Tuesday, September 23, 2008

GPF Mindanao Set. 21st 2008





























The Hon. Governor Oscar Moreno of the province of Misamis Oriental gave the 13.000 audience a warm welcome. He enphasized that only through peace that is all encompassing can we have peace and prosperity in the nation and in the world.

GPF main program site: ExCeL London full video

Saturday, September 20, 2008

GPF Mindanao, Philippines 2008




























From Aya Goto, Int ED GPF:

Today I whent to Cagayan De Oro and Tubod city in Mindanao,Philippines.

The city of Tubod has a huge complex and a Peace Village in the same area. One of the local projects is to provide the possibility for Muslims and Christian kids and their parents to stay together in one camping lodge for 5 days and, step by step, understand each other.

Dr.Badano, regional director of education department for region 10, initiated the project in cooperation with the province. She is an Ambassador for Peace (AfP) of Mulim origin and participated on the Philippines GPF in 2007 and this month at the GPF in Mongolia. She belives that the project can really promote the culture of peace in the region.

The Peace Village Camping area was build in 2005, the are 38 houses, 3 guest houses and one dormitory. I was very inspired by the great spirit shown by participants on this project.

Dr. Badano say that the Peace village is a ongoing program for the GPF. I was also so moved by the 2000 Muslim and Christian children playing group games together. The governor of this province held this rally to support the GPF Mindanao preparations which will take place on September 21st. They expecting 100,000 people to attend the GPF Mindanao.

The educational department of region 10, the province and the city are managing the GPF Mindanao financially and operationally. GPF staff is just guiding and supporting. The Governor is a Muslim, 28 years old and is married to a Christain.

Ticket GPF London

Ticket for the GPF 2008 UK at the ExCeL, in London

UK GPF 4th visit Sept 08




Sept. 19, meeting with the core staff of GPF UK 2008

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

GPF Kenya report

From Michael Balcomb in Nairobi, Kenya
Communications Director
Universal Peace Federation



Prime Minister Odinga Welcomes the Global Peace Festival to Kenya

The Prime Minister of Kenya, the Hon Raila Odinga MP and his wife Ida Odinga, joined by an international delegation that included seven former heads of state and over 120 members of parliament, spiritual leaders and representatives of civil society were warmly welcomed by a crowd of over 10,000 enthusiastic Kenyans to the Global Peace Festival (GPF) in Nairobi last Sunday, August 31st. The GPF is the third this year in a series that started in Asuncion, Paraguay and Washington DC, US.

Prime Minister Raila Odinga and his wife Ida introduce UPF Co-Chair Dr. Hyun Jin Moon to a large crowd of Kenyan youth and families at the Global Peace Festival in Nairobi

“This is an important day for Kenya and for Africa,” said Odinga. “It is a new beginning in the quest for our nation to be once again known as a nation of peace and security.” The Prime Minister came to office earlier this year after a historic power-sharing agreement with political rival President Mwai Kibaki ended a period of post-election violence.

“The Universal Peace Federation and the Global Peace Festival are doing great things in Kenya,” Odinga said. “Just yesterday, they mobilized thousands of young Kenyans to start cleaning out the Nairobi River. We long for the day when our nation can again be proud of this river, which could provide water to millions.”
Nairobi River Clean Up
Today, the Nairobi River is unbelievably foul, virtually an open sewer. Repulsed by the thought of wading into the raw sewage and stench to pull pick up sodden garbage and put it into bags, most citizens of the city have long been holding their noses and looking the other way. The Global Peace Festival organized community-wide cleanup efforts in ten different locations throughout the month of August.

Thousands of Volunteers clean up a section of the Nairobi River Bank in Embakassa and ten other of Nairobi’s poorest neighborhoods, watched here somewhat ominously by a pair of vultures.

Some of the clean-up crews encountered the bodies of infant children, apparently put into the river by slum dwellers without the means to afford proper burial. Others reported a stream of unlicensed dump trucks pouring garbage directly into the river. “More than hard work will be needed,” said project coordinator Edwin Plekhanov. “We need a complete change of heart in our leaders and ourselves.”

The river has been a symbol of civil neglect One section of the river reclaimed from the filth

Local MP Hon. Ferdinand Waititu promised his Embakassa constituency that he would work to bring the resources and the political support needed. “This is an important development,” said David Anderson, a fellow MP visiting from England. “We elected officials must support the aspirations of our people.”

International Leadership Conference
Anderson was among a group of more than 100 Kenyan and international participants in the International Leadership Conference hosted by the Universal Peace Federation, principal sponsor of the Global Peace Festival. “We are presenting a new, values-based approach to leadership,” said UPF Africa Secretary General Mwalagho Kililo, “and we are finding that many of our delegates see this as a way out of the swamp of corruption, selfishness and inefficiency that has plagued our nations for years.”

The 120 ILC participants included former heads of state and many current members of parliament Traditional kings from Benin among delegates attending the International Leadership Conference

Main Festival at the Jomo Kenyatta International Conference Center
Dr. Hyun Jin Moon, co-chair of the UPF and founder of the Global Peace Festival Initiative delivered the GPF keynote address. Dr. Moon, who is the third son of the international spiritual leaders and peacemakers Rev. and Mrs. Sun Myung Moon, urged Kenyans to take pride in their nation and Africa’s role as the cradle of civilization.

Dr. Hyun Jin Moon asking an excited crowd if they are ready to dream the biggest dream of all, the dream of creating One Family Under God beyond race, tribe and religion

“The message of ‘One Family under God’ should be a clarion call for this age,” he said. “The power of one human family united, can quell the turmoil of conflict throughout the world – from the conflict in the Middle East, the remnant of the Cold War in Korea and poverty, disease and civil strife in Africa.”

A young acrobatic team creates an “A” as they spell out P-E-A-C-E during the GPF entertainment

A local choir sings the GPF Anthem “Where Peace Begins” in Kiswahili UPF’s Thomas Walsh and Chung Hwan Kwak join the on-stage celebration to conclude the GPF

The Festival closed with a high-energy concert featuring some of Kenya’s top entertainers, including gospel and rap starts Jua Cali, Bilenge Musica, Kanji and others. From Nairobi, the Global Peace Festival now moves on to Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, followed by London, England and ten other locations with a finale in Brasilia in December.

GPF main day Kenya 2008






GPF main day Kenya 2008






MPs opening the service project: GPF Kenya 29 09 08