The Art of Living Participates At The Global Yoga Accreditation Summit
28 April, 2019, Bengaluru: The Global Yoga Accreditation Summit (GYAS) was held at the Headquarters of the United Nations in New York, USA from the 26th to 27th of April, 2019, where among key speakers were present Dr. Richa Chopra, Chief Counsellor, Vivechana, the Counseling Space at the Sri Sri University and Art of Living International Yoga Faculty.
“Every possible field of study is fast embedding into the mainstream Higher Education Ecosystem globally ranging from Artificial Intelligence, Ethnomusicology, Indology, Space sciences and so on. There is perhaps no arena that remains unattended to the ever increasing pursuit of mankind to further it’s an exploration in a systemic way best offered through a formal education system. Why not ‘Yoga’?”
Says Dr. Richa Chopra, a Senior International Faculty with the Art of Living was part of the NAAC’s core team that developed the National and International Yoga Accreditation Manual for Higher Education Institutes worldwide. This manual was launched at the United Nations through the Summit. The expected outcomes of this Summit are exploring formalisation of an International Common Minimum Approach/Protocol for Yoga Accreditation for Higher Education and formalisation of an International Steering Committee to mainstream Yoga Programs across Higher Education Institutes worldwide.
The event was organised by the joint undertaking of the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC), India, the Permanent Mission of India to the UN (PMI-UN), USA and the Asia Pacific Quality Network (APQN). The event had been organised with the intent of bringing various stakeholders from all over the world in the field of Yoga at the United Nations Headquarters at New York, USA.
The event also aimed to initiate mutual dialogue and processes towards creating a global ecosystem in mainstreaming Yoga by incorporating it into Higher Education programmes being developed by the NAAC, India at a global level. Several key international policy makers and representatives of various governments and bodies like the UNO, UNESCO, WHO, NAAC, APQN, along with representatives from prominent Yoga Higher Education Providers from India, USA and other nations graced the event with their presence.
The Patrons of the event were Professor D. P. Singh, Chairman, University Grant Commission (UGC), India, Shri S. Subramanyam, Secretary, Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Human Resources Development (MHRD), India and Professor Virander S. Chauhan, Chairman, Executive Committee, NAAC, India. The Organising Committee comprised of Dr. H. R. Nagendra Guruji, Chairman, Inter-University Center for Yogic Sciences and Hon’ble Chancellor of Swami Vivekananda Yoga Anhsandhana Samsthana, India, Professor S. C. Sharma, Director, NAAC, India, Dr. Jagannath Patil, Advisor, NAAC and Former President of APQN and INQAAHE and Professor (Dr.) Jianxin Zhang, President, APQN, China.
The event saw several eminent personalities as the Key Speakers, some of whom included Shri. Vaidya Rajesh Morcha, Secretary, Ministry of AYUSH, Swami Atmapriyananda, Sant Bir Khalsa and Dr. Richa Chopra, Chief Counsellor, Vivechana, the Counseling Space at the Sri Sri University and Art of Living International Yoga Faculty.
