I am so honoured to be a part of this august gathering. As soon as I walk into this hall, I can feel the energy of enthusiasm and love. There are so many of my sisters here from all over the world to participate in this conference.

Preparing for this conference has been a great Team Experience for all of us. When we were working together, we came across so many brilliant minds that have contributed to the welfare of society and upliftment of human values.

The whole purpose of this conference is to create a platform for both rural and urban women to interact and discuss matters concerning the wellbeing of humanity. As women, we do not want to see violence in society; we are more for peace and prosperity. In keeping with this aspect of the feminine nature, we decided to organize and host this conference.

H.H. Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar says we must identify ourselves as spirit first. When we identify ourselves as women, we could go through times of strength and weakness. Sometimes, women need to do jobs that men do, and men need to do jobs that women do. Spirituality takes us beyond gender identity, and at the same time strengthens our gender identity to make us perform our roles better. Spirituality makes us relaxed and contemplative thereby avoiding hasty decisions and wastage of energy. Hence, we have provided time in the conference agenda for simple yet effective spiritual practices, such as meditation and yoga.

There are so many unique women here who have contributed to society, either as mothers teaching their children, or as CEO's of multinational companies. What we have to do is to learn from one another, especially from the rural women who have come here. They have so many beautiful stories to share with us.

Let us actively take this opportunity to participate fully in this conference and feel at home. I am confident that the discussions and interactions we will have here over these three days will help us to take positive steps to bridge the urban and rural divide, and bring back social justice, economic freedom and spirituality in society.

Once again, welcome you to this wonderful Celebration, in a spirit of joy and togetherness. I am sure that by working together, we can make happier homes, a better society and a joyful world. Thank you.