Gore Island Mayor Augustin Senghor and first Lady honored Mother Moon for bringing peace and healing to his region. (PHOTO CREDIT: HSA-UWC)

An unprecedented summit in Africa, aimed at revitalizing relationships and shared development among nations, was held earlier this year by organizations affiliated with the Universal Peace Federation (UPF).

The First Africa Summit for Peace, Security and Sustainable Development drew a multi-sector audience of 1,200 participants, representing more than 60 nations, to Dakar, Senegal, on Jan. 18-19, 2018.

Senegal’s president, His Excellency Macky Sall, as well as UPF Co-founder Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon spoke at the event, which was built around the theme, “New Africa: Interdependence, Mutual Prosperity and Universal Values.”

Besides addressing the summit participants and meeting the UPF leadership and members from throughout the continent, Mrs. Moon visited Gore Island, a small, car-free island off the coast of Dakar known for its infamous role in the Atlantic slave trade of the 15th to 19th centuries.

Mrs. Moon joined with African spiritual leaders and FFWPU members on Jan. 19 to conduct an interfaith prayer for peace and reconciliation. She also generously donated a boat to be used for emergency medical evacuations.
 

In fulfillment of the summit’s objectives toward promoting a “New Africa,” the following issues and initiatives were introduced:

1. Interdependence. To strengthen bonds of solidarity and promote mutual development, knowledge and technology were shared through presentations on the New Village Movement (Saemaeul) — which played a significant role in providing the vision to develop rural areas in Korea after the Korean War — and coffee production, utilizing research and technology from the Hawaiian Queen Coffee Farm, which was established by the founders of UPF.