It is our high honor to welcome you to this historical Peace Road event to be held at the United Nations Headquarters on August 4th at 9:00 am.
The Peace Road Initiative provides a vision to connect six continents by undersea tunnels and continuous highways to make possible unprecedented commerce, peace-building and interdependence of the peoples of the world. Until today, there has never been a road or highway specifically conceived and built as a highway to world peace. It was one of the great visions and dreams of the late Rev. Sun Myung Moon, and his wife, Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon.
The idea of the International Peace Highway, first raised at a 1981 interdisciplinary conference of Korean, Japanese and American scientists in Seoul and later expanded to include a proposed tunnel crossing of the Bering Strait, exemplifies Rev. Moon’s conviction that humanity is really one family under God. He believed that if people could meet each other in daily life, through culture, trade, and travel, they would come to break down the historic fears and misunderstandings that often divide us from our closest neighbors.
Please join us on August 4th for a memorable event that forecasts a wiser, wealthier and more connected world. Due to the limited capacity, please RSVP to Jorge Cuello Espinosa at jce@upfnorthamerica.org so that we can plan for your attendance at this one-of-a-kind gathering.
Sincerely,
Ricardo de Sena President Universal Peace Federation, USA
Washington D.C. – The Religious Youth Service (RYS), a project of the Universal Peace Federation (UPF), kicked off in Washington, D.C. on Sunday, July 12, 2015.
Participants had the opportunity to visit historical sites, such as the Lincoln Memorial, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, the Korean War Memorial and the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial. In the evening, they gathered at the UPF Peace Embassy where they received a presentation by Dr. Antonio Betancourt, UPF Director of Peace and Security. The day concluded with heartfelt reflections from all participants.
“Young leaders of all faiths, serving together for peace”
Washington DC Summer Workshop
We are pleased to invite you to this summer’s Religious Youth Service (RYS) program in Washington, DC, July 12-15, 2015.
Rev. Dr. Sun Myung Moon and Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon, Founders of the Universal Peace Federation (UPF), expressed their vision for RYS this way: “Young leaders of all faiths serving together for peace and the well-being of our global human family.”
The Religious Youth Service (RYS) is organized by the UPF office in Washington for young people (ages 19 – 30) of all faiths to participate and serve together for peace here in the capital of the United States. RYS/UPF – DC offers opportunities as a part of interfaith education to visit and receive briefings from top officials on Capitol Hill, the State Department, the White House, Embassies, and interfaith, religious, and NGO leaders.
RYS focuses on developing leadership and peacemaking skills through living and working together in service. The RYS participants include sons and daughters of the diplomats based in Washington, DC, and university students from across the country.
This could be the opportunity you have been looking for!
The program will include:
Interfaith education briefings by leaders of the major faiths
Forum on peace and security hosted by UPF’s Office of Peace and Security Affairs
Briefings at the White House, Capitol Hill, State Department, Pentagon & embassies
Presentations at prestigious think tanks & interfaith NGOs
Visits to religious sites: Mosque, synagogue, cathedral, Buddhist temple
Service: Creating “Peace Garden,” planting trees and flowers
Friendship and networking – Building new and life-long friendships
Registration fee: $150
* Visits to the State Department and White House subject to availability.
To fill out the registration form, please click here and send it by email to info@upfnorthamerica.org.
Bronx, NY– The Youth Universal Peace Federation (UPF) USA, finished their second service project on Saturday, June 27, at Bronx Park East. Three motivated volunteers kindly served at this event. Jorge Cuello Espinosa, National Director, Youth UPF, took some time to share some of what Youth UPF envisions to its volunteers.
Parks are supposed to be places of serenity. However, Bronx Park East has side trails that were created by people who may have gone into the woods to do inappropriate behavior. To create one straight path, volunteers carried branches and placed them on top of these side trails.
Then, only one solid, clean trail was created with thick tree branches along its sides. Special soil was used to create a smooth path. Although Youth UPF volunteers stayed from 9:00am – 11:00am, more park cleaning was done by other organizations and volunteers at Bronx Park East.
Rev. Jé Hooper, a volunteer from the Bronx, shared his passion for working with young people and for the teachings of Dr. Sun Myung Moon, Founder of UPF. Rev. Hooper was appointed as an Ambassador For Peace (AFP) by Mrs. Tomiko Duggan, Director of Public Affairs, UPF International, in Washington D.C.
Calisher Perry, a volunteer from the Bronx, also expressed her interest in working with young people and giving back to the earth.
Luz Cuello, the mother of Jorge Cuello Espinosa, kept a sincere smile throughout the entire event. Her happy nature was evident through the pictures taken.
Jorge is very grateful for his mother’s help and all of the volunteers. Youth UPF is excited for its next event will to be held on July 11th at the same location.
To sign up for the next Youth UPF event, please visit our Facebook page by clicking here.
Seattle, WA – The Seattle chapter of the Universal Peace Federation (UPF) USA held its monthly dinner on Thursday, June 25, 2015 at the Windermere House, with about 26 persons in attendance. Mr. Larry Krishnek, the former North West District Secretary General for UPF USA. Delivered the keynote address entitled “The Road to Peace.”
Mr. Krishnek showed an 8 minute video explaining the benefits of building a highway connecting the Americas and Asia across the Bering Straits. The idea for an international peace highway was first proposed by UPF Founder, Dr. Sun Myung Moon, at the tenth International Conference on the Unity of the Sciences in 1981. Dr. Moon spoke about this several times, with the fullest attention given in 2005.
Mr. Krishnek emphasized that highways and bridges help to connect humanity, and to overcome barriers caused by physical separation, as with the Chunnel between France and Great Britain, and the intercontinental railroad built across the US in the late 1800s.
The vision to unite humanity emphasizes the mission that Dr. Moon spoke about on September 18, 1976, when he challenged the USA to go beyond the motto of “One Nation Under God” to “One World Under God.”
As part of the preparation for the 3rd anniversary of Dr. Moon’s passing, Ambassadors For Peace (AFPs) in South and North America have begun a series of “Peace Rides.”
In North America, this coincided with the inauguration of the International Peace Education Center in Las Vegas on May 28 – 31, with a bicycle Peace Ride through Las Vegas. In July, Peace Rides will continue through Oregon and Washington State, then up the Alaskan-Canadian Highway to Anchorage and terminating in Nome, Alaska.
After the talk, Lua Pritchard, the Executive Director of the Asia Pacific Cultural Center of Tacoma, WA and her husband Daniel were appointed as Ambassadors for Peace. The program concluded with a group photo on the veranda overlooking beautiful Lake Washington.
Las Vegas, NV – Universal Peace Federation (UPF) USA Las Vegas held another successful, monthly Peace Forum on June 24, 2015 at Las Vegas City Hall. The meeting centered on National Parents’ Day, a national holiday to be held at the International Peace Education Center (IPEC) on July 26, 2015. In response to initiatives presented by UPF Co-Founders Dr. Sun Myung Moon and his wife, Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon in 1994, President William Jefferson signed the Parents Day Holiday into law, to be celebrated on the fourth Sunday of every July.
Dr. Ricardo De Sena, President, UPF USA, offered an exciting power-point presentation describing the history of the Ambassadors For Peace (AFP) programs. He shared about upcoming American Leadership Conferences in Las Vegas commemorating the 10th anniversary of UPF.
Newly appointed AFPs were former State Assemblyman Gene Collins, Journalist Dianna Saffold Cooks and Entertainer Little J. Gambino, who each volunteered o help with the National Parents’ Day program.
“My heart was warmed when I saw the look on the faces of those long-time AFPs who have, for so long, fought on the battlefield for Peace and who attended the function to help meet and greet the new ambassadors,” said Little J. Gambino.
Las Vegas Secretary General Gregg Smith and Deputy Secretariat General Claudelina Smith carried the program through dinner and music.
UPF Las Vegas still has room for people wishing to participate in National Parents’ Day program.
For more information, please contact UPF Las Vegas Chairwoman Katherine Duncan Bartlett, by email at KDuncan@upfnorthamerica.org or call (702) 490-2699.
New York, USA—On June 21, UPF International celebrated International Day of Yoga at New York’s Lincoln Center as a co-sponsor of a program organized by the Global Citizen Forum, founded by Dr. B. K. Modi.
The United Nations Alliance of Civilizations was also a co-sponsor, and was represented by the High Representative, H.E. Mr. Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser, who delivered remarks during the program, emphasizing “the key role yoga can play in bridging the cultural and religious gaps among people.” The featured yoga master was Shri Shri Ravi Shankar who guided the nearly 3,000 live participants, and hundreds of thousands more online through a webcast, in the fundamentals of yoga and its relevance to health, stress reduction and human flourishing. The UN General Assembly agreed in 2014, following a recommendation by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to dedicate June 21 as the International Day of Yoga.
Springfield, IL – Through the inspiration of Universal Peace Federation (UPF) USA Illinois leader, John Prevost, the Chicago chapter of UPF USA decided to hold their 2015 annual American Leadership Conference (ALC) in Springfield on June 20, 2015. For the six weeks preceding the event our Church Pastor, the WFWP leaders and the UPF leaders all met every Tuesday evening to work out all of the details. Mr. Bruce Sutchar, Secretary General, UPF Chicago, realizes now that all the preparation was absolutely needed.
In the Land and Legacy of Abraham Lincoln
Every state in America is unique. If you want to see Niagara Falls you have to go to New York. If you want to visit the Grand Canyon, then Arizona is your destination. You can go to Washington, D.C. to see the Lincoln Memorial, but if you really want to feel the life and legacy of Abraham Lincoln, then you must visit Illinois.
In recent years, Americans have heard about the Bush Library in Texas, and the Clinton Library in New York, but about 10 years ago the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum was erected in Springfield, Illinois. It is a beautiful state of the art facility that one needs at least 2 ½ hours to even begin to explore it all.
The Chicago chapter of the Universal Peace Federation (UPF) USA rented a tour bus and, at 7:00am, participants loaded up and headed the 200 miles downstate from Chicago to the Capitol City of Illinois (they wanted to keep the seat of government as far away from a major city as possible).
The chapter’s first stop was Lincoln’s tomb. He is buried there along with his wife Mary Todd Lincoln and three of his four boys. Only his eldest son Robert would make it to adulthood and he is buried in the Arlington National Cemetery.
As participants walked out of the tomb, they were greeted by a friendly Dominos Pizza Delivery Truck and 40 of them chowed down to an outdoor picnic lunch. These excited participants then hustled over to Lincoln’s 1860 home in an area where the neighborhood is preserved to look exactly as it did when Lincoln lived there before he became President and moved to Washington, D.C.. It was a beautiful and historical experience. From there, participants headed over to the Illinois State Capitol—an incredibly ornate and historical building. Our state senator had reserved a room for us in the Illinois Senate hearing room. There, the chapter was greeted by the speaker who herself had driven 3 ½ hours to join us.
She talked deeply and personally about “Lincoln’s preparation for leadership.” What he had learned in his time in the Illinois legislature. She implored our young people to get involved in politics. She said one needs three things to be successful: 1) a love for politics; 2) the knowledge, understanding and confidence to know that that you are as good and can accomplish as much as anyone, and; 3) a commitment to honesty.
The speaker picked at the brains of those young people in the audience and successfully involved them in her lecture. The result of this was that the next day at Sunday Service, two of these young adults gave very exciting and stimulating testimonies about both their trip and the speaker’s talk.
The program concluded with the presentation of the Ambassadors for Peace plaque to our speaker and her husband, who is also a college professor.
Afterward the trip concluded with a drive around the Old State Capitol where both Lincoln and more recently President Barack Obama each announced their candidacies for the position of President of the United States of America.
Nutley, NJ— On June 14, 2015, the “Pathways to Peace” cultural exchange project was held in Nutley, New Jersey. The event, whose theme was “Peace is not simply the absence of war, but the development of friendships,” was a collaboration of the town of Nutley, the Nutley school district, the local Rotary Club, the Nutley Clergy Association, and UPF-USA.
From 12 p.m. to 4 p.m., Honduran students worked with American students to create a traditional sawdust street tapestry, or alfombra (“carpet”)–patterned after the alfombras created on the streets of Comayuga, Honduras every year—on Nutley’s main street, Franklin Avenue. Others created tapestries on the avenue using chalk. Nearly 400 people participated in the event, which also featured music, food and a performance of martial arts.
The keynote speaker, H.E. Mrs. Elizabeth Mary Flores Flake, Permanent Representative of Honduras to the UN, made an early appearance at the event. After arriving, she eagerly collected chalk, found an area on the street to work on and began designing her own chalk drawing of the patron saint of her hometown of Comayagua.
At the closing ceremony, a choir of about 150 local students sang “One World of Peace.” Afterwards, Amb. Flores thanked UPF and all the individuals and groups who helped organized the project. Nutley mayor Mr. Alphonse Petracco then presented a key to the township to Amb. Flores, who received it on behalf of the mayor of Comayagua, who was unable to attend the event.
The making of an alfombra is a devotional act in Comayagua tradition. Therefore, in closing, Mr. Petracco and Mr. Mario Salinas, director of UPF-Honduras, walked toward one another from opposite sides of the tapestry the youth had created to meet in “brotherhood.” Mr. Salinas then presented the mayor with a Honduran national costume as a gift.
The participants danced joyfully on the tapestry to conclude the activities.
During and after the project, many people, including Mr. Petracco, concurred that the project was not only beautiful, but extremely meaningful. At the Nutley Board of Commissioner’s meeting the following week, Mr. Petracco presented Mr. Salinas with a key to Nutley, and each of the three Honduran students who had participated in the project, framed proclamations honoring them for volunteering for peace.
A week after the project, the Honduran students were treated to sightseeing in New York city and Philadelphia, and visited the New Jersey shore and the Atlantic City boardwalk. They also enjoyed a tour of the UN headquarters, which was arranged by Amb. Flores. Amb. Flores later met with organizers of “Pathways to Peace” to discuss possible collaborative projects in the future.
Washington D.C. – Indian fisheries scientist Dr. M. Vijay Gupta and President Anote Tong of the South Pacific island nation of Kiribati have been selected to receive the inaugural Sunhak Peace Prize, a prestigious award given annually to individuals and/or organizations that contribute to global peace through their commitment to environmental sustainability and innovative solutions to conflict-causing crises.
Anote Tong, Modadugu Vijay Gupta, President of the Republic of Kiribati Biologist and Indian fisheries scientist
The two awardees will be honored at a ceremony in Seoul, South Korea, on August 28, 2015. Each will receive the Sunhak Peace Prize medal, certificate and a cash prize of $500,000.
The Sunhak Peace Prize encourages the following:
● Peace and human development ● Conflict resolution ● Ecological conservation
The 2015 Prize celebrates and seeks to promote the link between sustainable development practices and global peace and justice. In the 20th century, peace was threatened by world wars and regional conflicts. The threats to peace and human security in this century prominently include not only territorial disputes and the rise of extremism, but also climate change and its impact on food security and clean water for the world’s most vulnerable citizens. The Prize emphasizes the critical role of interfaith and international cooperation based on respect for human rights as an essential foundation for peace.
Dr. Gupta is a renowned researcher from India who spent his career creating innovative ways to feed the rural poor by developing and disseminating techniques for low-cost fish farming. For his achievements, Dr. Gupta won the 2005 World Food Prize. He served as the assistant director general at WorldFish, an international fisheries institute located in Malaysia.
President Tong’s Kiribati is a collection of 34 atolls and islands 2,500 miles south of Hawaii. Half of Kiribati’s 103,000 citizens live on Tarawa Atoll, which has an average elevation of less than seven feet above sea level. Studies show that the ocean is rising around Kiribati at the rate of three millimeters a year, more than twice the global average. President Tong has drawn international attention and respect for his tireless warnings about the danger of rising seas that results from climate change. His nation could be uninhabitable by the 2050s.
“We are honored to announce that the first Sunhak Peace Prize will be presented to these two deserving individuals,” said Il-Sik Hong, former president of Korea University and chairman of the Sunhak Peace Prize Committee. “Dr. Gupta and President Tong are worthy Laureates because they have made the world a better and more peaceful place. Hunger, poverty and climate change lead to global conflict and human suffering, and both men have devoted their lives to furthering peace by finding sustainable solutions to these pressing problems.”
Dr. Gupta is an Indian fisheries scientist known as an architect of the “Blue Revolution” – or the productive use of ocean resources – and has been a leader in teaching the rural poor how to fish sustainably. His aquaculture methods have dramatically reduced hunger in Southeast Asia and have empowered rural women with low social status.
President Tong, in an effort to preserve his nation and its threatened way of life, has designated 408,250 square kilometers of his country’s waters as a “marine protected area.” To prevent his people from becoming climate change refugees, he has instituted vocational training for a “mass migration with dignity” plan. Nurses and technicians have begun to resettle in Australia and New Zealand. President Tong bought 2,000 hectares of land in Fiji last year and is considering relocating his population.
