That day, HWPL’s Daejeon Chungcheong Branch prepared a time to prepare plans and resolutions for world peace with about 100 people from political, social, religious and educational circles as well as peace-related organizations.
Jang Bang-sik, chairman of HWPL’s Daejeon Chungcheong branch, said in a welcoming speech, “We are grateful for all those who wish for peace and peace on the Korean Peninsula,” and stressed that the HWPL will move forward this year to enact international law on peace, education and inter-faith harmony to end the war.
“If you are here with us, it will not only be of great help, but will be remembered forever as a person who has left true peace to posterity.”
Former Ethiopian Transport Minister Mekuria Haley, who attended the 2020 New Year’s party, said, “I’m sure that world peace will be achieved if everyone from all over the world, from adults to children, will love peace.”
“HWPL is already doing this all over the world,” he said. “I will also go back to my homeland and pursue a plaza of dialogue and a WARP office for religious people that HWPL is pushing, and make efforts to bring the DPCW to international law.”
Burundi is blessed with an abundance of tea and coffee plantations. But this country is struggling to emerge from a 12-year, ethnic-based civil war. Since independence in 1962 it has been plagued by tension between the usually-dominant Tutsi minority and the Hutu majority.
Is there any movement for peace?
The 1st Burundi Peace Education Seminar
The 1st Burundi Peace Education Seminar, hosted by Heavenly Culture, World Peace, Restoration of Light, was held on January 11, at Rehoboth School in Burundi Bujumbura.
A total of 22 people participated in the seminar, including the principals and teachers of the Rehoboth School, Le Dauphin, Lycée communal of Cashi and Ecole Oasis des Anges. The theme of the event was “Discounting the Pilot Training for the Peaceful Education of Burundi in 2019 and Sharing the plan for 2020.”
“HWPL peace education serves as a global platform aimed at leaving peace as a legacy to future generations by raising the awe of building peace from citizens around the world and challenging threats from war and violence by promoting a culture of peace. Because all mankind is weak and imperfect, HWPL peace education teaches us how to understand and forgive others” said Hatungimana Liévain, a teacher of the Rehoboth School and Lycée communal of Cashi.
In response to the seminar, Emmanuel Ndayishimiye, the principal of Ecole Oasis des Anges, said, “We have agreed that peace is priceless and therefore, peace education is to be taken seriously in our schools.”
Thank you all very much. Let’s all play our roles in our respective positions.
The ‘HWPL Peace Camp’ was held at seven elementary schools in Ivory Coast and Mali from December 9th to the 23rd of last year. The message of ‘Peace and Safety, Respect and Cooperation’ from Peace Camp was significant since both neighboring countries in the Sahel region of West Africa suffered conflicts between French military and Islamic extremism in the same month.
The first five-day activities in Ivory Coast made local educators feel the need for peace-education. Allou Fatimata Marie Christ, Director of the Sainte Marie High School in Abidjan, who attended the Peace Camp, emphasized the role of peace-education as she expressed, “To live in this world as a human being, it is important to learn about peace because we must create a peaceful world.”
▲The conclusion of MOU between HWPL Department of Peace Education and UNESCO National Committee of Ivory Coast/HWPL(Left), The Photo of Peace Camp Activities, Progress High school in Mali
In addition, the UNESCO National Committee of the Ivory Coast immediately organized a meeting between UNESCO officials and educators, as the educators felt that the importance and necessity of peace-education should be understood. The MOU on peace-education with HWPL, which was discussed prior to the meeting, enabled the establishment of a cooperative relationship.
▲Mali, Making Peace Trees, Laureates School(Left), Peace and War Class Photo, Tyekena School
In the meantime, peace camps will be held at four schools in Mali until the 23rd. The government held a meeting with education officials to discuss the future peace-education plan of Mali and to conduct peace-education through mutual cooperation. Students have had time to learn peace by practicing peace on their own, and peace-education will continue to be implemented based on schools’ responses about the hope and need for peace-education.
South Sudan gained independence from the Republic of the Sudan in 2011. (98.83% support) Its capital and largest city is Juba. But it has suffered ethnic violence and endured a civil war since 2013. Also, 6.9 million people are experiencing hunger. It is about two thirds of the population, 12 million. South Sudan has the third largest refugee (3.7 million) crisis, after Syria and Afghanistan. (if you want to know more stastistics)
There is good news, too. On September 2018, South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir signed a peace deal with main rebel leader Riek Machar formally ending a five-year civil war. Although the conflict has been resolved to some extent, it is still uneasy because it has been violated and moves toward peace.
I would like to introduce young men who move for peace.
1st IPYG Youth Peace Empowerment Project
‘The 1st IPYG Youth Peace Empowerment Project’ was held on December 16th at office of Junub Open Space in Juba, South Sudan. It was hosted by International Peace Youth Group(IPYG) and Junub Open Space(JunubOS).
The IPYG Youth Peace Empowerment Project composed of 11 chapters provides an opportunity for students and young people to learn the values such as harmony and co-existence through agriculture where the law of nature is being explored and is closely related to the daily lives of African youths. They would be nurtured as ‘Messenger of peace’ who can lead in the forefront for world peace through various experimental and research activities.
Also IPYG Youth Peace Empowerment Project shares the same vision with the UN SDGs, especially Goal 4 ‘Quality Education’. The project was designed to teach basic agricultural and historical knowledge to students and young people who are excluded from formal educational institutions.
IPYG aims to conduct the project at five schools in South Sudan this year. Furthermore, it is in the process of making educational material to implement the project in all African country.
Where does war come from? Unfortunately, 80 percent of the causes of the war are religion.
Scholars say that violent acts of extremism have the basis on the misinterpretation of religious scripture as means to mobilize the public and incite angers in the mass number of people.
Imam Anas Hajjar, Head Imam of Finland Islam Community, pays a closer attention to religious scripture and points out that “Because many people interpret the scripture with their own thoughts and ideologies without correctly knowing what is the will of God inside the scripture, and if laymen continue to interpret without true knowledge and study, the problems caused by extremists will continue to occur.”
So, what can we do?
The role of leaders in reflecting on religion through scripture to discourage religion as means of violent conflicts
The role of religious leaders is so important. Regarding the role of religious leaders, Imam Anas Hajjar, Head Imam of Finland Islam Community emphasized, “Although political extremism and the hate-speech have been in the rise in Europe, NGOs have a critical role in resisting and opposing this type of breakdown in respect of the laws of religious freedom, peace and harmony in the country. The best way to combat all types of extremism is knowledge and this part of the job is given to scholars and religious leaders.”
“In order to find the truth all the humanity wants religious leaders need to put away the thoughts that only my religion is the best and do the comparative work based on Scriptures without dividing themselves and saying ‘your religion’, ‘my religion’,” said Swami Veetamohananda, Swami (religious leader in Hinduism) of Ramakrishna Veda center.
BIG Questions: “Is what I know always right? Is the other religion always wrong? Or is there something in that religion that mine doesn’t have?”
Let us find the best truth and achieve the ultimate value of peace. 🙂
On December 30, the International Peace Youth Group (IPYG) France Branch hosted the second IPYG “Peace and Me” Forum in Paris, France. Many youth in Paris learned about IPYG and IPYG’s determination for peace through the first forum, which was held in October. Many requested for a second forum, and this event successfully brought people from all walks of life together.
The forum began with “High Hopes”, a special dance performance by the IPYG members, and was proceeded by a live talk show, a discussion panel, and a dinner banquet for networking. The live talk show was on the topic of “Education is the Passport to the Future”.
Live Talk Show
The live talk show’s special guests were Etienne Lemaire, the France coordinator of Plan des jeunes, an international youth group, and two members of the group, Sabrina Touati and Raphaëlle Tanoh. The guests introduced their organizations and activities, and shared their plans for the next year. Plan des jeunes actively holds activities to raise awareness for gender equality in the educational field and it described what kind of education is necessary in current society and what France’s educational system needs to grow further.
Non-governmental organizations, including GRAD Guinée, Association Jeunesse Bara, Association Jeunesse de Madihawaya et Moussala, and fédération des travailleurs africains en France et en Europe were also in attendance and agreed that peace should be fulfilled through education and that it is crucial that children and youth, who are our future leaders, learn about peace. It was also mentioned that peace education is very much needed within Africa as well.
The “Peace and Me” Forum is a platform for youth organizations, big and small, within Paris to share their activities and to create networks among each other. The students showed their maturity throughout the event by taking responsibility for a peaceful future by expressing their thoughts on a peaceful world for the future generations. Many are hopeful that the students in France will continue their peace activities next year as well.
It’s a great pleasure for peace-loving friends to get together so voluntarily. Let’s all speak one voice! We are a small force but we can change the world.
HWPL Busan-Gyeongnam Western Branch held the first Peace Loving New Year Conference on 18th of January. The event was organized as a time to share last year’s activity series and 2020 activity plan reports with 150 members and citizens attending.
“I sincerely thank you for being with HWPL at this time of the New Year,” said leader Kim Jung-soo, who attended the event and gave a welcoming speech. “This year, HWPL will continue to promote peace, international law, peace education, and harmony among religions for peace and war on the Korean Peninsula.
In particular, the event drew the attention of participants as a video of a celebration featuring voices on peace was shown at all levels of Afghanistan.
“Everyone in the world is partly responsible for stopping the war and bringing peace to everyone around the world,” said Wali Kabir, the head of news at Afghanistan’s state-run news agency. “It’s a great opportunity for a journalist to deliver a message of peace.
I look forward to hearing a lot of news of peace from now on.
The assassination by the US of Iran’s most powerful general, Qasem Soleimani, has caused an escalation in tensions between the two countries.
In the wake of an Iranian ballistic missile attack on air bases which house US forces in Iraq, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres reiterated his call for the United States and Iran to stop the conflict and pursue peace.
President Trump’s speech after Iran’s strike
As a reaction to Iran’s strike, Donald Trump said “Iran has been the leading sponsor of terrorism, and their pursuit of nuclear weapons threatens the civilized world. We will never let that happen.
Iran’s hostilities substantially increased after the foolish Iran nuclear deal was signed in 2013, and they were given $150 billion, not to mention $1.8 billion in cash. Instead of saying “thank you” to the United States, they chanted “death to America.”
Iran must abandon its nuclear ambitions and end its support for terrorism. The time has come for the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Russia, and China to recognize this reality.
Today, I am going to ask NATO to become much more involved in the Middle East process.
Finally, to the people and leaders of Iran: We want you to have a future and a great future — one that you deserve, one of prosperity at home, and harmony with the nations of the world.”
These are just a summary of what I think is important in his speech. If you want to read the full speech, just click on the video and the link below.
UN Secretary General said “The world cannot afford Wars”
In a brief media address, Guterres said “we are living in dangerous times” worldwide as “geopolitical tensions are at their highest level this century.”
Also in a statement released by his Spokesperson, Stéphane Dujarric, on Monday António Guterres made a passionate appeal for peace.
His message to world leaders was simple:
UN Photo / Mark Garten / 06 January 2020
“Stop escalation. Exercise maximum restraint. Re-start dialogue”, and “renew international cooperation.”
This appeal remains as important today as it was on Monday.
For his part, the Secretary-General will continue his active engagement with relevant actors. “It is our common duty to make every effort to avoid a war in the Gulf that the world cannot afford. We must not forget the terrible human suffering caused by war. As always, ordinary people pay the highest price.“
I condemn the Iranian missile attacks on US & @coalition forces in Iraq. #NATO calls on Iran to refrain from further violence. Allies continue to consult & remain committed to our training mission in Iraq. pic.twitter.com/6PdXMZxSNB
Jens Stoltenberg, NATO Secretary General, said like this.
The use of weapons must stop NOW to give space for dialogue. We are called upon to do everything possible to rekindle talks. There cannot be enough of that. We have established and timetested relations with many actors in the region and beyond to de-escalate the situation.
Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, emphasized the importance of not using weapon for dialogue. European countries such as Britain and France have also appealed for easing tensions.
I also think we can’t afford war. It’s really unclear whether our future will be a tragedy or a happy one. In fact, our daily lives begin again tomorrow. I don’t think we have many options. Forget it or fight it. I hope we risk our lives for peace.
Because peace is just as valuable, and war is too painful to be explained in words. The aftereffects are enormous. Who can be held accountable?
The Seoul and South Gyeonggi branch of International Women Peace Group (IWPG) won a thank-you medal at the 8th Annual Awards for 2019 Person of the Year. This award is given to those who shine on the Republic of Korea. It was held at the Convention Hall of Kim Gu Memorial in Yongsan on December 21.
The event was held successfully with winners from all walks of life and some 300 celebratory guests, as a meaningful occasion to look back on the year. It is to mark the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea with those who contributed to national security and peace.
Park Young-sook, president of the Korean Women’s Press Association, said, “The winners and the VIPs are opinion leaders of this era and we hope that they will become leaders who will lead the nation and serve society by building strong friendship with each other through the ceremony.”
At the event marking its 8th anniversary this year, the Seoul and South Gyeonggi of IWPG received a plaque of appreciation from the organizers in recognition of their contributions to protecting women’s rights and rights. Lee Kyu-ae, branch leader, said, “Let’s all women from around the world become one and take the lead in achieving world peace and unification of the Korean Peninsula.”
If you look at one event, you can see it more directly.
The IWPG is a global female NGO registered with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (UN ECOSOC) and the U.N. Department of Global Communications (UN DGC), actively carrying out activities to support and urge for the international law on peace, education on women’s peace, network of peace and culture around the world.
