Hyun Jin Moon's Message to Peru: Build Character to Achieve Peace

In recent years, GPF and YFWP in Peru have provided character education training to administrators, teachers, and students at universities, colleges, high schools, and technical and vocational schools, as well as Peru's leading pedagogical university. Ambassadors for Peace, community-based teachers, and, increasingly, professional teachers have educated thousands of students with the support of schools. Requests for the character education curriculum continue to grow, as the pervasive influence of popular culture makes the need for standards of conduct all the more keenly felt.

Significantly, some one hundred Family Centers have been set up throughout the capital city of Lima as well as in five provincial cities. These centers help to provide education and food for many people in impoverished communities.

From the grassroots to the highest levels in government, the vision of a global family under God has taken root in this Andes mountain country, as forward-looking young leaders assess the consequences of a secular, individualistic ethos on Peruvian society. Congresswoman Margarita Sucari observed in a reception, "As Ambassadors for Peace, as children of God, we feel compelled to bring people together [around this shared vision"> as we try to be the conscience of the Congress."

In his keynote address on April 20, 2008 to the International Leadership Conference in Lima, Dr. Hyun Jin Moon applauded the creative energy that has launched so many successful initiatives, and reflected on the region's history.

"The tragic reality as the Europeans came onto South America was that they ignored the richness of the culture and were blinded by greed," said Moon. "The history of North America was very different. The settlements of Europeans that flourished were those settlements that were seeking to find and build a nation under God. They came because of religion, not because of gold."

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.