AoL trains Iraq's Kurdish MPs in leadership

Bangalore, June 28 (IANS) The Art of Living Foundation (AoL) has imparted leadership training and peace-building initiatives to 35 members of parliament at Arbil in Kurdistan of war-torn northern Iraq this week, the foundation said Saturday.

AoL's two faculty members Christoph Glaser and Mawahib Shaibani and its sister organisation International Association for Human Values conducted the training as part of the foundation's peace mission.

"The parliamentarians found the training programme beneficial, as they were able to interact and work together despite representing four different political parties in Kurdistan," the foundation said in a statement, quoting some of the participants.

The three-day programme concluded Friday with AoL founder and spiritual guru Ravi Shankar addressing the parliamentarians through video-conferencing from here on Skype call.

"As the third party caught up in the Iraqi conflict, Kurds can play a major role in turning around the situation," Ravi Shankar said in his address to the participants.

The MPs also invited Ravi Shankar to visit Iraq to build bridges among the sectarian communities.

The foundation has contributed to rebuilding a war-torn Iraq over the last decade by providing stress relief and disaster management techniques to the affected people.

On the invitation of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, the foundation also conducted prison programmes in its correctional homes where hundreds of criminals were taught that inner peace could resolve conflicts.

The foundation, headquartered in Bangalore, is a volunteer-based, humanitarian and educational institution founded by spiritual guru Ravi Shankar in 1981 and has its presence worldwide.