In Bali, the Hindu Saka (Caka) New year is celebrated through Silence, known as Nyepi. This 400 year old tradition, practiced until today, is recognized as a traditional wisdom to tackle climate change.
In Bali, the Hindu Saka (Caka) New year is celebrated through Silence, known as Nyepi. This 400 year old tradition is practiced today in the form of total silence on the island: no motorbikes, no business is open and people simply stay in their homes. During the night homes are not allowed to put their lights on except those having young infants and sick people. Only hospitals, police stations and important facilities can function.
Today, this practice is recognized as a traditional wisdom to tackle climate change. In 2007, during the opening of the Conference of Parties to the UN Convention on Climate Change, a group of local NGOs created and presented this video to introduce Nyepi as a wisdom to inspire the world to participate in reducing green house gases. Rough calculations reveal that during Nyepi the island can save up to 20,000 tons of carbon equivalent by simply halting all sorts of transport and reducing the use of electricity for 24 hours.
The Bali Collaboration on Climate Change, then went on a campaign to introduce the World Silent Day (WSD). They picked 21 March as WSD because it is the Northern equinox day, symbolising the coming of spring.
During the screening of this film, there was a pindrop silence in the large meeting room. Imagine if New York City, London, and Sidney were to actually practice 24 hours silent day at the same time: perhaps it would inspire people to really tackle climate change.
