Alhaji Lai Mohammed, Nigeria’s Minister of Information and Culture, has announced that the country will collaborate with the Art of Living Foundation to host the World Culture Festival 2022.
The Art of Living Foundation, a volunteer-based, humanitarian and educational non-governmental organization, will celebrate its 40th anniversary at the World Culture Festival 2022.
Mohammed, who made the announcement yesterday at an event commemorating the 2022 International Day of Happiness at the Happiness Centre in Lagos, said the Happiness Centre, which is the Foundation’s contribution to Nigerians’ well-being, offers several stress-reduction and self-development programs based on breathing techniques, meditation, and Yoga.
“The date and location of the event will be announced later,” Alhaji Mohammed said, adding that the World Cultural Festival was last held in India in 2016 and drew 3.5 million people.
“I found this very impressive because it reminds me of the popular saying, ‘A sound mind in a sound body,’ which explains the relationship between physical exercise, mental balance, and the ability to enjoy life,” he said.
He applauded the establishment of the Happiness Centre, especially in a megacity like Lagos, where residents appear to be perpetually busy.
He claims that the alternative health and holistic wellness center provides a variety of services that Lagosians, in particular, and Nigerians in general, can use.
“I applaud and congratulate the owners of this center.” “Their decision to establish the center demonstrates their commitment to ensuring Nigerians’ overall well-being through a holistic approach to health that brings harmony to body, mind, and soul,” he said.
The minister expressed delight that 90 percent of the Happiness Centre’s patrons are Nigerians seeking to use alternative medicine, herbal remedies, yoga, breath-work, and meditation to achieve physical, emotional, and mental balance for individuals.
Askay Kumar Jain, managing director of the Happiness Centre, stated in his remarks that the Art of Living Foundation, founded in 1981 by Gurudev Ravi Shankar, has centers in more than 156 countries, affecting more than 450 million people.
He stated that the center’s mission is to bring smiles to people’s faces and to build bridges across cultures.
The Art of Living Foundation’s founder, Gurudev Ravi Shankar, stated in his virtual message, which was played at the event, that the foundation will promote mind relaxation and a healthy diet in order to make Lagos, and indeed Nigeria, the happiest place on earth.
