“Non-Violence Forum to Spread a Culture of Peace”

 Date and Time: Thursday, April 28th, 2022, 17:00PM(MESZ)

 

Location: Online (Zoom)

 

Topics: Non-Violence, Human Rights

 

Host: HWPL Northern Seoul & Gyeonggi Branch

 

Speakers:

 

Mrs Christine Maze, France, President of the Bordeaux Bar Association in France

 

Ms. Minerva Kadar Afonso, Spain, Delegate of the Alma Association against Gender Violence in Spain

 

Mr. Mohamed Diawara, Mali, Professor of ESC school in Mali

 

Mr. Ali DAOU, Mali, Person in charge of the culture program at the UNESCO Office in Bamako

 

Mrs. Bouchra Sirsalane, Elected official and Administrator of the CCAS of the City of Puteaux in France

 

Dr. Maria Hadjielia Drotarova, Cyprus, Lecturer at CTL Eurocollege, Limassol

 

Dr. Thomas Smith, USA, Teacher at Martin Luther King Jr. High School in Atlanta

🎤

 

“Non-Violence Forum to Spread a Culture of Peace”

was held to identify possible responses to the problems of violence in order to spread a culture of peace.

 

 

 

“This violence must stop. It no longer has its place in the 21st century. The positive change associated with it is quite possible. It has, moreover, begun to occur. It must continue and be further consolidated, until it becomes a very satisfactory reality.”

 

– Mr. Amadou Opa Thiam, Ambassador at the Permanent Delegation of Mali to UNESCO-

 

 

“I would like to point out the necessity of building and promoting together a culture of peace and non-violence. It must remain primordial in our minds and in our hearts. “

 

– Ms. Anna Bossman, Ambassador at the Permanent Delegation of Ghana to UNESCO

 

 

“Peace education not only solves the violence that can occur in our daily lives, but it educates each person to peacefully solve problems through nonviolent methods.”

 

– Dr. Thomas Smith, Teacher at Martin Luther King Jr. High School in Atlanta, USA

 

 

Introduction Webinar

 

On April 28th, 2022, HWPL (Heavenly Culture, World Peace, Restoration of Light), in collaboration with the Permanent Delegation of Mali to UNESCO hosted an online webinar titled “Non-Violence Forum to Spread a Culture of Peace”.

The webinar was held to identify possible responses to the problems of violence in order to spread a culture of peace and be aware of the role we can play today in the prevention and resolution of societal problems such as violence, human rights violations and discrimination.

Ambassador of Mali, Mr. Amadou Opa Thiam and Ambassador of Ghana, Ms. Anna Bossman delivered a congratulatory address and Ambassador to the Permanent Delegation of Mozambique to UNESCO, Mr. Alberto Maverengue Augusto, and Secretary General Benin National Commission, Mrs. Adélaïde Fassinou Allagbada sent a short video message.

Three speakers, Mrs. Christine Maze, Ms. Minerva Kadar Afonso and Mr. Mohamed Diawara, spoke on the topic of domestic violence. Followed by four speakers, Mr. Ali Daou, Ms. Bouchra Sirsalane, Dr. Maria Hadjielia Drotarova and Dr. Thomas Smith who gave a speech on the topic of school violence.

 

🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀

Background Information

 

Each year more than 1.6 million people die as a result of violence. It is one of the leading causes of death among age of 15 to 44. A person can be exposed to violence in many ways: as a direct victim or as a witness to violence in their society, community, school home, or even online. When it does not result in death, violence also causes many physical and emotional injuries to its victims who may also experience mental distress and a reduced quality of life. Being exposed to violence can have serious short- and long-term health effects, including feelings of insecurity, behavioural problems, depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder.

In fact, quarantine, movement restrictions and stay-at-home measures to contain the spread of infection after COVID-19 have contributed to a sharp rise in domestic violence. In addition, as the online activity of children and youth increases due to national lockdowns and widespread school closures, students are now exposed to cyberbullying as well as bullying in school. Violence is a phenomenon that can take many forms, from the “invisible” suffering of the most vulnerable to the all too visible tragedy of societies plunged into conflict. It permeates our daily lives, our homes, our schools and our society. It can be physical, verbal or psychological. We need to know more about the factors that cause violence, and identify possible solutions in different sectors of society. We must remember that safety and security are not something that can be taken for granted: they are the result of a collective consensus and public investment.

 

Through this webinar, two main topics, domestic violence and school violence, were addressed. The speakers shared about the current situation of domestic violence in each country and what should be done to resolve it. And speakers on the second topic shared the current situation of school violence and cyberbullying. Some speakers emphasized on the importance of education including peace education to reduce these kinds of violence.

 

 

 

#PEACE #EDUCATION #NO_VIOLENCE #SCHOOL #HWPL #DPCW_1038 #IPYG #IWPG #WARP_OFFICE #WEBINAR

SOURCED BY : WWW.HWPL.KR

 

 

 

8th Anniversary of the January 24th HWPL Day of Peace, Commitment messages of Peace messengers

HWPL Peace Projects in Mindanao, Philippines

https://bit.ly/3orC8a8

 

 

The Strongest Foundation in Achieving World Peace: Institutionalization of HWPL Peace Education in the Philippines

https://bit.ly/3zrPMk2

 

 

On January 24th, ‘8th Anniversary of the January 24th HWPL Day of Peace’ was held

https://bit.ly/3OAOpUm

 

 

8th Anniversary of the January 24th HWPL Day of Peace, Commitment messages of Peace messengers

https://bit.ly/3OxSWXH

 

 

The Lights of Peace Shine

https://bit.ly/3Bez096

 

 

HWPL Peace Monument Built by the Hands of Filipino Citizens and Peace Education Students

https://bit.ly/3Ovwmiq

 

#PEACE #LIGHTS #HWPL #DPCW_1038 #WARP_OFFICE 

 

International Day of Friendship 30 July

Sharing the human spirit through friendship

Our world faces many challenges, crises and forces of division — such as poverty, violence, and human rights abuses — among many others — that undermine peace, security, development and social harmony among the world's peoples.

 

To confront those crises and challenges, their root causes must be addressed by promoting and defending a shared spirit of human solidarity that takes many forms — the simplest of which is friendship.

 

Through friendship — by accumulating bonds of camaraderie and developing strong ties of trust — we can contribute to the fundamental shifts that are urgently needed to achieve lasting stability, weave a safety net that will protect us all, and generate passion for a better world where all are united for the greater good.

Background

The International Day of Friendship was proclaimed in 2011 by the UN General Assembly with the idea that friendship between peoples, countries, cultures and individuals can inspire peace efforts and build bridges between communities.

 

#FRIENDSHIP #DPCW_1038 #INTERNATIONAL_DAY #HUMAN

 

The resolution places emphasis on involving young people, as future leaders, in community activities that include different cultures and promote international understanding and respect for diversity.

 

To mark the International Day of Friendship the UN encourages governments, international organizations and civil society groups to hold events, activities and initiatives that contribute to the efforts of the international community towards promoting a dialogue among civilizations, solidarity, mutual understanding and reconciliation.

The International Day of Friendship is an initiative that follows on the proposal made by UNESCO defining the Culture of Peace as a set of values, attitudes and behaviours that reject violence and endeavour to prevent conflicts by addressing their root causes with a view to solving problems. It was then adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1997.

 

WWW.UN.ORG

 

 

 

DPCW_1038 : The meaning of peace is spreading globally from the Philippines

HWPL Peace Projects in Mindanao, Philippines

♩ ♩ ♩ ♩ ♩

 

Even before the DPCW was proclaimed, its principles were already being practiced in one region, Mindanao of the Philippines. Mindanao is on the path to peace after ending the military collision between the Philippine government and Moro groups, which lasted over 40 years and resulted in more than 120,000 casualties. Seeing how peace was being created in Mindanao according to the Declaration of World Peace, the foundation document of the DPCW, HWPL became certain that a law for peace can transform conflict into peace. Since the DPCW was proclaimed, Mindanao has taken the lead in implementing the DPCW in practice. Mindanao’s governor and a religious leader achieved interethnic and interfaith reconciliation (Article 5 and 9 of the DPCW), civil society is involved in the LP project, and the Ministry of Education is introducing peace education to the region (Article 10 of the DPCW).

☕

The meaning of peace is spreading globally from the Philippines

Peace as a legacy to the future generations

#DPCW_1038 #PEACE_WORLD #WARP_OFFICE

 

 

 

 

WWW.HWPL.KR

 

 

#IWPG #IPYG #DISARMENT

Civilian peace agreement, determined voice of citizens

 

In General Santos on 14 January 2014, a civilian agreement was signed for the peace of Mindanao. The signing ceremony, hosted by HWPL and organized by the IWPG and the IPYG, was attended by over 300 residents including politicians, university professors, religious leaders, and students. Before the audience, Archbishop Emeritus Fernando Robles Capalla of Archdiocese of Davao and Governor Esmael G. Mangudadatu of Maguindanao signed the agreement as representatives to cooperate in ceasing the conflict and building peace.

 

With this agreement as a starting point, HWPL launched a peace movement to raise public awareness of peace not only in Mindanao but throughout the Philippines, based on the universal principles of mutual understanding, respect, and harmony. Also, civil society sectors such as education, religion, youth, and women are actively engaged in HWPL’s peace initiatives to remove the causes of conflict and strengthen the values of peaceful development.

 

The 24th of January was declared as HWPL Day, and a monument was established to commemorate the signing of the Mindanao Peace Agreement. Davao City’s museum and public library are exhibiting HWPL’s peace activities. Students from elementary school to college are growing into messengers of peace through peace education, and on 25 May of every year, youth and women participate in peace walks. Moreover, religious leaders regularly convene at the World Alliance of Religions’ Peace Office to engage in interfaith discussions based on religious texts.

✉

Article 10 of the DPCW, spreading a culture of peace

 

In line with Article 10 of the DPCW, HWPL is taking a long-term approach to its peace initiatives in Mindanao in order to establish peace as a culture and a common value. To prevent the international community’s support and effort from being thwarted again by war, HWPL is endeavoring to strengthen public awareness of peace in Mindanao and across the Philippines through peace education and interfaith dialogue.

 

The 2022 Lecture Series on Disarmament in Germany voices

The 2022 Lecture Series on Disarmament in Germany voices the importance of citizen participation in disarmament activities

 

On April 19, 2022, the first lecture of the 2022 Lecture Series on Disarmament was held in Germany under the theme of ‘The Importance of Disarmament and Current World Situation’. Starting with this lecture, four sessions (April 19, May 3, May 17, May 31) were held over 6 weeks with a total attendance of 165 people, including 6 speakers.

 

#DPCW_1038 #PEACE_WORLD #WARP_OFFICE

 

Disarmament is closely related to various social issues that are currently taking place, and is one of the important factors in achieving world peace. HWPL Frankfurt Branch volunteers in Germany conducted over 20 interviews with various disarmament experts over the past year. And the experts who were interviewed emphasized the importance of improving the awareness and participation of young people in disarmament activities in Germany. Thus, the lecture series has been planned in response to these needs.

 

The four main themes of the session were,

‘Importance of disarmament and the current world situation’,

 

‘Relevance of global issues and armament’,

 

‘The current state of disarmament in Germany’,

 

and

 

‘The need for cooperation between the government and youth for disarmament.’ 

After the lecture, Q&A and discussions were held freely with the citizens in attendance on topics related to the lecture.

 

 

WWW.HWPL.KR

 

Dr. Matin Baraki, a lecturer at the University of Marburg who presented on the topic of relevance of global issues and armament, said during his lecture, “The importance of HWPL’s peace activities is increasing due to the current crisis in Ukraine, and I think it is our role for everyone to participate in disarmament and international activities.”

 

Citizens who attended the lecture commented, “Before listening to the lecture, I had no idea how much money was spent just maintaining the military and how much environmental pollution was caused by this”, and “I now can understand the role of young people for disarmament, and I hope that there will be many more of these lectures so that more people will know the importance of disarmament.”

 

HWPL is planning another lecture series on disarmament in the second half of the year to let more citizens recognize the importance of disarmament. With the participation of many citizens, it is hoped that active disarmament and peace activities will continue in Europe and around the world, starting from Germany.

 

#IWPG #IPYG #DISARMENT

 

INTERNATIONAL DAY : World Drowning Prevention Day 25 July

World Drowning Prevention Day

World Drowning Prevention Day, declared in April 2021 by General Assembly resolution A/RES/75/273, is held annually on 25 July. This global advocacy event serves as an opportunity to highlight the tragic and profound impact of drowning on families and communities and to offer life-saving solutions to prevent it.

 

All stakeholders – governments, UN agencies, civil society organizations, the private sector, academia and individuals – are invited to mark World Drowning Prevention Day by highlighting the need for urgent, coordinated and multi-sectoral action on proven measures such as:   

installing barriers controlling access to water;

providing safe places away from water such as crèches for pre-school children with capable childcare;

teaching swimming, water safety and safe rescue skills;

training bystanders in safe rescue and resuscitation;

setting and enforcing safe boating, shipping and ferry regulations;

improving flood risk management.

The new UN General Assembly resolution invited WHO to coordinate actions on drowning prevention within the UN system. In this capacity, WHO leads preparations for World Drowning Prevention Day by producing related advocacy materials, hosting a global launch event and supporting national and local activities in countries and communities around the world.

#UN #INTERNATIONAL_DAY #DPCW_1038 #DROWNING#HWPL

Drowning is a leading cause of accidental death

Every year, an estimated 236,000 people drown, making drowning a major public health problem worldwide. Drowning is one of the leading causes of death globally for children and young people aged 1-24 years. Drowning is the 3rd leading cause of unintentional injury death, accounting for 7% of all injury-related deaths.

 

The global burden of death from drowning is felt in all economies and regions, however:

 

low- and middle-income countries account for over 90% of unintentional drowning deaths;

over half of the world's drowning occurs in the WHO Western Pacific Region and WHO South-East Asia Region;

drowning death rates are highest in the WHO Western Pacific Region, and are 27-32 times higher than those seen in the United Kingdom or Germany, respectively.

 

WWW.HWPL.KR

 

 

 

“Visiting the Three Sacred Places in Yong-in”

 

On May 14, the Yong-in branch office of HWPL’s South Seoul and Gyeonggi Branch held its first offline event since the COVID-19 pandemic. Under the theme of “Visiting the Three Sacred Places in Yong-in”, the event was held as a pilgrimage to the religious harmony and peace, starting from Simgokseowon Confucian Academy, and went through Sonkol Sanctuary, a Catholic sacred place, to the Seo-bong buddhist temple site.

 

The S. Seoul & Gyeonggi branch Yong-in branch office of HWPL hosted the event. This pilgrimage event was co-organized by Jeongam Association and the International Peace Youth Group

(the IPYG) Yong-in branch office.

 

It was attended by approximately 40 people who yearn for peace including Jin Yong-ok (master of Simgokseowon Confucian Academy), Seokcheongbo (chief priest of Bub-gi buddhist temple), Jeong Myung-seo (senior pastor of Bucheon Mahanaim Church); Lee Young-soo (lecturer in theology), Lee Hwang-zoo (lecturer in theology), and Hong Seung-young (lecturer in theology) who are Christian panels of the Yong-in WARP Office; Kim Hyeon A (manager of WARP office), Kang Myeong-gu (senior member of the study of scriptures), and members of HWPL and the IPYG.

At the opening ceremony ahead of the pilgrimage, Kim Hyun-a, manager of the WARP office of HWPL, quoted Chairman Lee Man-hee of HWPL, “People with seeds of peace and harmony can produce results of peace no matter how difficult it is” as “It is hoped that this event will set a good precedent for religious harmony. Let’s become one based on the values of peace.”

 

 

Simgokseowon Confucian Academy, the first destination of the event, is a Confucian academy designated as Gyeonggi-do Tangible Cultural Site No. 7 and honors the will of Jo Gwang-jo (pen-name: Jeongam) (1482-1519), a scholar and politician in the mid-Joseon period. Here, Jin Yong-ok (master of Simgokseowon Confucian Academy) conducted education on traditional bowing and Confucian etiquette.

 

The second Catholic sacred site, Shrine of Sonkol, was a village where companions lived to escape Catholic persecution in the late Joseon Dynasty, and a memorial cathedral was built. It commemorates two French missionaries, Saint Dorie (surname Kim, Henri 1839-1866) and Saint Aumaitre (Peter, 1837-1866), who were martyred during the French Campaign Against Korea (1866).

 

 

WWW.HWPL.KR

👆

 

#PEACE #HWPL #DPCW_1038 #IWPG #IPYG #WARP_OFFICE

#BUDDIST #RELIGION #TEMPLE_SITE

 

The last destination of the event was the Seo-bong buddhist temple site, a Buddhist sacred place. Seo-bongsa Temple is a temple located in the middle of Gwanggyosan Mountain, and there is a “Stele for State Precipitator Hyonpo at Seobongsa Temple Site” (National Treasure No. 9) built in 1186 (the 15th year of the reign of King Myeongjong of Goryeo Dynasty). In this place, Seokcheongbo, chief priest of Bub-gi buddhist temple taught participants about the penitence and basic teachings of Buddhism.

 

He also said,

“I think it is encouraging and our future is bright to see young members of the HWPL to work for peace movement and realize love in Korea at a time when the world is stained with war and conflict”,

 

“I hope young people will work hard to establish Korean history, national view, and world view for ourselves, family, society, and country.”

 

A member of the Yong-in branch office of the IPYG who participated in the three major pilgrimage in Yong-in, said, “It was beneficial to learn about the sacred places that I did not know well while living in Yong-in. It was a meaningful time to see the walls being torn down through understanding and communication through exchanges between religions,” they said.

DPCW_1038: ‘Eco-Plogging’ Relay Challenge in Bangladesh

On April 25 and May 9, 40 people of the Christian Youth of Bangladesh and Human Rights Participation Coalition who are members of IPYG (International Peace Youth Group) affiliated with

 

HWPL (Heavenly Culture, World Peace, Restoration of Light

/ International NGO) held the ‘Eco-Plogging’ event twice as a challenge activity to solve environmental problems in Dhaka  and Dhakhinkhan regions. Plogging is a compound word between ‘plocka upp (in Swedish),’ which means “picking up grains” and jogging (in English). It refers to the activity of picking up trash while jogging.

 

Recently, a British daily newspaper published a picture of Bangladeshi sanitation workers wearing plastic hats without any personal protective equipment swimming in a river of the Sabar region, where garbage piles up to their necks. As such, not only foreign media but also Bangladeshi citizens are interested in environmental issues in Bangladesh, and the awareness of the local people has increased over the past 10 years.

 

That is why the young people directly participated in this campaign as a part of an environmental clean-up movement.

📣

Mr. Samuel Biswas who participated in the event said, “I hope that the small movements of young people in Bangladesh will help solve environmental problems, even a little.”

 

Mr. Alfred, president of the Christian Youth of Bangladesh who confirmed the seriousness of the community’s waste discharge through this eco-plogging event, said, “I look forward to actively promoting the environmental clean-up movement created by students in the future.”

 

WWW.HWPL.KR

 

#BANGLADESH #PEACE #HWPL #DPCW_1038 #IWPG #IPYG #WARP_OFFICE

 

👍

 

INTERNATIONAL DAY : Nelson Mandela International Day 18 July

                                                            

It is easy to break down and destroy.

The heroes are those who make peace and build.

                                                                                                     

 - Nelson Mandela

What is Mandela Day?

On 18 July every year, we invite you to mark Nelson Mandela International Day by making a difference in your communities. Everyone has the ability and the responsibility to change the world for the better! Mandela Day is an occasion for all to take action and inspire change.

WWW.UN.ORG

#UN #DPCW_1038 #INTERNATIONAL_DAY #NELSON_MANDELA #WARP_OFFICE #HWPL

#PEACE_WORLD