Over 150 young, enthusiastic members and friends of World CARP gathered in King City, California, from June 12 16, for a five-day - orientation program which marked the launching of the first-ever World CARP Academy.

Last year Special Task Force teams, comprised of CARP members, Russians students and second-generation UC members, went out to campuses across the United States to share with college students the hope, the vision and the need to become men and women of high moral character. They held special presentations, stimulating weekend workshops and exciting international cultural evenings. But it didn't end with words. In addition, CARP members, along with their new friends, served their local communities in such programs as feeding the homeless, city beautification programs, mentoring inner-city children and special ocean challenge outings.

The collective efforts over the past 9 months of World CARP members across America bore fruit in King City at the kick-off for the Academy. There was with a special focus on social service, the first of four components of the Academy. At the welcome ceremony on the first day Academy President Howard Self reminded the young men and women present of the World CARP motto, "Win the Future!" He emphasized that the future of the world is not pre-determined, their actionor inactionwill decide the fate of this nation and the world.

Each morning began with a guided meditation by Myra Stanecki, author of the high school moral education book, "My World & I." With soothing background music she guided people into their "inner sanctuary," the place in their original minds where peace, tranquillity and comfort could always be found.

John Williams from the World CARP education department touched young hearts and minds with his presentations on The Principles of Love, and Spiritual and Physical Life. One Unificationist commented that his lectures were presented in such a broad manner that anyone would be interested, want to hear them, and could gain much from them regardless of their spiritual background, or lack of it.

On the second day veteran Unificationist Sandra Lowen (who holds a masters degree in social work) held her audience spellbound with a beautifully articulated presentation on The Cause & Resolution of Human Conflict. With a myriad of real-life examples Sandra helped us to understand the consequences of and the need to use love in a principled way. The day concluded with a barbecue on the beach which for many was the first time they had seen or swam in the Pacific ocean.

Day three was devoted to presentations on the Academy itself. Academic Dean Robert Kittel outlined the tragedy of modern education. Quoting from numerous magazine and newspaper articles, he pointed out the fact that although college graduates may be well outfitted with knowledge and technical skills, they are often ill equipped for real life. They frequently lack such important characteristics as communication skills, social graces and competency for creating harmonious inter- personal relationships.

Academy faculty member, Dr. Michael Mickler, laid out an outline for a "21st Century Educational Experience." The Academic studies program will provide an opportunity to review and expand on practical lessons learned during the period of service and fund-raising. Based on the education philosophy derived from a Unificationist understanding of the 3 Great Blessings (Gen. 1:28), the WCA curriculum will be divided into 3 main subject areas.

The first area will be personal development. This is related to fulfilling the 1st Blessing, to be fruitful, or in other words to become a self-realized person. Development of interpersonal relationships, connected to the 2nd Blessing, will be the next area of the curriculum. Students will learn models and methods of building harmonious families and larger social-political communities. Finally, technical mastery, connected to the 3rd Blessing of having dominion, will equip students for success in life. Students will learn how to generate and manage resources without having their own financial self- interest as the sole motivating force for success.

Next, Dr. Kathy Winings, director of the WCA social service programs as well as the director of the International Relief and Friendship Foundation, explained about the value of social service. "Service is the practice of true love in order to build communities where compassion and empathy are the norms," she said. Living for others, she added, is not a vocation specifically unique to volunteer agencies, it is an attitude needed for success in life itself.

During the months of June and July, WCA students will be working in 6 cities as volunteers in 20 different professional volunteer agencies. The various projects include constructing trails and related environmental work in state parks, tutoring inner-city children, conducting sports programs in summer camps, remodeling boats used for disaster relief, youth intervention programs, and organizing and designing volunteer programs.

In serving those who serve, Academy students are learning by action not wordsthe value of the fundamental World CARP principle, "Living for Others."

Following social service, Academy students will spend the month of August combining city beautification with team fund-raising. Come September, they will begin intensive, modular-type education which will last till mid-November.

The other two areas of the Academy program will be fundraising, during the Christmas season, and Internships, which are planned for next year. The internships will bring together all the resources of the Unification Movement, business, media, arts, education, inter- religious work, as well as academic and cultural, in order to give students valuable on-the-job training.

This maiden voyage of the Academy is literally a dream come true for Jin Hun Moon, the President of World CARP. Last winter he envisioned a program which could provide urgently needed moral education for college students. Himself a graduate of Columbia University, he knew first-hand the problems facing this so-called lost generation. As President of CARP he wanted not simply to criticize, but to offer a positive solution. The World CARP Academy is designed to supplement, not replace, the existing education "system," by providing students with knowledge, experience and fellowship that will last a lifetime.

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