Hyun Jin Moon Envisions North South Link for the Americas

Three thousand years of history are written in stone amid the remote rain forests of western Belize. For Dr. Hyun Jin Moon and an international team hosting a series of leadership summits in six Latin American nations, the ancient pyramids and complex hieroglyphics left by the Mayan civilization offered a compelling testimony to the formidable indigenous capacity of Latin Americans. As president of the

Youth Federation for World Peace (YFWP) and Global Peace Festival (GPF), Moon traveled with federation leaders to Belize, Costa Rica, Panama, Peru, Uruguay, and Brazil, meeting with legislative leaders, heads of state, and activists from civil society, as well as a cross-section of youth leaders, to promote a "Vision for the Americas."

"I believe that in this world of global crisis and conflict, a world where there is a real potential for religious war that the message that was sown 2,000 years ago of ‘One Family under God' now needs to be brought to the world stage," Moon declared. "And it can happen centered upon this hemisphere that has been appointed and anointed by God to carry on that mission."

Latin America is a region of astonishing diversity, abundant resources, and cultural vibrancy. Yet endemic problems, many the legacy of colonial dependency and long-standing political instability, undermine the region's full integration into the global economy. Violent crime and public security are key issues for policy makers and citizens, while widespread poverty and economic stagnation fuel political corruption and cynicism. Young leaders will play a key role in moving from a culture of dependency to one of public service, collaboration, and opportunity.

The division between North and South has also undermined development in Latin America, and Moon called for new thinking to unite the hemisphere to bring not just prosperity but a more broadly defined "American" culture of peace and service to the less fortunate.

On April 13, the group arrived in Belize, a small Central American nation of just 300,000. In comparison with many Latin American nations, its educational levels and economic development are high, but social problems affecting youth, including family breakdown, AIDS, and drug abuse persist. As an English-speaking county, Belize could play a unique role in fostering greater integration between North and South, Moon said. "It is not a nation's size but rather its vision and values that determine its future and fate," he told an assembly of Belize leaders. "The United States became a global leader because its core values, were centered on the sovereignty of God and became the basis for its policies and government. If Belize aligns with the vision of One Family Under God, it can lead all the Americas."

Some two thousand Belize Ambassadors of Peace, professionals from all sectors of society appointed by GPF and YFWP, have stepped forward to provide needed social services as well as education in principles of peace and nonviolence.

"One of the key objectives Dr. Moon addressed was the elevation of the role of young leaders in empowering a new era of cooperation and development in the Americas," says YFWP executive vice president David Caprara, who traveled with Moon during the ten-day summit. "In each of the six nations we saw the power of effective youth service and character education initiatives, coupled with the compelling vision of GPF and YFWP's Global Peace Festival."

The summit tour received a warm reception from Uruguay's physician President H.E. Tabaré Vásquez, a cancer specialist whose ethic of service includes taking off one day a week to treat patients in his office at the hospital. In meetings with leaders of government, business, academia, and the clergy, Dr. Moon found common ground in discussing the responsibility of all to reach out in good faith across cultural and national divides.

Later in a meeting with former Uruguayan President Julio Sanguinetti, Moon noted that government was not an end in itself but served a higher purpose. "I believe great nations need to be built on a recognition of God" he said. "In the beginning, Nazi Germany was democratic and capitalist, but it created its own rules and definitions of values. The value system that leads to true human rights can come only with the inclusion of God. Absolute and immutable principles are our guiding light."

Paraguayan soccer legend José Chilavert was in Montevideo and had heard about the tour and was anxious to meet Dr. Moon and "shake his hand." Voted World's Best Goalkeeper in 1995, 1997, and 1998 by IFFHS, the international football ranking organization that works alongside FIFA, the nowretired soccer great is still a favorite with fans who called out his popular name, "Chila! Chila!" as he and Moon walked to a local coffee shop. The tour concluded in Brazil the emerging, resource-rich power and fifth most-populous country, with a land mass comprising nearly half of the South American continent. A Portuguese-speaking country, Brazil is a land of contrasts, the home of the massive, ecologically critical Amazon basin and exploding cities with unmanageable slums. Grinding poverty, breakneck development, and seemingly limitless resources present challenges and opportunities on an unprecedented scale in the region.

"Brazil of all nations can move this region toward peace and co-prosperity," Moon told a gathering of political and religious leaders. "The crisis of values affecting not just Brazil, not just Latin America, but the entire world is not fundamentally a problem that can be solved through the political process," he said. "Values are at the root of culture as well as political institutions, and recognizing our common bonds as one human family is the precondition for realizing lasting peace."

On the final day of the tour in Brazil the team visited two football (soccer) clubs and the impressive young leaders sports academy in Sorocaba which hosts youths from around the world combining solid character and athletic development.

"This is the time in which we need to dream big," Dr. Moon told Latin American leaders. "We need to aspire for the greatest of things. Just like that nation to the North that was anointed by God and has risen to the highest peak of all nations in the world, so too, can Central and South America rise if they become the owner of the dream of building not one nation under God, but one family under God, rooted in the eternal universal principle that can only come from God.

"If this region has been held back in development, it is not for want of an abundance of resources, nor for any lack in the capacity of its people, Moon added. "Through this tour in Central America and South America, I am convinced that in terms of resources and in terms of human capital, there is nothing lacking here compared to the North. But if I may be so bold to suggest, it needs the great vision and principles and values that can uplift the people to go beyond individual self-interest, beyond the interest of one's family, beyond even interests of one's nation. We must seek and aspire for the greatness of the whole region, the greatness of a continent, the greatness of the Americas, reviving the spirit and dream of leading the whole world to peace."

About Global Peace Festival

Led by president Hyun Jin Moon, Global Peace Festival (GPF) promotes and celebrates persons and programs that contribute to reconciliation, mutual respect, harmony and cooperation among the members of the whole human family, as "One Family Under God." In partnership with a variety of faith-based organizations, NGOs, government agencies, educational institutions, and members of the private sector, GPF encourages programs that strengthen God-centered marriages and families, facilitate intercultural and interreligious cooperation, and foster a culture of peace and service. Ongoing programs are implemented throughout the year and culminate in a biennial Global Peace Festival that consists of an international leadership conference, a social impact program, and a public celebration.