Art of Giving: A Global Initiative for Peace and Happiness

BHUBANESWAR, India, May 17, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Art of Giving (AOG) is a life philosophy that inspires millions around the globe to practice kindness, compassion, and community engagement. It was conceptualised and led by Prof. Achyuta Samanta, educationist and social reformer. It has become a civic movement dedicated to fostering peace and happiness through selfless giving. The movement is based on a simple yet powerful truth: that human beings, in their essence, are wired to give. Happiness and peace, which are the most natural human aspirations, often get buried under material pursuits. Art of Giving calls people back to that natural instinct of sharing, helping, and loving without expectation or reward.

The seeds of AOG were sown long before it had a name. Prof. Achyuta Samanta, having grown up in abject poverty and adversity, began practicing the art of giving as early as the age of five—when he himself had little to give. This lifelong commitment to selfless giving transformed into a mission, and on 17th May 2013, he formally launched the philosophy of Art of Giving as a global movement. Since then, 17th May has been celebrated every year as the International Day of Art of Giving, with each year focusing on a specific theme.

Every year, Art of Giving selects a new theme that aligns with contemporary needs and emotional resonances. It started in 2014 with themes around Society, Spirituality, and Humanity. In 2015, the theme was Kompassion: The Garment Bank, which urged people to donate old clothes to those in need.

During the challenging pandemic period of 2020, the theme was AOG Fights Corona, focusing on supporting frontline workers and affected families. In 2021, My Mother My Hero became a deeply emotional campaign where participants wrote letters of gratitude to their mothers. In 2024, the theme Let's AOG broadened the idea of universal participation. And now in 2025, as AOG in its 12th edition compassion, the theme is Neighbour Good – Bringing Good to the Neighbourhood.

This year's theme focuses on taking kindness to the most immediate circle, our neighbours and local community. From 2nd to 16th May, people around the world observed the Fortnight of Happiness, by engaging in small, meaningful gestures—sharing snacks or tea, visiting elderly neighbours, organising apartment meetups, or participating in neighbourhood events. On 17th May, grand celebrations will take place globally.

Art of Giving has grown exponentially in the last decade. Today, the AOG family includes over 2.5 million active members. Additionally, the philosophy now finds representation in over 220 national federations of the FIVB (Fédération Internationale de Volleyball), extending its values through sports and youth movements worldwide.

Though AOG was formally launched in 2013, its values are timeless. Charity, or 'daan,' has always been central to Indian culture. Every major religion—Islam's zakat, Christianity's charity, Buddhism's acts of compassion, Jainism's saving lives and spreading knowledge, Judaism's tzedakah, and Zoroastrianism's call to fight poverty as a moral duty upholds giving as sacred. What Prof. Samanta has done through AOG is to modernise this wisdom, remove religious and geographical filters, and build a global, inclusive, and joyful movement rooted in humanity.

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