Country: India

Organization: World Unity and Peace Education Department, City Montessori School, City Montessori School (CMS), Lucknow, India

Idea: CMS believes that World Peace is the fruit that can grow only on the tree of World Unity. It is the social responsibility of a modern school to act as the Lighthouse of Society and provide meaningful education, spiritual direction, guidance and leadership to students, parents and society and concern itself with the affairs of the age. At certain moment in history, education must also act as a powerful instrument of profound social transformation and that such a moment in human history has now arrived. It is the inter-generational responsibility of every generation to ensure that the next generation inherits a safe and healthy ecology. Only enforceable international law can safeguard the future of world's children and coming generations.

How do you do it: It is not possible to describe the educational program and achievements of CMS in brief. These are available on the School's website www.cmseducation.org. It may be noted however Guinness Book of World Records recognizes CMS as (1) world's largest school by pupils with over 30,000 students (2) only school to organize 17 international events every year for teaching world unity and (3) only school to receive the UNESCO Prize for Peace Education (see Guinness website). CMS is also the only school to receive the Nuclear-Free Future Special Achievement Award (2004). (for details of international events see www.cmseducation.org/events.htm and for CMS campaign for world unity see www.cmseducation.org/article51 and www.cmseducation.org/symposium

Innovation: The numerous awards and honours conferred on CMS testify to its uniqueness, innovative vision and mission and the impact of its efforts and activities. While announcing the UNESCO Prize for Peace Education in June 2002, the UNESCO press release stated, "CMS is a school like no other." The schools campaign for world unity and a nuclear-free future has garnered support from numerous heads of state and governments and dozens and dozens of chief justices of various countries of the world (www.cmseducation.article51/supporters.htm) Its impact can be gauged by the fact that CMS has over 30,000 students on roll and that the School has been teaching world unity and world citizenship to children since 1959. The School's is Jai Jagat (Hail the World)

Impact: CMS organises 17 international events in which thousands of children participate every year from all over India and abroad. These events include all faith prayers, world peace prayers and numerous talks and discussions on world unity and world peace. The school also launched a special Indo-Pak peace initiative in 2002 by forming an Indo-Pak Children's Penfriends Club Aao Dosti Karein (Come let us be friends). Under this more than 10,000 letters have been exchanged between CMS students and those of 18 Pakistani schools participating in this letter-exchange that also led to many exchange visits. This direct interaction between Indo-Pak children helped remove mutual misgivings and fostering friendship between the two nuclear neighbours.

Ethical Action: CMS World Unity and Peace Education Department (WUPED) organizes Sunday Seminars to teach world citizenship and environmental awareness. WUPED also coordinates anti- pollution campaigns, river-cleaning drives and such activities. CMS students' river-cleaning drive inspired Riverlands School of Australia to undertake a similar exercise with the rivulet that flowed through their campus and every day they gave half hour to clean and conserve it (visit www.riverlands.wa.edu.au/ and click overseas contact. For more on ethical action see www.cmseducation.org/lucknow_uk.html and www.conflictresolutionnetwork.org.uk/index.html? events_archive.htm~mainFrame about visit of CMS delegation to address communities around London affected by racial violence

Replication: CMS has become a role model for other schools in Lucknow, India and even the world. Unique CMS practices like Student Quality Circles are being emulated all over the world while daily CMS events like all faith prayer assembly and world peace prayers are copied by many other schools in Lucknow and other cities of India. CMS provides all help and guidance to any school wanting to replicate the unique peace education program of CMS. Many teachers left CMS and started their own school on the CMS pattern. All these schools are also doing very well and are successfully spreading the CMS philosophy of world unity, tolerance and co-existence.

Sustainability: CMS does not accept government grants and is funded solely from the fee collected from its students. The CMS model is therefore entirely self-sustainable and can be replicated by anyone anywhere, as has been proved by many ex-CMS staffers running their own schools in several cities of India.

Position in the Ethics Mosaic of Solutions:

Factor: Values extremism

Principle: Developing self-awareness and interconnectedness