Heavenly Culture, World Peace, Restoration of Light (HWPL, Chairman Lee Man-hee) has held various events and activities in the Philippines since June 2013, including bringing relief for the slums, holding conversations with religious leaders for interfaith harmony, and establishing a youth network for peace. Amid these efforts, Chairman Lee Man-hee was invited to Mindanao by H.E. Antonio J. Ledesma, Archbishop of Archdiocese of Cagayan de Oro.
Chairman Lee realized the Mindanao conflict was a Catholic-Islam religious conflict and hosted the first peace walk festival on 24 January 2014 in Mindanao, General Santos, Philippines. Over 1,000 people, including believers from both religions, students from both religions, students from the Mindanao State University, and members of the International Peace Youth Group, participated. After the peace walk, Chairman Lee spoke about the necessity of peace to Catholic and Muslim leaders, youth groups, and university professors at a hotel in General Santos.
Chairman Lee criticized the religious leaders that gave rise to this long-time conflict brought with words and religion and emphasized that “God’s will is peace, not war.” He then asked the attendees, “Do you want peace or do you want war,” and had them raise their hand if they wanted peace. When all the attendees raised their hand, Chairman Lee called the Catholic and Islamic representatives to the stage while saying, “Then sign the peace agreement.”
H.E. Fernado Robles Capalla, D.D, Archbishop Emeritus of Archdiocese of Davao, and Esmael G. Mangudadatu, Governor of Maguindanao, signed an agreement for the creation of peace and the cessation of war as the representatives of Catholicism and Islam, respectively, during the spontaneous peace agreement signing ceremony.
The Mindanao peace agreement that was mediated by HWPL proposed a “civilian-centered awareness improvement and action”- based approach to peace. In line with this approach, HWPL began peace activities across the Philippines, including Mindanao, to raise public peace awareness on the universal peace principles of mutual understanding, respect, and harmony. HWPL is also carrying out peace initiatives centered around civil society, including education, religion, youth, and women, in order to eliminate the factors that are sources of conflict and also to strengthen the core values for peaceful development.
In a bid to seek solution to the crisis, ‘The 3rd Youth Empowerment Peace Workshop (YEPW)’ was held virtually on 12th June 2021 bringing together 35 youngsters from youth organizations from seven countries, including Cameroon, South Sudan and East Timor.
Focusing on the ‘what kind of non-formal education is needed at each community level’, part 1 was composed of the discussion on Non-formal education of the NGO and part 2 was composed of introduction to HWPL Peace Education and a presentation on the need for peace education. HWPL’s peace education has a specific curriculum that can teach harmony and peace between individuals, communities, nature, people and generations, and aims to foster peace citizens and make peace sustainable.
The first and second YEPW saw participants sharing ideas in how peace education should be preceded by equal quality education where non-regular education is needed to solve the global shortage of educational infrastructure.
Daniel Santos do Carmo, Executive Director of FONGTIL, who was in charge of presenting the education system for youth in community, explained the current education system in Timor-Leste and highlighted NGOs role to make revitalize youth education. He said “
He said “The Ministry of education has renovated and repaired many schools which were destroyed in 1999. Further-more MOE has continued to provide and improve training programs for teachers, and establishing a standardized curriculum relevant to East Timorese students. Despite such efforts, in number of challenges still remain including training of teachers and lack of proper facilities, etc.
For development of the country, the government should invest the better education system and education infrastructures, and NGOs should be interested in and move on the advocacy for quality education which can be done through policy changes.”
YEPW is a global peace discussion platform where youth from 111 countries around the world who work with IPYG participates. For solving the problems that community and youths facing, IPYG is conducting workshops to find, discuss in each continent with youth in each country. This could be one of the ways to achieve the fourth goal of the UN-SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals), quality education and implement the spread of peace culture in Article 10 of the DPCW.
With several cases of international partnership for peace building projects endorsed by youth and women organizations categorized by each region – Africa, Europe, and Asia, this year’s event aimed to discuss a citizen-led peace movement and cooperation to promote coexistence and harmony in the global community, and to overcome global challenges that stem from hatred, conflicts, misunderstanding, and lack of communication in this current pandemic era.
The event commemorated the Declaration of World Peace, proclaimed on May 25th in 2013, which contains not only the cooperation of each state to establish international law for peace and the role of the media in contribution to sharing information of peace but also the active peace movement of youth and women who seek to transform themselves from the greatest victims of war to the greatest actors for peace.
From this peace initiative, HWPL says that millions of global citizens for 8 years have participated in promoting peace projects locally fitted to creating a favorable environment of peace, including education, relief, and forums to offer public policies to meet the needs of the community.
Chairwoman Pascale Isho Warda of Hammurabi Human Rights Organization(HHRO) in Iraq, who was appointed as Minister of Migration and Displacement by the UN from 2004 to 2005, introduced a legislation project of law that prevents violence against women and children in cooperation with IWPG.
Regarding the importance of peace activities through education, she said, “We need to learn the mechanism of guiding everyone to become a tool of peace, strengthening from daily life, and sometimes throughout the simplest matter of life, starting with personal peace with oneself, in the family, and with others.”
Ven. Ashin Htavara, General Secretary of All Burmese Monks Representative Committee in Norway, who went through the Saffron Revolution in 2007, stated that 3 HWPL Peace Libraries were established in Payapon, Myanmar and that a fourth library is currently being prepared.
“There are too few libraries for children in Myanmar. I wanted to give hope to these little children. In the future, the library will conduct peace education, peace activities, and peace campaigns, and we will do everything that can help achieve peace,” he said.
The event also advocated global participation in peace activities such as the peace tree planting campaign that began in Ukraine with 1,000 participants from 21 countries and peace policy proposal dialogue between citizens and policy experts in Mali where the recent coup triggered social unrest.
“It is we in this day who have to do all the necessary things to make peace and prevent our globe from being destroyed. War does not end with words, but it comes to an end with our practical actions. I believe that this can be achieved since no one in our global village is not willing to see peace,” highlighted Chairman Man Hee Lee of HWPL.
“We urge the head of state of each country and the international community to actively pursue peaceful measures to safeguard the lives of Myanmar’s citizens.” It added, “We urge people and media worldwide to raise their voices in support of finding peaceful resolutions to the current crisis,” reads the statement in part.
The statement highlighted the global youth’s ‘commitment to work toward ceasing conflicts, countering violence and establishing sustainable peace through the 2018’s UN Youth Declaration’.
Mr. Mainza M Hiyamwa, Chairperson of Chosen Generation Youth Club Solwezi (CGYC) of Zambia, said, “The UN and international society are being the main pillars of peace and security, human rights, and development. It’s more vital that we gain access and disseminate information on the range of issues affecting the people of Myanmar. By so doing it would carry more impact and help in the restoration of peace, human rights promotion, and development of the country.”
Facing the current deadlock of counteractions against the humanitarian crisis from the deaths and injuries continually occurring in Myanmar, this global movement by youth organizations has been led by the International Peace Youth Group, an affiliated organization of Heavenly Culture, World Peace, Restoration of Light registered in the UN ECOSOC.
This joint statement was sent to the UN Secretary General, international organizations, governments and civil society organizations.
The recent efforts of the Myanmar military to suppress nonviolent protests have led to dozens of deaths and hundreds of injuries. The number is still continuing to increase.
Human life must not be disregarded in any circumstances. No conflict of interest can justify violence against civilians, and no interest of any group can prevail over human life.
Using violence to suppress peaceful protests and silence voices for change is contrary to the will of the people of Myanmar. Authorities should respect people’s human rights and freedom of expression. We call on all relevant parties in Myanmar to express regret at the ongoing situation and engage in dialogue to seek a peaceful resolution. We are confident that the international community will support this effort, which will contribute to security and peace not only in Southeast Asia but also in other parts of the world.
We, HWPL, along with our members all over the globe are deeply concerned about the harm caused to civilians by the escalating violence in Myanmar. International attention is focused on Myanmar, and history will remember these moments. The situation should be resolved in a just and peaceful way also for the sake of the growing generation, who will learn from this crisis to build their future. We call on all parties to refrain from repression or force and instead settle the crisis through dialogue and consensus based on mutual respect and understanding. And we call on the United Nations to take active measures so that the human rights and safety of the people of Myanmar may be protected.
We ask the global family of peace to issue statements urging authorities and civilians in Myanmar to pursue dialogue and seek a peaceful solution in order to restore peace to the country.
In one voice, HWPL and all our members around the world express hope that the
ongoing crisis in Myanmar will be resolved peacefully through dialogue, not violence, and we call on the international community to join us.
Heavenly Culture, World Peace, Restoration of Light (HWPL), organized this year’s commemorative event, “Marching on Toward Sustainable Peace in a Pandemic Era”, as a platform to share direction for the future and case studies of different sectors cooperating across the world as peace messengers, responding to the pandemic and bringing peace in this new socially distanced world.
The host organization, HWPL, is a peace NGO in Special Consultative Status with the UN ECOSOC and associated with UN DGC. For the purpose of ceasing all wars and creating a peaceful world as a legacy for future generations, HWPL has been carrying out 3 main peace initiatives – international law for peace, interfaith dialogue meeting, and peace education.
The Declaration of Peace and Cessation of War (DPCW) includes principles of peacebuilding such as the prohibition of the use of force, development of friendly relations, and peaceful dispute settlement. It emphasizes international cooperation based on interfaith dialogue and civic participation to create a culture of peace. Since its proclamation on March 14th, 2016, the DPCW-based peacebuilding model went on to receive government recognition and support for inter-religious dialogue, peace education, youth and women’s peace activities.
As a member of the International Law Peace Committee (ILPC) who drafted the DPCW, Professor Ciaran Burke explained the background of how the DPCW was founded on “the conviction that judicial and other dispute resolution measure can replace the role of war with the rule of law.”
He also stressed the kernel of the DPCW by borrowing words from Chairman Man Hee Lee of HWPL, is that “the envisioned effect of the DPCW is cumulative to scale up the moral and political responsibility of world leaders by crystallizing the legal obligations of their government thereby bridging the gap between law and politics.”
Efforts to institutionalize peace based on the DPCW are underway. Countries in Southeast Asia and Central America have begun to rebuild their national legal infrastructure based on the DPCW, and the local governments are officially declaring their support for the DPCW in order to implement peace principles. In South Asia, the DPCW was introduced into the university curriculum as an academic research course on the role of law for a peaceful society.
According to UNESCO, over 190 countries closed down educational facilities, and over 1.6 billion students lost their opportunity for sustainable education. As a part of the online campaign, “Teaching goes on”, HWPL’s peace education is now taught at 214 locations in 34 countries, providing online peace education for over 5,000 students 224 times in 15 countries.
Stressing the importance of strengthening partnership for sustainable education, Ambassador and Permanent Delegate of Mali to UNESCO, S.E Monsieur Oumar KEITA, said, “We must unite in a spirit of cooperation to ensure peace at the national and international levels. We must consider the need for a comprehensive legal approach that will lead citizens in their everyday lives, regardless of nationality, ethnicity, or religion. The preamble to DPCW with 10 articles and 38 clauses speaks of that very well.”
Regarding the importance of religion in spreading hope and peace during the pandemic crisis, Allama Syed Abdullah Tariq, President of the World Organisation of Religion & Knowledge, said, “Whenever humanity faces a difficult time era, there has been a religion which gives them hope and courage to overcome crises. Religion has its power to narrow down differences among us and unite us to be strong enough to break through obstacles. Such efforts will fertilize the culture of peace when the current generation is in desperate need for hope.”
Since it began in 2014, HWPL’s interfaith dialogue meeting also known as the WARP Office meeting is now expanded to 129 countries, seeing an increase in online meetings because of the pandemic. The religious communities in the WARP Office meeting also have held several pan-religious prayer meetings, meditation, and peace camps to reach out to people of the world who are facing hardship due to the pandemic.
International Peace Youth Group (IPYG), an affiliate of HWPL, is building a peace network of youth around the world with the Youth Empowerment Peace Workshop (YEPW), which was inspired by the DPCW’s peace realization process, to achieve youth empowerment proposed in the UN SDGs and Youth 2030.
Mr. Reuben Sapetulu, Deputy Secretary Agent for the United Nations Youth Association of Zambia (YUNA Zambia), said, “I participated in the delivery of 3,000 peace letters to the minister of justice in Zambia for the DPCW proposal. My commitments are simply because I agree that the DPCW is an effective way to bring a cessation of war and world peace. The YEPW was also inspired by the DPCW’s peace realization process. Spreading peace culture based on the DPCW is certainly the way to achieve peace. World leaders, please pay attention and support what the DPCW is stating about the peace realization process.”
Chairman Man Hee Lee of HWPL urged cooperation and unity for achieving peace by saying “No property or anything can become a legacy in the future. We must create a world of freedom, peace, and love without war, and make it an eternal legacy for our descendants. This is what we need to do in this era. Although the process of submitting the DPCW to the UN was paused for a while due to the corona pandemic, as much as this desire to achieve peace, there is no change.”
In his first primetime address as president, Mr Biden said he would order states to make all adults eligible for vaccinations by 1 May.
Current measures prioritise people by age or health condition.
Mr Biden was speaking exactly a year to the day after the outbreak was classified a global pandemic.
Half a million Americans have since died – more than the death toll from World War One, World War Two, and the Vietnam War combined.
Schools have been closed, businesses shuttered and people kept apart.
Last year many Americans were forced to forgo the elaborate parades, fireworks displays and parties that feature in the national holiday on 4 July, which marks independence from Britain.
In his speech, President Biden said he did not expect large events to be able to go ahead, but he hoped small groups could meet again.
“If we do this together, by 4 July, there is a good chance you, your family and friends can get together in your backyard or in your neighbourhood and have a cookout or a barbecue and celebrate Independence Day,” he said.
“After a long, hard year, that will make this Independence Day truly special – where we not only mark our independence as a nation but we begin to mark our independence from this virus.”
The US has by far the highest death toll in the world from the virus, but death and infection rates have been declining in recent weeks as the vaccine programme picks up.
The country’s health system is complex and individual states are in charge of public health policy. While the federal government is responsible for getting the vaccine distributed to the states, it has largely relied on them to handle the distribution.
But as part of the plans to expand vaccinations, President Biden said the number of places where people could be immunised would be increased, with veterinarians and dentists among those also allowed to vaccinate people.
Mobile units will travel into local communities to provide vaccinations in underserved communities, he said.
Mr Biden previously set a target of 100 million vaccinations by his 100th day in office. But in his address on Thursday, he said this target would be reached on day 60, which is 20 March.
He was speaking shortly after signing a $1.9tn (£1.4tn) economic relief bill, which marks an early legislative victory for his administration. It includes a $1,400 direct payment to most Americans, along with other measures to help people out of poverty and provide additional funding to local and state governments.
Despite the good news on vaccinations, Mr Biden warned that the “fight is far from over”.
He called on people to maintain social distancing measures, hand washing and wear a mask.
“Beating the virus and getting back to normal relies on national unity,” he said.
Mr Biden said last month he hoped that life would return to “normal” by Christmas 2021. Dr Anthony Fauci, the top US infectious diseases expert, described this timetable as “reasonable”.
The president’s caution is at odds with some states such as Texas and Mississippi, which are relaxing restrictions in order to boost their economies.
One year ago, the United States joined the world in facing a brutal truth. The coronavirus pandemic was going to fundamentally alter everyday life. Businesses shuttered. Citizens sheltered in their home. Life ground to a halt.
On Thursday night, in his first prime-time televised address to the nation, President Joe Biden said there was light at the end of the tunnel.
The big news from his speech was that all adult Americans would be eligible for a vaccine by the beginning of May – a pace, he boasted, that was the best in the world.
His most important message, however, may have been his urging that all Americans should get the jab when it’s their turn. “I know they’re safe,” he said.
A recent opinion poll showed that nearly half of Republicans are sceptical of the vaccine. If their doubt becomes inaction, Mr Biden’s promises – widespread school openings, an ability to travel and Independence Day celebrations – will go unrealised.
His speech was part promise, part warning. Get vaccinated, continue social distancing, wear masks – or else.
“America is coming back,” he said. But, he added, Americans needed to do their part.
This time last year, there were 1,000 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in the US and about 30 people had died.
All US major sport was cancelled and then-President Donald Trump suspended travel from Europe, saying he hoped the US would be open again for Easter 2020. This prediction was repeatedly revised.
The pandemic has now left more than 530,000 people dead in the US and has infected more than 29 million.
In his speech, President Biden criticised the Trump administration by saying the virus was initially met with “denials for days, weeks, then months, that led to more deaths, more infections, more stress, more loneliness”.
He also denounced “vicious hate crimes” against Asian Americans, who he said had been “attacked, harassed, blamed and scapegoated” for the pandemic. Mr Trump repeatedly referred to coronavirus as the “China virus”.
Youth, unlike other classifications, are only similar in age and are vastly different in terms of geographic, economic, political, social, cultural, and educational aspects.
Therefore, when they come together, they share different perspectives and create new ideas. That’s why the importance of youth solidarity and engagement has always been emphasized.
The IPYG’s Youth Empowerment Peace Workshop is a discussion-based workshop that acknowledges this diversity and brings together young people to freely discuss their creative ideas and put them into action to solve social problems, achieve peace, and realize youth rights.
The first IPYG’s Youth Empowerment Peace Workshop in 2021 was held for three months from November 2020 to January 2021. Over 100 youth organizations from 40 countries attended the workshop, which was held under the theme “The Role of Youth in Pandemic Recovery and Sustainable Future.” Youth leaders from each of their respective countries and continents discussed social issues that stemmed from the pandemic and looked for a solution.
Youth leaders from Africa discussed issues they are facing within their country and continent as well as similar cases other countries are facing to look for a solution to common problems. They all agreed that there is a lack of basic education for youth and promised to create a plan to foster educators for youth and to start private education volunteering.
According to UNESCO’s Global Education Monitoring Report and the World Bank, a country’s per capita GDP increases by 2 to 2.5% with every one-year increase in education levels. Research and statistics also show that a 10% increase in secondary education lowers the risk of war by 3%. Therefore, it is clear that providing appropriate education to the youth can solve many social problems. Expansion of national education was also restricted in Africa so positive effects are anticipated with the active participation of civil society.
In addition, the youth agreed that they should unite to guarantee education in order to empower youth at the Oceania and Asia workshops. Youth leaders shared cases about how youth cannot access basic education due to issues such as conflict, poverty, and social structure and discussed key problems that violate the right to education and how to solve them. The participants pledged to search for youth activities that focus on advocating for opportunities for lifelong education and providing fair and high-quality education to all according to SDG4.
Youth organizations in Europe discussed school and cyberbullying issues to look for a solution. The participants shared many creative ideas that can only come from the youth. One participant from the Germany workshop suggested creating a hip-hop song with singers to raise awareness for cyberbullying and its prevention, and another suggested creating a drama or play about cyber vaccines in order to raise teen awareness. Youth leaders in Europe plan to work together by building a cooperation network between civic organizations based on various ideas.
The IPYG’s Youth Empowerment Peace Workshop will continue to encourage and support the youth to share their creative ideas and take on challenges to achieve the SDGs in each country and continent, as well as globally.
{{References}}
1. UNESCO, Global Education Monitoring Report, Teaching and learning: achieving quality for all; EFA global monitoring report, 2013-2014; summary, p. 23
2. World Bank, Understanding Civil War, 2005, p. 16
This event was co-hosted by Risingbd of Bangladesh, The DAWN of South Sudan, PTV World of Pakistan, and an UN-affiliated NGO named Heavenly Culture, World Peace, Restoration of Light (HWPL) headquartered in South Korea.
Dr. Javed Ali Kalholo, Senior Producer of PTV World, stated that the globe witnessed disastrous diseases in the new century from swine flu to Eblola before COVID-19. He advocated international cooperation to “fight the existing menace of virus collectively and do share a cognitive approach towards the post-pandemic world.”
Mr. Nabeel Tirmazi, Broadcasting Consultant & Programme Manager of Asia-Pacific Institute for Broadcasting Development (AIBD), mentioned that media responsibility in democratic states has grown to “dispel wrong notions, apprehensions and misinformation”, adding to the functions of informing and educating.
To cope with the COVID-19 crisis, he suggested capacity building for healthy journalism from international media practitioners with the case of combating misinformation regarding the pandemic with international organizations including WHO and UNESCO.
Mr. Ibnul Qayum Sony, Senior Sub Editor of Risingbd, Actor and Independent Film Director explained that the current phenomena of COVID-19 have mixed results. In the case of Bangladesh, he said that loss of lives and economic downturn from the lockdown coexist with the significant decrease in the level of pollution in rivers of the country resulting in biodiversity.
“South Sudan is the newest country, having gained independence from Sudan in 2011, but a political crisis two years later has left it bleeding,” said Mr. Okech Francis, Deputy Editor in Chief of The Dawn Newspaper. To respond to poor infrastructure, health services, and economic performance in the country and region, he highlighted that knowledge and skills for sustainable future of peace and security need to be provided, rather than handouts.
Mr. Supalak Ganjanakhundee, Bangkok-based Southeast Asia Analyst, Thailand, says that the country is “still struggling to contain the spread of the deadly disease” and the recent student democratic protest, which also “extended to neighbor Myanmar after the military in that country staged a coup in the pre-dawn of 1 February.” He added that the demands from protest are to be taken seriously “to bring genuine democracy, stability and peace to the country.”
Dr. Ian Seo, General Director of HWPL, pointed out that the recent dysfunctional election system in Thailand and South Korea and public dissatisfaction with the current leadership during the pandemic brought uncertainty of democratic system of the two countries. He suggested that giving insights and inspiration to youth is media responsibility and dedication for the future with peaceful societies.
The conference was organized by a Korea-based international peace NGO, Heavenly Culture, World Peace, Restoration of Light (HWPL) under the UN DGC and the UN ECOSOC in celebration of the 7th Anniversary of the January 24 HWPL Peace Day.
The January 24 HWPL Peace Day declared by the Province of Maguindanao in the Philippines has been commemorated annually since the Mindanao Peace Agreement was made by the local government and civil society leaders on January 24th, 2014.
The Peace Day was named after HWPL since the agreement was suggested by Chairman Man Hee Lee of HWPL, known as a Korean war veteran, to overcome the 50 years of conflict that resulted in approximately 120,000 victims in the region.
With the theme, “The Role of Peace Education in Building a Peaceful World”, the celebration of this year aimed to raise awareness of peace education around the world and establish a global platform for peace educators to implement peace education in the educational system of each country.
Followed by the congratulatory messages from social, educational, religious, and political figures including President of Court of Appeal of Cairo, Former President of the UN Human Rights Council, Former Adviser of the Ministry of Education of Guatemala, Archbishop Emeritus of Davao Archdiocese of the Philippines, Chairman Man Hee Lee of HWPL delivered his commemorative message.
“Today, Mindanao is no longer a place of conflict; rather, it has become a model of peace to which the world looks. Once, the people of this region used to point guns at each other—now, they share food while sitting at the same table, despite their differences in religion and ideologies. Students who were once being trained to kill are now learning the precious value of life and peace through HWPL Peace Education,” he said.
Dr. Ronald Adamat, Commissioner of the Commission on Higher Education of the Philippines(CHED), who has made an effort to implement HWPL Peace Education by integrating peace education into the relevant higher education curricula, addressed the value of HWPL Peace Day and the progress of the peace education in the Philippines.
“Youth will fight for peace but are not given yet enough skills, understanding, or opportunity to talk for peace. I wholeheartedly support HWPL Peace Education. It raises the awareness for our youth to become peacemakers – the much-needed values of the youth. Future leaders must effect change for the world’s positive transformation. Our children need to be educated on how peacebuilding works effectively. Through education, the building of a truly peaceful world can one day become a reality.”
HWPL Peace Education consisting of 12 lessons aims to train the educators and students with the value of peace by raising awareness of the importance of fostering a culture of peace. Since 2016, more than 200 educational institutions in 34 countries, including India, Israel, and the Philippines, have been designated as HWPL Peace Academies, and Ministries of Education from 9 countries have signed MOAs for implementation of peace education.
Ms. Firoza Muradi, an educator from Afghanistan, said, “The Mindanao Peace Agreement in 2014 became a great model for countries like Afghanistan who experience wars and conflicts. I hope that the miracle of peace in Mindanao will happen in Afghanistan, and the beginning is from peace education. Through HWPL Peace Education, students seek answers to achieve peace in various ways, including harmony with nature, the value of cooperation, and how to protect their rights. I believe all of my students receiving peace education will grow up to be a peace messenger.”
At the event, the official of HWPL presented the plan for 2021 such as Online Peace Educator Training Program, Peace Education Volunteering Program, and Online Youth Peace Love.
