Roman Catholic Cardinal Kelvin Felix receives leadership award from Mother Moon and Dr. Sun Jin Moon, International President of FFWPU. (PHOTO CREDIT: HSA-UWC)

Two major conferences — one in Brazil and the other in Austria — were convened by the Universal Peace Federation this year to generate discussions about shared challenges and how they could be addressed by international cooperation.

The Latin America Summit 2018, held in So Paulo, Brazil in August, brought together about 400 representatives from nearly 40 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, as well the United States, Korea, Japan and other Asian and European nations.

The theme of the summit was “Peace and Development in Latin America: Interdependence, Mutual Prosperity and Universal Values.”

Issues discussed included climate change, which is having a major impact on food security and even forcing migration in some parts of the world. Displaced people, political oppression and conflict, as well as challenges to democracy and democratic institutions, were discussed at the event, which ran from Aug. 2-5.

Dr. Julio Mara Sanguinetti Coirolo, Uruguay’s president from 1985-1990 and 1995-2000, recalled working with Rev. Dr. Sun Myung Moon and Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon decades ago and highlighted UPF’s many activities in Latin America.

Despite describing himself as an agnostic, Mr. Coirolo said he always recognized the important contributions that religious values bring to community life.

“You have a cause to fight for. Continue this important work and continue to inspire hope,” he said in his introduction to Mrs. Moon, the co-founder of UPF and keynote speaker at the 2018 Latin America Summit.