The International Association of Human Values (IAHV), a non-profit organisation founded in Geneva in 1997, develops and implements personal development programs that encourage the practice of human values in everyday life. It also oversees socio-economic development projects that aim at sustainability, forums for dialogue, and community education programs that raise awareness of shared values among diverse cultures.
IAHV upholds that the incorporation of human values into all aspects of life will ultimately lead to the development of a more peaceful, just and sustainable world.
In fostering human values, the Association works in collaboration with partners dedicated to similar goals, including governments, educational institutions, other NGOs, corporations and individuals. IAHV is an international NGO in special consultative status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations.
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The 5H program adopts a holistic approach to social upliftment. The five main areas of focus are Health, Homes, Hygiene, Human Values, and Harmony in Diversity. In the wake of disaster, volunteers have provided trauma relief support to the victims of the Iran Earthquake, Rebuilding Iraq and Afghanistan, 9/11 attacks in New York, Gujarat Earthquake, and Indonesia Floods. The 5H program also works to foster self-empowerment among people, and to achieve this 5H volunteers have led literacy projects that cover traditional education and vocational training. A strong focus area of all 5H projects has been women’s empowerment, i.e. training women in different vocations and promoting health, hygiene, harmony and leadership in young women.
Listing of 5H activities in India:
The contributions of the 5H program have been recognised as follows:
Youth Leadership Training Program started in 1999 under the auspices of the 5H program with the aim to revive and enrich communities by empowering youth through training programs in areas such as personal development, health, hygiene and community development. One additional aim is to generate long term employment for unemployed youngsters. Trained youth are then responsible for educating villagers in rural areas to help them identify local problems and come up with viable solutions for them. YLTP has conducted most workshops in India, where it was founded. The first YLTP in the United States was held in Brownsville, Texas, in the summer of 2002. The youth leaders have conducted several awareness camps in the rural areas of Texas, Mexico and Belize. Starting immediately after Hurricane Katrina hit the gulf coast, IAHV volunteers have been conducting trauma and stress relief courses for the people of New Orleans and the greater gulf region. In April 2007, His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankar visited New Orleans and met with Mayor Ray Nagin to establish new programs working toward a Stress Free, Violence Free New Orleans.
IAHV has hosted numerous conferences and peace initiatives since its inception. Its conferences aim at bringing together different parties to raise awareness of human values and their inextricable links to spirituality and development. Peace Initiatives have included the foundation's work and Sri Sri Ravi Shankar's visits to Pakistan, Kosovo, Jammu and Kashmir in India, and Sri Lanka.