The Harmony Foundation, in collaboration with St. Andrew’s College of Arts, Science and Commerce, Mumbai, launched the White Rose Campaign — a global peace initiative led by Roots of Peace founder Heidi Kuhn, who is also the 2023 World Food Prize Laureate and a recipient of the Harmony Foundation’s Mother Teresa Memorial Award for Social Justice (2023).
White rose plantation symbolises peace
The initiative aims to inspire a global movement to cultivate compassion, harmony, and a commitment to peace. A white rose plantation, symbolising peace and harmony, was also conducted at St. Pauls Institute of Communication Education in the presence of Shri Ashish Shelar, State Minister of Information Technology and Cultural Affairs.
Global initiative rooted in unity and compassion
The White Rose Campaign is a symbolic effort initiated by Heidi Kuhn to promote peace and unity across the world. Built around the white rose — a universal emblem of peace, hope, love and purity — the initiative encourages communities to “plant the roots of peace” at a time when global tensions, conflicts and divisions are escalating. The white rose becomes a living reminder of the choice to embrace compassion over hatred, unity over fear, and healing over harm. Amid rising global uncertainty, the White Rose Campaign stands as a powerful call for peace worldwide.
Keynote address highlights Roots of Peace mission
The event at St. Andrew’s featured a keynote address by Heidi Kuhn, who shared her remarkable work through her organisation, Roots of Peace, and explained the invaluable significance of the white rose in today’s troubled world. This was followed by the planting of a white rose on the St. Andrew’s College campus.
Call to ‘demine minds and souls’
At this significant event, Heidi Kuhn spoke with profound conviction about the devastating impact of landmines across nations, calling for collective action rooted in peace. She urged that demining must go beyond the soil — inviting people to demine their thoughts, their minds and their souls — so that lasting peace can take root. She emphasised that by planting the white rose on Indian soil — a land shaped by great leaders — it reaffirms a shared commitment to nurturing peace, compassion and love for one another. Heidi Kuhn envisions this movement as a global awakening, where people everywhere embrace the white rose as a sacred symbol of peace and love, actively practising peace and becoming harbingers of meaningful change.
Dr Abraham Mathai | File Photo
Dr Abraham Mathai on urgency of peace
Speaking on the occasion, Dr Abraham Mathai, Founder-Chairman of the Harmony Foundation, said that the world is living in a time of profound global unrest, where conflicts continue to displace families, fracture societies and strain shared humanity — from the Israel–Palestine crisis to the war in Ukraine. He emphasised that these realities remind us that peace is not an abstract ideal; it is essential to human survival and dignity.
White rose as a shared responsibility
Dr Mathai reminded the audience that the white rose symbolises both the urgency of global peace and the shared responsibility to nurture peace in immediate surroundings. He added that its message should take root in the collective conscience, reminding us that progress without peace is fragile, and that even the smallest gesture, when anchored in humanity, can become a powerful force for transformation.
Peace through agriculture philosophy
For both the Harmony Foundation and Heidi Kuhn, this campaign holds profound significance. Through her philosophy of “Peace Through Agriculture”, Heidi Kuhn has dedicated her life to transforming conflict-ridden lands into thriving agricultural spaces. Her work empowers communities to reclaim their soil, rebuild livelihoods and heal societal wounds — truly turning swords into ploughshares.
Shared commitment to harmony
By planting a white rose alongside Heidi Kuhn, the Harmony Foundation affirmed its shared commitment to promoting peace, dignity and harmony. The white rose stands as a powerful symbol of their collective resolve to sow the roots of peace, prosperity and love — reflecting the ethos at the heart of the Harmony Foundation’s mission.
(L–R) Ms Heidi Kuhn, Dr Abraham Mathai | File Photo
Students and faculty support initiative
The event was attended by students and faculty members of St. Andrew’s College and St. Pauls Institute of Communication Education, who supported this important initiative for world peace and helped amplify its deep symbolic message.
