The Words of the Chua Family
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The Words of the Chua Family |
Manila, Philippines - Building on the foundation of the successful Global Peace Festivals in Manila and the southern Philippine island of Mindanao last year, the Universal Peace Federation launched the Mindanao Peace Initiative in sessions at the Philippine House of Representatives and in cities across Mindanao.
On March 4 Governor Khalid Dimaporo of Lanao Del Norte in Mindanao welcomed Global Peace Festival (GPF) founder Dr. Hyun Jin Moon to a crowd of thousands of youths in Tubod, along with leading RandB artist JR, who together with entertainer Pops Fernandez has joined in support of the GPF peace-building initiatives across the Philippines. Governor Dimapora noted that the mass GPF events and cross-cultural initiatives in Mindanao last September represented a transformative turning point in efforts to show that Mindanoans ascribe to a lasting culture of peace. Lanao Del Norte officials and tribal leaders awarded Dr. Moon the honor of “adopted son” in the region, in light of the successful Global Peace Festival in Mindanao that immediately followed the wake of terror attacks after the breakdown of the peace process in August 2008.
“The Global Peace Tour and the Global Peace Festivals are promoting a tri-fold platform of interfaith cooperation, strengthening the family, and a culture of service for the sake of renewing our communities and nations,” Dr. Moon declared. “We are looking for nothing less than a moral and spiritual awakening rooted in the universal vision of One Family under God. The family is the cornerstone of peace."
He urged the Philippine leaders to “build on these efforts and create a grassroots movement that will spread into a global culture of serving others.”
Following a packed rally with young leaders at the Araneta Coliseum, the opening plenary of the Universal Peace Federation (UPF) Global Peace Tour 2009 was convened in the Philippine House of Representatives with Congressmen Datu Pax Mangudadatu and Jose De Venecia, together with the Deputy Speaker of the House and other Congressional representatives.
An international delegation of UPF leaders then accompanied Dr. Moon to Mindanao to announce the ongoing Mindanao Peace Initiative. The initiative is chaired by Dr. Estrella Abid Babano, Director for the Department of Education in Region 10, and co-chaired by Father Benjamin Beltran, Director of the Sandiwaan Foundation in Lanao Del Norte.
Congressman Mangudadatu of the 1st District of Sultan Kudarat is part of the multi-sectoral Mindanao Peace Initiative coalition that also includes representatives of Muslim, Christian, and indigenous communities, the Armed Forces, business, academia, and youth leaders.
The Mindanao-based action coalition is supporting the Department of Education’s innovative peace village and peace school programs in Mindanao, pioneered by Dr. Babano, and expanding their impact through multi-sector engagement, character education, and service programs among youths.
“Finally, I have found a strong ally with the coming of UPF and GPF to Mindanao,” Dr. Babano stated at the launch, convened at the Pryce Hotel in Cagayan De Oro City on March 5. “We are now in a renaissance period; this is a dawning and an awakening of a new era.”
A Mindanoan leader donated several hectares of land during a tree planting ceremony welcoming the peace delegation to help expand the Department of Education peace villages and GPF initiatives in additional Mindanao communities.
The peace tour delegation in Mindanao held high-level meetings with mayors and other community and tribal leaders as well as thousands of Mindanao youths in the cities of Ozamiz, Tubod, and Cagayan De Oro. UPF leaders called for donations of financial support and Philippine sponsors to expand the education, service, and interfaith peace initiatives in Mindanao.
UPF also announced the Global Peace Convention that will be held at the Manila Hotel December 10-14, 2009, drawing peacemakers from across the globe to the Philippines. Former Speaker of the House of Representatives Jose de Venecia declared that the interfaith peace-building model of GPF in Mindanao could provide a blueprint for conflict resolution in other areas of sectarian violence such as Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Later this month, Dr. Moon will be joined by Martin Luther King III and Kenya’s Prime Minister Raila Odinga at an International Young Leaders Summit in Nairobi, advancing the peace-building model across Kenya, which also experienced tribal related violence after contentious elections. In May, a massive Global Peace Festival will take place in Jakarta, Indonesia, drawing global leaders from across the Muslim world.
Manila Bulletin Chairman Emilio Yap, a strong supporter of the Global Peace Festival, welcomed Dr. Moon and the international delegation for a closing dinner at the Manila Bulletin newspaper at the conclusion of the Mindanao visit.