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ISFiT|2003 recollection

Ten days passed in a wink of an eye. So much happened and so fast that I possibly can’t recall each and every moment relished.
This was the International Student Festival in Trondheim 2003, the largest thematic festival, held in Trondheim, Norway from 7th to 16th March, 2003. About 300 functionaries and 450 students from over 110 countries participated in the festival. This festival is held every second year with a different theme. The theme for this year was Challenging Attitudes. In context of the world today; when there is unequal distribution of power and wealth, corruption and bad governance is negatively leading developing nations, when human rights remain a far fetched dream in various parts of the world, sustainable development is not succeeding; the drive of the festival was to challenge one’s attitudes when the world isn’t getting any better. We borrow the world from our children, and we have no right to destroy their world.

Never had I felt my presence so significant as I participated to challenge my materialistic attitudes in the workshop Materialism. We discussed how we are materialists in our way of lives, and what improvements could we possibly do in our lives so as to retain from over-consumption, unnecessary waste and ecological footprints. What could be the degree of variance of materialism and non-materialism, and where do we find ourselves! How and in which direction does a materialistic way of life lead us, and what consequences lie ahead is what is important to realize.

ISFiT 2003 provided us a stand where upon we came together as citizens of one world, and discussed and shared our views and problems against our individual differences of religion, creed, culture, economic stature and society. The differences added to diversity, and helped us understand each other’s attitudes, thoughts and feelings.
From a wider perspective, it’s about getting closer to the core of the issues in a global context at grass root level. It is about getting to the truer picture of issues that is evidently deteriorating the world we live in.

In most of regions, where food, clothing, shelter and basic amenities (such as electricity, drinking water, health, education, etc.) are number one priorities, materialism may seem a distant idea to ponder upon. The way I see it, we constantly put a veil in front of our eyes, knowingly and unknowingly, because we don’t want to change. In this universe change is the only constant thing. We don’t make an effort to get a step further to understand our problems.
The situation is such that we have to think and work together, the rich and the poor, the developed and the developing nations, for a peaceful and just world. It’s about the common world and common future as we share the one planet Earth. We have to help each other open our eyes, and challenge our own and others’ attitudes - conscious and subconscious.

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