Art of Living hosts its 1st International Bloggers Conference

Bangalore: It was a Bloggers day out at the Art of Living International Centre in Bangalore when youth delegates and enthusiastic bloggers came together to deliberate on the power of ‘Social Media for Social Good’. Organized and hosted by The Art of living, the 1st International Bloggers conference titled, “Make a Global Connection- Just Connect” saw participation by 837 bloggers and over 1000 connections from over 10 countries on you tube. This one of its kind conference, held on January 06, also resulted in the bloggers forming a community to write on varied subjects impacting social transformation like arts for a cause; everyday spirituality, sports, travel and vegetarian food. Spiritual leader, Humanitarian and Founder, Art of Living Sri Sri Ravi Shankar also launched his blog (www.srisrispeaks.org) at the conference. Addressing the youth delegates, he said, “We are in a new era where we don’t depend on a group of people, journalists or newspapers. Everyone is playing the role of an informer and everyone has the right to express their vision to the whole world. This is such an opportunity but it should not be misused. Blogs can really bring conflict in communities, friends, Nations, families and on the other hand it can also unite them. We should work with the intention of bridging the gap and inculcating human values.” The conference boasted of an interesting line-up of themes. Taking the diverse gathering through the remarkable sessions on the different aspects of blogging were the Art of Living faculty members and experts from the blogging community.

Throwing light on the aim of the conference, Chinky Sen, member of the organizing committee said, “Recent times have seen the power of the social media in raising our voices against injustice or expressing our views on the events happening in the country as well as elsewhere. Here, our aim is to explore this powerful tool to spread goodness and hope and bring people together.” The conference presented the young minds with the chance to go creative and build on their freedom of expression. Taking cue from the sessions, Sana, a college goer said,“ With the present day crisis that our country is facing it has become very crucial to use the tool of social media to spread hope among people. Blogging is a great way to connect and reach out to millions, learn as well as share your views.” The conference aimed to promote blogs and other social media activities that create a positive social transformation and explore ways to promote a violence-free, stress free and crime free society. For more details: justconnect.artofliving.org