The World Hindu Congress will be organised in Chicago in September this year to commemorate 125 years of Swami Vivekananda’s historic address in the American city.
More than 2,000 delegates from over 80 countries are likely to attend the conference to be addressed by 250 eminent speakers from across the globe, including Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat, “Art of Living” guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Chinmaya Mission head Swami Swaroopananda, Bharat Seveshram Sangh’s Swami Purnatmananda, Gayatri Parivar’s Pranav Pandya and Hollywood actor and humanitarian activist Richard Gere.
Swami Vivekananda had addressed the historic religious conference on 11 September 1893.
The theme of this year’s Congress is ‘Sumantrite Suvikrante’ (think collectively, achieve valiantly). The conference is being organised by World Hindu Foundation, headed by IIT-Kharagpur graduate Swami Vigyananand. Prof Sriprakash Kothari of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), US, would chair the three-day conference, to be held from 7 to 9 September 2018 at Hotel Westin in Lombard, Illinois. The conference will have seven parallel conferences on economics, education, media, organization, politics, women and youth, informed convenor of the conference Abhay Asthana. The participants will connect, discuss and push awareness about critical issues facing Hindus worldwide and figure ways on how the community can be globally significant and impactful. “The World Hindu Congress would bring enlightenment throughout the world about the Hindu view of life through a message of spirituality, harmony and inclusiveness,” Asthana said.