Shishir Srivastava born at Lucknow, India on 26 September 1977, is a motivational speaker, peace educator and prolific writer. He is currently serving as the Head of the Department of Personality Development and Career Counselling of City Montessori School (CMS), Lucknow, India.

CMS is Shishir’s alma mater where he imbibed the values of peace and non-violence for 15 years. CMS is recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records as the ‘world’s largest school with over 39,000 students’ and is the recipient of the UNESCO Prize for Peace Education 2002. Shishir has travelled widely and has visited several countries including USA, Japan, Germany, Singapore, Mauritius, Malaysia, Spain, Russia, Maldives and Seychelles. He and his wife, Sophia, have a seven-year-old son, Srijan.

Brief Biography

A Warrior Turns Peacemaker: After his grade 12, Shishir Srivastava was selected for the defence services and was an executive officer in the Indian Navy (1995-1999). However, his inner call to serve the people of the world led him to quit the Navy in September 1999. In end of December 1999, Shishir met Dr Jagdish Gandhi, Founder of City Montessori School who inspired him to work for world unity and world peace. Thereafter, he joined the CMS team on 1st January 2000 and since then his ongoing commitment and concrete activities in support of the culture of peace at the local, regional and international levels have demonstrated unflagging determination and devotion.

Taking Children's Voice To UN: In 2005, Shishir was invited at the UN Headquarters, New York to participate in the Global Conflict Prevention Conference and in the General Assembly hall he appealed that a ‘Right to a Safe Future’ be included in the UN Declaration for the Rights of the Child for safeguarding the rights of world’s children and safe future of generations yet-to-be born, a plea that was much appreciated.

Empowering Children Through Child Rights Education: Since 2004, in the capacity of India Coordinator of the World’s Children’s Prize for the Rights of the Child, Shishir has strengthened the voices of students and young people in schools and organizations all over India, promoting their humanitarian growth into global citizens. Through this project, which is based on the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, he has empowered over 1.2 million children in 4,078 schools in India to demand respect for the rights of the child.

Awakening Global Consciousness: Shishir is the Organizing Secretary of ‘Global Symposium: Awakening Planetary Consciousness’, an annual gathering of civil society activists which he conceptualized in July 2004 to create awareness in the masses about issues such as nuclear disarmament, global warming and sustainable development. During the last six years, he has been able to bring together 496 representatives of 220 organizations from 61 countries at the annual Global Symposium. Shishir is also the Head of World Movement for Rights of Children and has travelled to several countries attending conferences and giving lectures on spirituality, interfaith dialogue and personal development.

Motivating Students To Enhance Their Performance: As a motivational speaker, Shishir has helped several under-performing students become extraordinary achievers in life by helping them discover their true potential and urging them to set high goals in life. Through his life-skills training and counselling, he has empowered students and guided them to make right career choice.

Educating Millions Through Television: He appears weekly on television in an interview-show called ‘Sangini’ (Your Friend) on ETV and delivers powerful and life-transforming messages to millions of viewers on topics related to stress busting and self-improvement.

Awards and Recognition: In 2009, the Mayor of Lucknow, Dr Dinesh Sharma, honoured Shishir with the ‘Young Communicator Award’ constituted by Symbiosis Institute of Journalism and Mass Communication (SIMC), Pune for ‘his decade long efforts in the field of peace and child rights education.’ In 2007, the World’s Children’s Prize Foundation acknowledged Shishir’s contribution in the field of child rights education and honoured him at a ceremony held in Mariefred, Sweden.