Roadmap: Outcomes of the consultations with the young leaders of the 14th UNESCO Youth Forum [UNESCO | 225th Executive Board | 225 EX/16.INF.3 | 2026]
https://unesdoc.unesco.org/notice?id=p::usmarcdef_0000399330

https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000399330?posInSet=2&queryId=fbf1da85-3f5b-4469-8195-e219d2937c30&fbclid=PAdGRleAUPvptwZG9mAmZkaWQWUOIf8TUCwUpyePPrB1soTldNUeWMvGV4dG4DYWVtAjExAHNydGMGYXBwX2lkDzEyNDAyNDU3NDI4NzQxNAABp4x_t9uZO5ZhNTHd5Wrr7x2Cvi-MS3LgVENw940KxLmFaej41eKWrwxLdKN-_aem_hSzmCO6B7U1mT0lst3rrSA

3. Call by Young People for a New Culture of Peace in the Minds of Women and Men for the 21st Century https://www.unesco.org/sites/default/files/medias/fichiers/2026/09/FINAL%20-%20Call%20by%20Young%20People%20for%20a%20New%20Culture%20of%20Peace%20-cover.pdf?hub=249440

Alt Text (Visual/Image Description) —

Image 1: Cover page of the document titled “Call by Young People for a New Culture of Peace in the Minds of Women and Men for the 21st Century.” The document is dated Paris, 3 September 2026. The title appears prominently on the page, introducing a youth-led call connected with UNESCO’s 80th anniversary.

Image 2: Page 1 of the Call by Young People for a New Culture of Peace. It introduces 145 youth leaders from 135 UNESCO Member States and Associate Members, brought together through the UNESCO 14th Youth Forum and UNESCO’s 80th anniversary. It discusses contemporary threats to peace, including structural violence, displacement, the planetary crisis, inequality, declining trust, misinformation, polarisation and division. It emphasises social cohesion, intergenerational solidarity and the role of young people, and begins the first action area: embedding youth partnership in decision-making through meaningful representation, participation and follow-up.

Image 3: Page 2 continues the Call with seven proposed areas of action. It emphasises supporting existing youth-led initiatives, particularly those involving marginalised and underserved communities. It presents education as a first line of defence against hatred and division, calling for media and information literacy, digital citizenship, social and emotional learning, civic education and constructive dialogue. It then discusses using memory and culture as bridges for mutual understanding, including evidence-based teaching of history, protection of cultural heritage and Indigenous knowledge systems, and youth participation through oral history, mediation and digital initiatives.

Image 4: Page 3 covers three further areas of action. It calls for Open Science and access to knowledge as pillars for peace, addressing financial, technological and linguistic barriers and strengthening equitable participation in scientific collaboration. It then addresses information integrity, highlighting disinformation, the digital divide, accessible information, community fact-checking, local-language journalism and protection of journalists. The page concludes with recommendations for ethical artificial intelligence governance, including safeguards against bias and discrimination, transparency, diverse participation and meaningful youth involvement in shaping AI policies and systems.

Image 5: Page 4 concludes the Call with recommendations on youth and artificial intelligence, emphasising AI literacy, youth rights, safety, agency, equitable access and employment. The seventh action area calls for safeguarding education, sciences, culture, communication and information during conflict and crisis, including continuity of learning, recognition of displaced students’ qualifications and support for researchers and knowledge holders. The “Looking Ahead” section calls for transparent follow-up and continued youth participation. It concludes with a collective call to build a new culture of peace across generations and make it a lived reality for the future.

04/10/2026

22/09/2026

UNESCO @80 | From Reflection to a Call for a New Culture of Peace 🇺🇳🏛️🕊️

“चूँकि युद्ध लोगों के मन में शुरू होते हैं, लोगों के मन में ही शान्ति के दुर्ग खड़े करने होंगे। Since wars begin in the minds of men, it is in the minds of men that the defences of peace must be constructed.” — Preamble to the Constitution of UNESCO

This very idea, which I read at UNESCO Headquarters, stayed with me as I reflected on my experience of UNESCO @80 in Paris.

Eighty years after UNESCO placed the construction of peace in the minds of women and men at the heart of its Constitution, I had the privilege of serving as the Asia-Pacific Youth Focal Point in the youth-led consultation on the future of UNESCO’s contribution to peace. Together with 145 young people from 135 UNESCO Member States and Associate Members, we reflected on UNESCO’s mandate and collectively shaped the Young People’s Reflection Document and the Call by Young People for a New Culture of Peace in the Minds of Women and Men for the 21st Century.

For me, this was also a continuation of a journey that began with representing India 🇮🇳 Bhārat at the 14th UNESCO Youth Forum 2025 in Samarkand. I contributed to the Reflection Document through written inputs and online consultations and, later, as the Asia-Pacific Focal Point, carried that process into the final drafting and collective deliberations. This culminated in the Online Restitution on 31 August 2026, followed by the presentation of our collective work at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris on 3 September and at La Fabrique de la Diplomatie, hosted by Université Sorbonne Nouvelle, on 4 September 2026, in the presence of H.E. Khaled El-Enany, Director-General of UNESCO and H.E. Jean-Noël Barrot, Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs of France, among other dignitaries and stakeholders.

Together, 11 Youth Focal Points from different regions brought the collective Reflection Document and Call into dialogue with decision-makers and the wider UNESCO community.

One moment I will especially remember was the question posed by Minister Barrot during the UNESCO Headquarters presentation: “AI and new technologies can introduce biases into the information we receive, and may even amplify the spread of divisive or conflict-inciting content. How can we strengthen more ethical governance of AI?”

My response began with a simple proposition: AI and new technologies can be both a threat and a force multiplier. They can bridge gaps or deepen inequalities; they can contribute to conflict or to peace. We therefore need not only AI regulation, but ethical AI governance that leaves no one behind. For me, this means moving from principles to implementation, protecting information integrity while safeguarding freedom of expression, ensuring inclusion across languages, cultures, and contexts, and moving from “AI for young people” to “AI with young people.”

That exchange also brought me back to what meaningful youth engagement should really mean. A youth consultation should not end with a document. It should create space for young people to question, deliberate, engage with decision-makers and contribute to shaping the conversations that define our shared future. Our Reflection Document itself calls for moving from consultation towards systematic partnership and co-decision, with transparent follow-up to build trust and impact.

Young people are not asking merely to be heard. We are asking to be trusted as partners in reflection, dialogue, decision-making and building the future.

I am deeply grateful to the UNESCO Youth Forum Secretariat, my fellow Youth Focal Points, the 145 young leaders from 135 countries, the Permanent Delegation of France to UNESCO, and everyone who created and sustained the space for this collective journey.

Standing at UNESCO Headquarters and seeing our collective work presented was a memorable moment, but it was not the destination. The Call by Young People has now been published and will be taken forward for consideration by UNESCO’s Member States. The work therefore continues. The question is no longer simply whether young people have spoken, but what we will build with what they have said.

Eighty years on, the idea that peace must be built in minds continues to resonate deeply. For me, it also finds a beautiful resonance in Maithreem Bhajata (मैत्रीं भजत), the Sanskrit hymn composed by Jagadguru Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswati of Kanchi and rendered by Bharat Ratna M.S. Subbulakshmi and Dr. Radha Viswanathan at the United Nations on the occasion of United Nations Day:

मैत्रीं भजत अखिलहृज्जेत्रीम् । Cultivate friendship with all.
श्रेयो भूयात् सकलजनानाम् ॥ May all people be happy and prosperous.

Perhaps building a culture of peace ultimately asks of us not merely the absence of conflict, but the cultivation of friendship, dialogue, dignity, compassion and mutual understanding, along with a shared responsibility for our common future.

I remain hopeful that our collective efforts will translate into meaningful and sustainable change. Like the squirrel in the Rāmāyaṇa that contributed its small but meaningful share towards building the Śrī Rāmasetu, I hope to continue making my own modest contribution towards building forward a peaceful and sustainable world where we all belong.

I share this moment with ultimate gratitude to Maa Saraswati, Mother Goddess of knowledge, wisdom, speech, the arts and supreme consciousness; to Guru-Kṛpā, the blessings and guidance of the Gurus; and to everyone who has been part of this evolutionary journey over the years.

From reflection to dialogue, from dialogue to action, and from many voices to a shared Call for peace.

Dhanyawād!

— Adv. Abhishek Kumar - The Sangyan - द संज्ञान | Youth Delegate representing India 🇮🇳 Bhārat at the 14th Edition of the UNESCO Youth Forum 2025 in Samarkand (Uzbekistan) and Asia-Pacific Youth Focal Point, UNESCO @80

References and Related Documents:

1. Young Leaders Call for a New Culture of Peace [UNESCO News Article]
https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/young-leaders-call-new-culture-peace?hub=200006

2. Implementation of the UNESCO80 Roadmap: Outcomes of the consultations with the young leaders of the 14th UNESCO Youth Forum [UNESCO | 225th Executive Board | 225 EX/16.INF.3 | 2026]
https://unesdoc.unesco.org/notice?id=p::usmarcdef_0000399330

https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000399330?posInSet=2&queryId=fbf1da85-3f5b-4469-8195-e219d2937c30&fbclid=PAdGRleAUPvptwZG9mAmZkaWQWUOIf8TUCwUpyePPrB1soTldNUeWMvGV4dG4DYWVtAjExAHNydGMGYXBwX2lkDzEyNDAyNDU3NDI4NzQxNAABp4x_t9uZO5ZhNTHd5Wrr7x2Cvi-MS3LgVENw940KxLmFaej41eKWrwxLdKN-_aem_hSzmCO6B7U1mT0lst3rrSA

3. Call by Young People for a New Culture of Peace in the Minds of Women and Men for the 21st Century https://www.unesco.org/sites/default/files/medias/fichiers/2026/09/FINAL%20-%20Call%20by%20Young%20People%20for%20a%20New%20Culture%20of%20Peace%20-cover.pdf?hub=249440

Alt Text [Visual/Image Description]: Collage of four group photos arranged in a 2x2 grid over a background of the Paris skyline and Eiffel Tower. The images show diverse young leaders (Youth Focal Points) posing with UNESCO Director-General H.E. Khaled El-Enany, French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs H.E. Jean-Noël Barrot, members of the UNESCO Youth Forum Secretariat, and other UNESCO staff and dignitaries. Top-left: formal group in a wood-panelled conference room at UNESCO Headquarters in front of a screen about building a new culture of peace. Top-right: group on stage under a large “la FABRIQUE de la DIPLOMATIE” screen. Bottom-left: casual smiling selfie-style group photo in front of blue UNESCO banners. Bottom-right: formal outdoor group photo in front of a blue UNESCO step-and-repeat backdrop.

Complete Blog — Highlights and reflections from the ‘Implementation of the UNESCO80 Roadmap: Outcomes of the consultations with the young leaders of the 14th UNESCO Youth Forum’ in Paris (September 2026) https://sangyan.medium.com/unesco-80-from-reflection-to-a-call-for-a-new-culture-of-peace-%EF%B8%8F-%EF%B8%8F-a28d6e6cbe5a