No. 30
2017.10
Monthly Newsletter of Heavenly Culture, World Peace, Restoration of Light
HWPL NEWS
˙ The 3rd Annual Commemoration of the WARP Summit Around the World ˙ Comments & Praises from the Summit Participants
˙ Exclusive Interview with Mr. Mathias Kevin Osimbo on HWPL Peace Education
˙ Region-Specific Discussion for the Implementation of the Declaration of Peace and Cessation of War Part II ˙ Together We Make a Difference
˙ Media Takes the Initiative in Spreading a Culture of Peace
Heavenly Culture, World Peace, Restoration of Light
The 3rd Annual Commemoration of the WARP Summit Around the World National borders could not stop the peace movement from spreading as individuals from all around the world stood together as peace messengers and actively participated in the 3rd Annual Commemoration of the World Alliance of Religions’ Peace (WARP) Summit. This unbreakable passion and determination was displayed for all to see during the Peace Festival that was held on the second day of the summit.
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Events held around the world in honor of this 3rd Annual Commemoration of the WARP Summit were livestreamed at the stadium in full view of all in attendance, truly showing the connected network of peace messengers worldwide.
From the East to the West, the beautiful flower of peace blossomed in various countries spanning the entire globe. Major cities such as Los Angeles, Washington DC, Shanghai, Beijing, Sydney, Cape Town, Berlin and many others were lit up by the bright faces of all participants at the commemorative WARP events held in those areas.
Their voices shouting out for peace and cessation of war captivated the audience in Seoul and showed that peace can transcend nationalities, languages, and traditional boundaries that have often served to divide. The phrase “We are One” was captured by that inspiring scene.
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Heavenly Culture, World Peace, Restoration of Light
Comments & Praises from the Summit Participants The 3rd Annual Commemoration of the WARP Summit resulted in great success that far surpassed expectations. All leaders, participants, and staffs become one as the sincere determination to work for the achievement of world peace was sparked in the hearts of everyone present. This message is now being spread to all corners of the world, carried along in the hearts of all the peace messengers that came together and experienced the true culture of peace demonstrated at the summit. Even during the event, many were eager to share their experiences and express their eagerness to continue cooperating with the peace work of HWPL until the ultimate goal of peace is finally achieved. These are the voices of peace that have the ability to inspire others, create a change in the world and establish a sustainable peace that can be passed on to future generations.
Ms. Maria Theresa R. Timbol
H.E. Iakoba Taeia Italeli
“During the parade of peace, I could see the happy eyes of everyone longing for peace in the world. I can see the happy faces of everyone and of course the longing for peace and of course the preparation is so great. And I am so amazed at everyone participating in the parade and of course the whole activity this afternoon. The most important statement that I heard was that North and South should be unified. Because I am sure it’s the dream of all Koreans that finally someday the end of this peace movement will unite the South and the North and once again will make Korea one country full of love, full of peace and full of joy.”
“It (Development of the DPCW) is through advocacy and education. The implementation is through the political systems in our respective countries. The DPCW itself emphasizes education and advocacy. It is the only option that we can work on for world peace. As we’ve heard yesterday about President Mandela’s quotation on education, education is the most effective weapon which we can use to change the world.”
President of Kapalong Council of Women
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Governor General of Tuvalu
Comments & Praises from the Summit Participants Hon. Cristina Eugenia Reyes Hidalgo
Assembly woman of the National Assembly of Ecuador “I feel very proud that there are these kinds of people in the middle of a turbulent world, in the middle of a world where sometimes there are people who don’t feel hope. I see it in people like Mr. Lee and like Ms. Kim, that passion, that love for life, that aspiration for distances, languages, religions, including the differences, for the unification into one same heart, all within only one message for peace. I am sure that there are causes that take time. But at the end, when the people set their souls, their hearts, those causes really turn into realities. The seed of peace is possible with this flag, with this desire, with this longing to change the world. And through these organizations of which I feel very proud to represent, I promise compromise every day in my politics, labor, as a woman, as a youth, [and] as an activist. Let’s continue leading and let’s continue promoting this cause for peace.”
Hon. Jean Max Rakotomamonjy
President of the National Assembly in Madagascar “It is agreed that the world actually needs peace. For normal citizens, it is not always known how to reach this goal. As I participate in this Summit, I know HWPL and also the Declaration of Peace and Cessation of War (DPCW). We have to make a large diffusion of the DPCW to be known by all the people over the world. It’s very important. We are on the good waves because there are more than 170 countries that have been represented here. We have to diffuse the message of peace. Every citizen and every organization of the world has his own responsibility to work to diffuse this message. I am sure that if we can act in every organization, it will accelerate our processes and goals for the implementation of the UN for this law…put it into the law and be applied over the world.”
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Heavenly Culture, World Peace, Restoration of Light
Exclusive Interview with Mr. Mathias Kevin Osimbo on HWPL Peace Education
Having dedicated 17 years to teaching, Mr. Mathias Kevin Osimbo, the In-country Representative of Teachers Without Borders in Kenya, offers unique insights into peace education as one of the many educators who have implemented HWPL’s peace education in their classrooms. Mr. Osimbo views that education should be taught in a way that transforms children’s lives by integrating the concept of values in their lives rather than them being taught through textbooks as just knowledge. He sees the great potential of peace education since it could instill the concept of many essential values, such as the sanctity of life, that promote and preserve a culture of peace.
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Cramming and producing are not getting educated. Getting educated is actually getting the concepts and implementing them in life. The grades without values are meaningless. Why should we train an engineer who has no morals and no values…[who] therefore goes and constructs a building that collapses and kill people? That’s why as we teach our subject areas, we should be also telling them it’s not about grades. It’s about life, changing someone’s life and also taking care of somebody’s life. You must value the sanctity of life, whereby we are building the house…we should be building a house knowing that this building a house will accommodate people.
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For several years, Mr. Osimbo led peace education programs and workshops through his organization, but he 6 OCTOBER 2017 HWPL NEWS
Exclusive Interview with Mr. Mathias Kevin Osimbo on HWPL Peace Education finds that real changes from both teachers and students were noticed when he chose, developed and implemented the peace education model presented by HWPL. He chose the value of ‘empathy’ because he “could see the hatred in school…no love and no care”. The results were beyond surprising:
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I picked students from the group, peace club, in my school. When the members came, we picked one of the values, ‘empathy’. As the students discuss about this, they came up with their own ideas and definition of what empathy is. Some of them were too emotional and they were shedding tears as they were sharing their life experiences. Let me tell you there was a change afterwards. Before the discussion, students hit each other. They never used to love one another or care what other children are going through. But after the discussion on empathy, they could see the necessity of why we should have empathy. I actually felt the concept of empathy was sinking into these children.
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Afterwards, students applied the concept of ‘empathy’ in their lives. These real positive changes in students’ behaviors gave him “happiness as [he is] seeing the child progress to a better person”. That was also the very start of a peace club in his school, a student-driven club with the intent to organize and implement various peace-promoting activities, while still working with the community’s unique circumstances and needs. Mr. Osimbo now has a clear vision and goal of an educator working for the best interest of students’ lives and prosperity:
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It’s disheartening to teach people and then they perish. As a person, you might feel like you should give up. But in the contrary, that has even encouraged me more to work so hard and incorporate the concept of values. I should not just teach for A’s, but teach someone who will be having moral obligations to respect life. Therefore, I am trying as much as possible to see the end, my students being successful and not the students being perished. I’ve been trying my own ways until recently when I learned peace education values through HWPL and implemented it and it has worked. I found the solutions now.
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Heavenly Culture, World Peace, Restoration of Light
Region-Specific Discussion for
the Implementation of the Declaration of Peace and Cessation of War Part II Central America - Peacebuilding in the Americas: PARLACEN’s Progress made with the DPCW Representative countries: Guatemala, Nicaragua, Ecuador, Costa Rica
Currently there is substantial and active support for the Declaration of Peace and Cessation of War (DPCW) that can be seen within the Central American Parliament (Parlamento Centroamericano in Spanish, also known as PARLACEN), which set the stage for the discussions regarding future actions plans for continued progress that were held during this meeting. It was shared that last year on May 26th the executive director of the Central American Parliament gave a deliberation on the draft document of the DPCW that was issued by representatives of the Central American Parliament, including Paula Lorena Rodriguez, the Representative of Guatemala. 8 OCTOBER 2017 HWPL NEWS
At the same time, the Central American Parliament declared that it would strongly support the future step to make the DPCW of HWPL as an official and legal statement, including further submission and ratification. In addition, the Central American Parliament suggested that aiming the DPCW’s official adoption and resolution at the United Nations, we need to send the DPCW itself together with the Central American Parliament’s opinion, to the Organization of American States (OAS), the Central American Integration System, the Central American Supreme Court, local parliaments, the European Parliament (EP), Parliamento Latinoamericano and MERCOSUR.
In light of these significant steps forward, discussions were held regarding concrete action plans for further progress towards the ultimate goal of peace through an international law. Participants were shown a video and given a thorough explanation of the international law by the representative moderator. They then openly discussed how to apply this law in such a way that would comprehensively encompass all institutions and areas, including step-by-step procedures for introducing such a law in each region.
Middle East - Action Plan for Peace Guardians in the Middle East Representative countries: Lebanon, Iraq, Australia, Colombia Under the theme of the activation of ‘Peace Guardians’, representatives of four countries, including Dr. Nestor Raúl Correa Henao, Executive Secretary of the Colombian Special Peace Jurisdiction, Ms. Sara Beltrán Flórez, Legal Advisor of the Colombian Special Peace Jurisdiction, Wali Mahmood Hamad, President of Koya University in Iraq, and Abraham Quadan, Executive Member of the Sydney Peace Foundation in Australia, came together to discuss future action plans for the Middle East and beyond. The ‘Peace Guardians Program’ aims to utilize the contents of the DPCW and apply them within the participants’ own countries through the introduction of the DPCW, special lectures, group discussions, ceremonies for gathering signatures of support for the DPCW and directly incorporating these contents in future national projects. With the topic of the ‘Successful case of implementing an ordinance or acceptance of an agreement between the government and civil society,’ Dr. Nestor Raúl Correa Henao, Executive Secretary of the Colombian Special Peace Jurisdiction shared about the successful cases of the implementation of the articles of the DPCW in Colombia and the relevant existing peace law in the country. After this, the participants listened to a presentation regarding “The Need for Peace Guardians” given by Professor Abraham Quadan, Executive member of the Sydney Peace Foundation in Australia, who then proposed a system for establishing the program for Peace Guardians in each region respectively. Finally, all in attendance made a firm pledge to bring back the ideas and content of the discussions held during this conference to their home countries and dedicate themselves to promoting the concrete implementation.
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Heavenly Culture, World Peace, Restoration of Light
Together We Make a Difference Behind the Staff Story of the 3rd Annual Commemoration of the September 18th WARP Summit This year, HWPL hosted the WARP Summit for the fourth year in a row, and has been acknowledged as an exceptional organization for its ability to plan and organize this annual peace event. The event is supported by a large number of planning team members and volunteers each year. Professionals and volunteers participate in the Summit by providing support in the fields of program planning, management, translation, medical services, video recording and editing, photography, art, design and installation, performance, and more. HWPL is often asked by many of the participants how they prepare the WARP Summit, especially regarding planning and organizing. Although this is a mere part of the entire picture, we have covered the ‘behind the staff’ stories, which include the preparation process and various episodes that occurred in the time leading up to the event.
Translation Staff
Playing an Important Role in Delivering the Message of Peace Since the WARP Summit is an international event, there is a special focus on translation services, which enable participants of various nationalities to clearly understand the discussions held at each meeting. For over 1,000 participants from 120 countries, translation was provided in fifteen languages, eight of which were received through specified channels and the rest given live on site. Thanks to the volunteer translators who made efforts as great as the experts who participated in the peace event, everyone could communicate well without being restricted by language barriers.
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Interpreters
42
Interpreter managers
17
Technical support staff
80
Total No. of staff
139
The area of volunteering at the WARP Summit 2017
Peace Festival Performers
Expressing Peace through the Harmony of Culture and Arts This year’s outdoor peace festival was held under the theme, “Peace, Cessation of War, and Reunification of the Korean Peninsula”, and parades, a card-section performance, and arts performances were held for all guests to enjoy. The magnificent peace parade showed how global peace is being achieved in accordance with the 10 articles and 38 clauses of the Declaration of Peace and Cessation of War (DPCW). The organizer of the parade said that he put a lot of effort into creating a scene where tanks and various weapons are converted into farming equipment and everyday tools, which was inspired by Article 2 of the Declaration. There were tanks shooting flowers, children from around the world encircling the earth, traditional folk dances from various countries, students of the Peace Academies, and more. It was a unique and impressive parade that could not be seen anywhere else.
Dongwoo Han, the head of the Parade Art Production team said, “In the case of the tank, a key point to take notice of is how the cold and lethal weapons of death are transformed into agricultural tools that help people and give them joy. So, it becomes a world where there are no longer any weapons that kill people.” World peace is not a vague dream but rather it is truly our collective responsibility. Now is the time for all people of the world to become one and show the power of peace. Volunteers who take part in the WARP Summit do not sit back waiting for a world of peace to come, but rather they come forward to create such a world with their own hands. As the staff and volunteers dearly hope, the WARP Summit will continue to create peace beautifully.
Dongwoo Han the head of the Parade Art Production team
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Heavenly Culture, World Peace, Restoration of Light
Media Takes the Initiative in Spreading a Culture of Peace Media Coverage of the 3rd Annual Commemoration of the WARP Summit 2017 The current prevalence of international conflicts around the globe has triggered journalists to seek their role in peacebuilding as messengers of peace. At the “Press Conference for the 3rd Annual Commemoration of the September 18th WARP Summit Seoul 2017”, Chairman Lee of HWPL pointed out that the fundamental solution to today’s conflicts is every individual whose mindset is cultivated by the spirit of peace. When a journalist asked a question regarding the vision and achievement of this year’s summit, he responded by emphasizing, “The purpose of this event is to awaken and better recognize the idea of peace. If journalists can contribute to peacebuilding, the thoughts of people will change. So, I have high expectation for journalists.” At the “Conference for Global Peace Media Network”, media representatives sought global cooperation among journalists in the peacebuilding process. To promote peace journalism, speakers suggested that 1) news of conflicts and peacebuilding efforts in diverse parts of the world should be covered 2) sharing information among media should be promoted to develop an independent news website focusing on peace, and 3) contributing articles by journalists should be based on various aspects of conflict resolution for peace rather than the conflict itself.
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Syria Daily News, a media company dealing with various news information ranging from local, Arab and international issues, cast its eyes on the “Peace Education Development Forum for Spreading a Culture of Peace” held on September 17th saying that an individual’s spirit of peace stems from the family and school, which highlights the need for peace education throughout their entire life. Agence Ivoirienne de Presse (AIP, Ivorian News Agency), a national public administrative institution under the Ministry of Communication and the Ministry of the Interior, Economy and Finance in Côte
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d'Ivoire, paid special attention to the series of sessions in the fields of women and religion at this summit as “a global approach to building a governance for peace.” Hawaii Telegraph, a Hawaii-based news agency with comprehensive coverage and a national and international network of news resources, pointed out that the comprehensive peacebuilding efforts by HWPL and global communities with the movement of “peace governance” has ushered in collaboration with citizen participation and provided insights on peaceful approaches to cope with global conflicts, including the recent North Korean crisis.
Bolsa de Noticias, a daily Nicaraguan publication agency, provided a great deal of news space to report the summit from various angles. It stated that the Declaration of Peace and Cessation of War (DPCW) is the center of the peacebuilding initiatives offered by HWPL, along with peace activism conducted by journalists, political and religious leaders, and citizens. Jfranews, a newspaper company in Jordan, highlighted HWPL’s cultural performances regarding the Korean War held on September 18th as vividly presenting the tragedy of wars and advocating non-violence and peace to participants.
As promoted by the journalists who participated in the summit, media coverages of peace-related issues contribute to raising awareness of peacebuilding among global citizens and peace journalism provides practical knowledge of conflict resolution. In the case of this year’s summit, there was an increase in media coverage with 598 Coverages from 327 Media Stations in 64 Countries as of October 8th, 2017. This gradual development in peacebuilding, leading to a world of peace, will be attainable when everyone becomes a messenger of peace.
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Heavenly Culture, World Peace, Restoration of Light
Moment of Peace Shared through Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and more! Participants of the WARP Summit 2017 are committed to taking on the role of ‘peacebuilder’ for the global community. Pictures and words that participants shared on their online social media accounts capture unique insights of the peace initiatives discussed at the summit, which will be the first step towards spreading the culture of peace. Transcending the barriers of different religious, national and ethnic backgrounds, people talked with each other, sang songs, and held hands together for the same goal – making peace in our time. The following is the unforgettable moment when the desire for peace resonated around the world.
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SNS Twitter
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Heavenly Culture, World Peace, Restoration of Light
Journalists raise their hands to ask questions at the Press Conference.
IPYG members are enjoying the atmosphere of true peace.
Journalists raise their hands to ask questions at the Press Conference. 18   OCTOBER 2017 HWPL NEWS
Lining up for the entrance to the peace festival with yearning hearts.
Religious leaders are holding hands together in the hopes of spreading interfaith harmony.
Participants from each sector of society engaged in a passionate discussion to construct peace governance.
Soldiers and children of the North and the South unite with one heart and sing 'Our Hope, the Reunification'.
Women leaders wave the origami doves containing the sincere hearts of the youth for pace with brightly sining smiles.
The youth with their cards and the children with their pinwheels express the hearts of everyone yearning for a peaceful future. OCTOBER 2017 HWPL NEWS   19
2017.10
Monthly Newsletter of Heavenly Culture, World Peace, Restoration of Light
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