–Global Peace Leadership Conference, Dr. Hyun Jin Moon
Global Peace Foundation – Korea President Mr. In Taek Seo receives the 12th Annual Korean Youth Award recognizing GPF-Korea’s work to engage youth with the issue of Korean reunification. (photo credit: NewsIs)
The Global Peace Foundation has been pioneering a grass-roots movement for Korean reunification since it first began work in 2009. Since then, the Global Peace Foundation has joined over 400 NGOs to create Action for Korea United, a broad-based coalition of civil society united to support Korean reunification.
Among the initiatives started by the Global Peace Foundation and its partners are some specifically targeting youth engagement and leadership.
During his visits to Korea, Dr. Hyun Jin Moon, founder of the Global Peace Foundation, called on Korean youth to become owners of the “Korean Dream.” He cited examples when the optimism and passion of youth connected to a big dream drove transformative social movements, saying that a movement for Korean Unification would need the same youthful energy and idealism.
“Raising a Unification Generation,” has become the tagline of the youth-centered activities of Global Peace Foundation-Korea and Action for Korea United. Young Koreans and international volunteers have sparked awareness efforts, donation drives, and pledge campaigns to stimulate interest in the issue of unification.
Since then, ongoing projects have been developed to continue to reach out and stimulate the youth of Korea. The Unification Project Competition, now engages university to elementary students in a competition to propose projects that promote awareness, education and action for Korean unification. A “school” that “Searches for Unification” is teaching the vision, principles and values that support reunification, and a university-based Unification Supporters Corps is growing across the nation.
Local and international youth volunteers pose as “Unification Heroes”, members of a rising “Unification Generation”
The Global Peace Foundation’s continued investment in raising a “Unification Generation” was recognized at the end of 2014. GPF-Korea President In Taek Seo represented GPF-Korea to receive the Grand Prize in the Youth Leadership Category at the 12th Annual Korean Youth Award ceremony hosted by the Korean Youth Newspaper. The ceremony was held December 20 at the Baekbeom Memorial in Seoul. The annual awards are sponsored by the Republic of Korea National Assembly, the Ministry of Unification, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Environment, the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, NGOs, and the Korean Scout League.
The ceremony was covered by NewsIs.