BHUBANESWAR: Art of Giving, an initiative based on the philosophy that practices giving as an art, was celebrated across the globe recently to mark its 6th annual commemoration day. The celebrations commenced on KISS and KIIT campuses in presence of Art of Giving (AoG) founder Achyuta Samanta. Samanta said KISS and KIIT are the best examples of Art of Giving as these institutions are following this philosophy for the last 27 years.
“KIIT is giving while KISS is receiving and spreading happiness among thousands of poorest of the poor tribal children. Everybody wants to give something, but they can’t get a proper platform and chance. AoG is a platform that gives people a chance to give something to others,” Samanta said. AoG was celebrated at one lakh centres in India and 120 countries across the globe including South Africa, Bangladesh, Turkey, Taiwan, Malaysia, Mali, Mongolia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, Qatar and Russia.
Nearly 10 million people across the world including four million from Odisha and other parts of the country joined the AoG movement by gifting bags containing study and stationery materials for children.
The theme of AoG this year is ‘Bag of Happiness’, KIIT officials said. The concept behind this movement is ‘People’s Contribution, People’s Participation’ to achieve the motto of ‘Education for All’, they said.
For the first time, UNESCO and Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Education for Peace and Sustainable Development (MGIEP) are collaborating with AoG this year.