From Sept. 29 to Oct. 1, a record-breaking 1 million people from 180 different countries gathered at the National Mall in Washington, D.C. for the 2023 World Culture Festival. Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, the founder of the Art of Living foundation, founded the festival as a way to bring cultures together and celebrate diversity.
“It’s such a beautiful occasion to celebrate our diversity. Our planet is so diverse, yet there is an underlying unity of our human values,” Shankar said in an interview. “Today, on this occasion, let’s commit ourselves to bringing more happiness to society. Let’s put a smile on everyone’s face. That’s humanness. That’s what we all are made up of.”
The Art of Living aims to promote happiness and stress-free living through mediation and mindfulness. This event was the Art of Living’s fourth edition of the festival—first hosted by Bangalore in 2006, the festival made its way to Berlin in 2011, Delhi in 2016 and now Washington D.C. in 2023. This year, people congregated from all over the world to get together and watch music performances, dances, and speeches from a variety of people with all different cultures and backgrounds.
Kat, a Pennsylvanian who went to the 2011 Berlin World Culture Festival, was overjoyed when she found out that the next festival would be held nearby.
“I loved [the festival] in Germany, and you know, tears just came to my eyes,” Kat said. “I was so excited when I heard it was going to be here in the United States. I knew I had to come.”
The festival opened with The Star-Spangled Banner, sung by the U.S. Army Chorus and Walt Whitman High School and Clarksburg High School’s choir. As the night went on, Whitman and Clarksburg’s choirs made two more appearances, singing “United We Stand” and “American the Beautiful” mixed with Vande Mataram, the national song of India. These three songs were performed with Indian Grammy-nominated artist Chandrika Tandon.
Walt Whitman chorus-student Laura Gine-Vega described the entire experience as “surreal” and “magical.”
“It felt like we were united as a family, and we were all up there singing the same beautiful music,” Gine-Vega said. “I felt like I was part of something bigger than myself at that moment.”
The high school students and Tandon were some of many performers at the event. The festivities ranged from Native American dances, to Spanish folk songs, to a 1000-person global guitar ensemble. All these performances helped contribute to the greater goal of achieving unity and diversity—a goal fulfilled through music. During the 1000-person global guitar ensemble, for example, people from all walks of life came together and joined forces to create a beautiful melody. While many may not have been able to understand all of the languages showcased during the festival, everyone was able to communicate through music and bond over something that they all loved.
“Music bridges all languages,” Kat said. “I think that people would not want a song that is one note. So why do they think that if they had only one race, or one ideology, anything would be beautiful? This really demonstrates that the diversity is our strength.”
Written by Sahana Thyagarajan of Walt Whitman High School
Photo Courtesy of Katherine Hua of Thomas S. Wootton High School