Talk to me about the power of art to transform the world. Talk to me about your creative capacity to transform crisis into opportunity. I believe passionately in the combined power of creativity, compassion and consciousness to transform the world. I am a peacebuilder, poet and performance artist. My 25 years of strategic experience in global governance, peace and security impelled me to innovate ‘Theatre of Transformation’ to transform the multiple global crises we face through the vehicle of real-life testimonies and inclusive dialogue. My interactive performances in collaboration with UN agencies and diverse international, corporate and cultural organizations activate audiences to co-create a positive future, while raising funds to support the peace missions and humanitarian initiatives I undertake in countries in crisis.
See: www.youtube.com/RamaManiNews
Passionately in love with Mother Earth, I am a Councilor of the World Future Council, whose purpose is to safeguard the rights of future generations. With visionaries Jean Houston and Scilla Elworthy, I am the Co-Founder of ‘Rising Women, Rising World’, with the humble mission of ‘co-creating a world that works for all’! I am also a Senior Research Associate at the University of Oxford’s Centre for International Studies and Jury member of the ‘Alternative Nobel Prize’ or Right Livelihood Award. Deeply engaged in peace and justice, I was formerly the Executive Director of the International Centre for Ethnic Studies (Sri Lanka), Director of the Global Peace and Security Course at the Geneva Centre for Security Policy, and Africa Strategy Manager and Conflict advisor for Oxfam GB, as well as Senior External Relations Officer of the Commission on Global Governance. I grew up in India, and am a French national and Indian overseas citizen. www.rama-mani.com; www.youtube.com/RamaManiNews