De Paix Yatra is an over-land motorbike journey from India to the UK, which will cross eight nations and 56 cities and honour the revolutionists and peacemakers in each destination along the way, who have devoted their lives to bring grass-roots change and upliftment. By going to the roots and meeting the people in their own home countries, De Paix Yatra celebrates these unsung heroes and the stories of the powerful change for the better to which they each have devoted their lives. De Paix Yatra, which will promote the message of Swami Vivekananda, Indian wisdom and global peace, will also carry the purpose of youth empowerment. It aims to connect with more than 500 million of the youth. De Paix Yatra will promote the youth activism in implementing change by going to colleges, schools, universities and local/national and international conferences.

Once the international leg of the motorbike journey culminates, the team will begin a journey to 100 destination towns and villages across India on Jan. 12, Youth Day, to take their learnings and teachings of peace into the heartland of the country and its next generations.

The De Paix Yatra team will comprise four members. Acclaimed social agency of change and social entrepreneur Parth Vasavada; and artistic photographer, filmmaker and photojournalist Nitesh Square are the promoters and riders. Actor and model Debi Dutta is the Peace Anchor of De Paix Yatra, while art director Tehrin Shaikh is the Global Coordinator and Campaign Strategist.

This initiative will visit various colleges and universities where it will carry out a plethora of activities such as peace talks, kindness shows, free hugs campaigns, a music show and youth exhibitions, to promote its cause of unifying the youth across these countries. The initiative aims to engage celebrities, diplomats, ex-presidents, sports personalities, youth icons and political leaders. The entire journey will be documented and later released in the form of a mini-series, films, documentaries, and a photo story coffee table book.

Universal Music was introduced to the project via Freecultr CEO Sujal Shah. To contribute to this endeavour, Universal Music will release Ashanthi's single as an exclusive digital single, available for online and mobile downloads. This single will be followed by a compilation album featuring songs of `peace', which will become an accompaniment to the De Paix Yatra project.

Commenting on this association, Devraj Sanyal, Managing Director, Universal Music, India & SAARC, said: "As a musician myself, and the MD of Universal Music, I'm proud to support De Paix Yatra and their mission to celebrate and spread the values of peace and goodwill. When most of us are tired of the constant stream of hopeless news, here are a group of young people setting off on a mission that is not only full of hope, but also a real-world, fantastic, "roll-up-your-sleeves and get in there to make a change", effort. We wish Parth, Nitesh and the entire De Paix Yatra team success and salute their incredible journey." Regarding Ashanthi, Sanyal said: "Ashanthi De Alwis is a Sri Lankan singer and rapper. Given the political tension between India and Sri Lanka, it is especially significant that Ashanthi, a Sri Lankan artist, has decided to release this single in India, trying to spread the message of peace between the two nations."

Speaking on her new single, Ashanthi said: "It has been a great experience creating 'Let's give peace a chance' as the official anthem for the De PaixYatra peace project. I believe that the song sends a strong message to everyone about the hope of peace throughout the world. The composition of this song, for me, has been an expression of my deepest feelings, as Sri Lanka has been a country in turmoil for over 21 years. In my lifetime, all I have seen is war; now I am glad I was able to create a song that will make a difference in promoting peace and unity among our youth. I wish the De PaixYatra team all the very best on their journey!"

De Paix Yatra's journey through the 56 cities will be covered by more than 40 mediums of the international media including BBC, 95 mediums of national media, and more than 300 of the local print and electronic media. The team will also be meeting more than 600 change makers, trend setters and doers who have been bringing peace, and promoting the message of peace from India.

This journey is being supported by more than 19 organizations like United Nations India, Indo British Trade Council, Ministry of Youth Affairs, PETA India, ASSOCHAM, US Consulate General, GCCI, FICCI, INSAF, Youth Parliament Pakistan, World Peace Council, etc. The other partners include aman ki asha, UN Volunteers, Akanksha, Wishberry, Elsol Strategic Consultants, Tops and Freecultr.