International Day of Peace 2013 celebrated in Paris

The French Chapters of the FFWPU, UPF and WFWP organized a special meeting in Paris on the occasion of the International Day of Peace. The MC for the event was Mr. Alexandre Huard, responsible for UPF-Youth in France. First, Mr. Jean-François Moulinet, Secretary-General of UFP France, presented in detail the four UPF recommendations in support of the theme “Education for Peace”: The Family, Character Education, Interfaith Education and Peace and Security. Which can be seen here: http://www.upf.org/international- day-of-peace-2013/5314-upf-statement-on-the-international-day-of-peace-2013

Then Mrs. Brigitte Wada, president of the Women’s Federation for World Peace-France, gave a presentation about “Education for Peace” quoting UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, who said in his message for the International Day of Peace, “On this International Day of Peace, let us pledge to teach our children the value of tolerance and mutual respect. Let us invest in the schools and teachers that will build a fair and inclusive world that embraces diversity. Let us fight for peace and defend it with all our might.” Building on the Secretary General’s ideas, Mrs. Wada went further insisting on the fact that we must consider the two dimensions of man, spiritual and physical, when considering peace. She insisted on the importance of a moral and character-building education as a foundation for an academic education. This is the foundation for a person to find peace in himself and he is then capable of contributing to a peaceful world Third, Mr. Moulinet gave a PowerPoint report on the recent International Leadership Conference in Korea, organized to mark the 1st anniversary of the death of the Rev. Sun Myung Moon. Mrs Hortense Manua, who attended the conference in Korea, shared her impressions of the event and the points that touched her the most, such as the family as the cornerstone of peace.

To conclude, Mr Diadié Camara received the Ambassador for Peace certificate for his 40 years of work in the field of interreligious rapprochement in France. He will go back now to Senegal, where he wants to work for education.