On Saturday, March 4, six of the core IIFW/IIFWP-NL Ambassadors for Peace had an afternoon meeting with IIFW Secretary Wim Koetsier and four other IIFW staff members at the IIFW Dialoogcentrum in Amsterdam.

Wim Koetsier put the creation of The Universal Peace Federation in context by explaining how Dr Moon feels we are living in a special time, that offers unique possibilities for peace, but that if we do not take advantage of this chance, we may lose it - we are at a crucial point.

He continued how Dr Moon stressed that each individual needs to work to achieve their own inner peace by uniting their mind/ideals and body/reality: and how that should be manifested within the family and by living for the sake of others; and that by living this way, we are also helped in our quest to find peace within. He mentioned three central points: that we - 1. live from love; 2. do not misuse money, in particular "public" money; 3. respect the feelings of others, and do not hurt them.

Mr Koetsier showed some materials he had collected in Korea when attending the UPF World Assembly 2006 - see reports on IIFWP Home Page - http://www.iifwp.org - and also at the following European meeting in Berlin. In particular, he showed and expanded on a Power Point presentation - UPF Global Agenda - to see, click on PowerPoint - which looks at the development of Dr Moon's work from 1954 to today and the UPF.

His asking for suggestions for topics for future conferences gave rise to lively discussion, Mr Tanwir using the term "clash of civilizations" when referring to the "Danish cartoon controversy". He felt that UPF should makes its position clear on this.

In fact, a statement was released back in February: World Assembly of the Universal Peace Federation calls for media respect for all religions 02/14/2006 2:25PM EST

Dr. Zia Rizvi, an Ambassador for Peace and spokesman for the First World Assembly of the Universal Peace Federation gathering in Seoul, Korea, noted the deep regret of the more than 300 delegates from 126 nations for the "unfortunate decisions by some newspapers in Europe which has led to widespread anger in the Muslim world, and to at least three deaths. (For the full statement, see http://www.iifwp.org/programs/conferences/assembly/upfasm2006/index.php?report_id=694&event_id=170 ) and UPF-NL disseminated this in Holland, to the media, religious and social groups and UPF Ambassadors for Peace and many other friends and contacts.)

Wim Koetsier mentioned that UPF's European Policy Forum also recently issued a statement that relates to this and he shared it with the participants (see below; it has also been sent to the media and many other addresses).

Dr Eva Latham widened the discussion by saying how politicians were often rather insensitive when insisting that newcomers to the Netherlands needed to be "educated", when there were so many bad practices in The Netherlands. UPF staff member Rita Salaris added to this, saying how politicians are often so insensitive in referring to some children of "newcomers", using abusive, judgmental, "label" language that showed a complete absence of heart.

It seemed that the "clash of civilizations" had a number of dimensions: liberalism and materialism vs. religion and spirituality, Islam vs. "the West", "native Dutch" vs. "new Dutch", but Wim Koetsier commented, then and later, that true education would not mean a certain culture dominating another, but that inter-religious shared values, centered on God, are taught to young and old people, actually to everybody, with the aim of bringing peace and harmony. The work of the International Educational Foundation in Russia and other former USSR countries and China has been specifically aimed at bringing this sort of character education to schools and universities and on show was a new book developed in Oceania, that sought to develop the publication "My Journey in Life", first published in Russia. Work has started in the Netherlands to develop the International Educative Educational Foundation, firstly with the site - http://www.ief-ned.nl/ (which is still under construction). Some of IEF publications may be seen at http://www.internationalcharacter.org/resources.shtml.

Dr. Santoe felt the "cartoon controversy" needed to be seen in context. Cartoonists have been depicting people, even Jesus Christ, in disrespectful ways for hundreds of years. This didn't mean he liked it, though he was amused by the idea of 'bombers' arriving in 'heaven' in finding there were no virgins left, and he strongly condemned the violent reactions of some, stating that this was, unfortunately, a reflection of those Moslems' lack of spirituality.

Mr. Haselhoef agreed with this; he even felt that the recent "anti-discrimination" laws were not a good idea. He felt an employer should be able to refuse employment to someone if he, for example, wore a beard: to deny him that choice was denying him his human rights. He looked to the day when a beard would not be a problem, but people had to win respect.

UPF-NL Chairman Gautam contributed a number of remarks, all aimed at saying we should try and come together on a higher level, and he quoted an eminent philosopher from the Indian sub-continent. dr. Santoe and Mr. Haselhoef nodded in agreement and recognition of this wise man and, astonishingly, Mr. Tanwir pulled out of his bag, a book written by him.

Wim Koetsier remarked that if we, whether cartoonists, newspaper editors, politicians - or outraged protesters - were concerned about not hurting other people's feelings, most of these problems could be resolved relatively speedily.

In the past, to be "discriminating" was a virtue, something to be desired: you had the ability to perceive where the truth lay, or what was "better" (as Mr Haselhoef said, it is human to make distinctions and have preferences), but the question then was what you do about it, and, to repeat, whether you do your best not to offend, to hurt, the other.

He added that democracy can only really be effective when it is democracy with love and respect - and that whatever we do, we need to think of others and the higher purpose for our activity. He gave an example of someone not doing this: an architect who is most concerned about his design ideas that he forgets to include toilets, or places them without thinking where they should be so as to be of best service to those who will use them (it seems there is a major public building in Holland where there is this problem).

It was obvious that the Media should be a matter for discussion: the media should seek to provide clear information and that, and its comments, should be aimed at helping the public make good decisions, but in fact it often magnifies conflicts or even creates them, as one participants commented "good news is not news".

"Prejudice/Discrimination" and Human Rights was another topic for discussion - and the "Future of Europe": what values should Europe be following? This also gives rise to the question of what should be included in a "European Constitution". If God and Spiritual Values are not the source of our values, we are opening ourselves to all sorts of problems. God needs to be brought back into society, not as a dogmatic form but as a living force.

In response to the concern of some participants regarding the turmoil resulting from the "cartoon controversy", Mr. Koetsier mentioned the recent Press Release from the UPF European Policy Forum - see below.

The commitment of all participants to the meeting was shown in the fact that it overran by well over an hour - and nobody commented on this.

Conferences planned are mentioned in the summary in Dutch above. It should be noted that the date of the March conference is not yet finalized. In all probability, more will be planned.

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