“From basic social connections, civic duty, business and enterprise, and governance – everything becomes an extension of the peace that begins in the home. Thus, the home is the first, most natural place to begin our work to realize this dream of peace and mutual prosperity.”

Dr. Junsook Moon
Global Peace Leadership Conference Africa 2024

In recent months, the Global Peace Foundation (GPF) Nigeria, in partnership with Global Peace Women (GPW) Nigeria and local organizations, has spearheaded several significant initiatives aimed at fostering peace, empowering women, and enhancing community cohesion across Kaduna State. These events emphasize the crucial role of women as peacebuilders, leaders, and agents of change, particularly within the family unit. The workshops and programs have addressed themes of nonviolent communication, economic empowerment, and family-focused peace advocacy, with the overarching goal of nurturing peaceful, resilient communities.

1. Nonviolent Communication and Leadership Skills for Women and Youth

In September 2024, GPF Nigeria was a main partner in organizing a two-day capacity-building workshop for women and youth leaders in the Hayin Banki community. The workshop, themed “Nonviolent Communication and Leadership Skills,” sought to equip participants with essential tools for conflict resolution and responsible leadership. This initiative aligned with the core mantra of GPW Nigeria, “Peace Begins in the Home,” encouraging participants to adopt nonviolent communication as a strategy for resolving disputes and fostering peace within families and communities.

Speakers delivered inspiring talks on the pivotal role women play in peacebuilding, building strong family foundations, instilling integrity in children, and prioritizing self-care.

Participants applied the lessons on nonviolent communication during the workshop itself. One woman successfully de-escalated a potential altercation between local youth, using the techniques she had learned. This demonstrated the immediate applicability of the skills being taught and the transformative impact they had on individuals and their communities.

The event concluded with a renewed sense of purpose among women leaders in the community, who left committed to implementing the principles of peacebuilding within their homes and local environments.

2. Economic Empowerment for Women with Disabilities

In October 2024, GPF Nigeria and GPW Nigeria organized a groundbreaking event aimed at empowering women with disabilities in Kaduna State. Held at Arewa House, the economic empowerment program provided over 90 women with disabilities from diverse backgrounds the tools to become more financially independent. The initiative focused on financial literacy, small business resources, and combating societal stigmatization. The goal was to support these women in overcoming barriers to economic participation and create opportunities for self-reliance.

The country director of GPF Nigeria opened the event by emphasizing the importance of empowering women with disabilities, stating that such empowerment was essential for achieving independence and dignity. Speakers highlighted the theme of peacebuilding, urging the women to use their voices against violence and contribute to fostering peaceful communities.

The impact of the program was evident in the heartfelt testimonies of participants. Women expressed their gratitude for the tangible support they received, which they believed would improve their livelihoods. A visually impaired participant was especially thankful for both the financial aid and the business knowledge imparted, which would help her transition from begging to running a small business.

This initiative focused on immediate empowerment and called for long-term structural changes to support people with disabilities. GPF Nigeria representatives urged the government and civil society organizations to prioritize the needs of this marginalized group, combat dehumanization, and foster inclusive environments where everyone could thrive.

3. Empowering Families for Community Peace Advocacy

Another key event gathered over 120 women from various ethnic and religious backgrounds gathered at the Epitome Hotel Event Centre in Barnawa, Kaduna. This one-day event, organized by GPW Nigeria in collaboration with GPF Nigeria, was titled “Empowering Families for Community Peace Advocacy” and focused on strengthening families as the foundation for peaceful communities.

The program reinforced the idea that peace begins in the home, a theme central to GPW Nigeria’s mission. Distinguished speakers emphasized the importance of women’s leadership in peace advocacy, urging women to take up their roles as peacebuilders and active participants in creating harmonious homes that would, in turn, contribute to societal peace.

The event also included practical workshops where participants developed action plans to continue peace advocacy in their communities. These plans included activities like interfaith visitations, girl-child empowerment initiatives, and peace campaigns in places of worship. The women left the event motivated and committed to carrying the message of peace forward, confident in their ability to nurture peaceful environments both within their families and communities.

Conclusion: A Movement for Lasting Change

Through these initiatives, GPF Nigeria and GPW Nigeria have made significant strides in empowering women to be leaders in peacebuilding and societal development. The capacity-building workshops, economic empowerment programs, and family-focused peace advocacy events all highlight the importance of equipping women with the skills, resources, and support they need to shape more peaceful, inclusive, and resilient communities.

The collaborations between these organizations and local groups serve as powerful examples of how grassroots movements can foster meaningful, sustainable change. By investing in women and promoting nonviolent communication, economic empowerment, and family cohesion, GPF Nigeria and GPW Nigeria are not only addressing immediate challenges but also contributing to long-term peacebuilding efforts in Kaduna State and beyond.

These initiatives display a broader movement to promote peace, inclusivity, and resilience across Nigeria. As more women take on leadership roles and advocate for peaceful, empowered communities, the vision of a more peaceful and prosperous society becomes increasingly achievable.

The original post appears on Global Peace Foundation. Global Peace Foundation is an international non-sectarian, non-partisan, nonprofit organization, which promotes an innovative, values-based approach to peacebuilding, guided by the vision of One Family under God. GPF engages and organizes a global network of public and private-sector partners who develop community, national, and regional peacebuilding models as the foundation for ethical and cohesive societies. Dr. Hyun Jin Preston Moon is the founder and chairman of the Global Peace Foundation. Read more about GPF’s work with Families and Women in Peacebuilding.

Global Peace Foundation Indonesia’s ongoing Peace!Project engages a religiously diverse group of youth to foster deep friendships and respect between members of different faith traditions. With guidance from faith leaders and open dialogue, young Indonesians learn about their shared values across their religions. Together, they are discovering the deeper meaning of One Family under God and their shared responsibility to bridge their diverse communities.

Global Peace Foundation (GPF) Indonesia’s “Peace!Project” is a signature program created to help young leaders develop a deeper understanding of their own and other religions and the values they all share to foster respect and friendship.

Youth from a wide range of religious backgrounds met at the Jakarta Cathedral Church in January 2024 for the latest Peace!Project program.

“One of our efforts with the Peace Project, when, for example, there are presidential and vice-presidential candidates who bring up the issue of religion in their campaign, we hope that friends who take part in the Peace Project can be wiser; become agents to convey to other people, that religion is not like that, so we can’t be pitted against each other,” said GPF Indonesia General Manager Shintya Rahmi Utami.

Shintya said that another critical way to encourage the younger generation to remain peaceful amidst differences in culture and religion is to use social media to build a positive movement for peace. “At GPF Indonesia, our team is improving how we work on social media,” she said. “So, we are trying to produce positive content and narratives so that young people are more aware of the election and are not easily provoked or pitted against each other.”

Putri, a participant, shared her experience, saying,

“I am very impressed with this year’s opening at the Cathedral Church. The diversity, inclusivity, and tolerance demonstrated are truly commendable. It marks a delightful moment as it signifies the beginning of positive collaboration. I feel happy and excited to come here, to the Cathedral Church, as a form of support for efforts to enhance tolerance. I also appreciate the involvement of friends with disabilities, a group often marginalized. They are not just engaged but also recognized as agents of change who can spread the values of tolerance.”

Ms. Susi, representing the Jakarta Cathedral Church, said the collaboration for the Peace!Project was a “concrete manifestation of how we can live harmoniously.” She stated, “We support each other, setting an example of how the younger generation can work towards clear goals. This is crucial as a shelter for them and also as a way to inspire unity.”

The original post appears on Global Peace Foundation. Global Peace Foundation is an international non-sectarian, non-partisan, nonprofit organization, which promotes an innovative, values-based approach to peacebuilding, guided by the vision of One Family under God.  GPF engages and organizes a global network of public and private-sector partners who develop community, national, and regional peacebuilding models as the foundation for ethical and cohesive societies. Dr. Hyun Jin Preston Moon is the founder and chairman of the Global Peace Foundation.

Throughout history, God has inspired the founding of various faith and wisdom traditions to elevate human consciousness and cultivate ethical civilizations. And yet, continually, we see division and even conflict between people of different faiths, although the vast majority of moral precepts they seek to live by in daily life are exactly the same. The source of their contention is often rooted in differing institutional orthodoxies, doctrines and traditions. [W]hile they aspire to many of the same spiritual principles and goals, such as loving thy neighbor, living a moral life rooted in truth and righteousness, and, eventually, creating a world of peace.

– Dr. Hyun Jin Moon, Global Peace Convention 2021

The world’s religious traditions generally uphold the same universal principles and values. Former UN Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, mused that “I have often said the problem is never the faith -– it is the faithful, and how they behave towards each other.” While religions might hold different liturgical and doctrinal positions, all of them uphold similar values such as compassion, respect, charity, peace, and more.

Understanding this, it becomes incumbent upon the faithful to take on a new or renewed mission in their communities and societies today. We, the faithful, should take up our faith to inspire peace and build harmony across the lines of difference in terms of religion, race, and social divides. It is becoming evident that we need this more than ever as the traditional moral framework of American life is undermined, and essential values are stripped from the American public square.

American Founding Father John Adams wrote that “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” He wrote this because he believed that self-governance was only possible by those who could live following a mature conscience, which more often than not required the wisdom and guidance of the faith traditions. Not only this, the many social services and voluntary associations, and activities that came out of a religious motivation have fallen by the wayside. As a result, the social fabric has frayed, becoming both poorer and less vibrant across the country.

In his award-winning book, Korean Dream: A Vision for a Unified Korea, Dr. Moon uses other examples where people of faith changed the course of history. In many instances, it was people of faith who engaged with the broader public sphere to advance the cause of human rights and freedoms for all.

It is with this in mind that Dr. Moon encourages the faithful to be those to write the future:

Just as it was people of faith that engendered the American experiment, it should be the faithful that leads the world to peace by advocating the vision of One Family under God. All faiths should cooperate to build a world free of conflict, reflecting the highest spiritual ideals, rooted in universal principles and values that reflect God’s truth, righteousness, goodness, and love for all humanity. Only then could we harness the power of faith to truly transform the world and build true everlasting peace and harmony for all.

Faiths have always driven and inspired people to live for the sake of others and are essential to building a robust civil society. It’s time to reignite this tradition on the global scale, as Dr. Moon continues to inspire and remind us: 

For we, collectively, are the authors of this chapter in human history. Today our world is at a critical juncture, an inflection point. The choices we make, the standards we set, and the leadership we exhibit will have far-reaching implications for the future. Now is a time for clear vision and principled action. I hope that each one of you will become peacebuilders in your respective spheres of influence and join with us in the great movement for global peace.

Freedom of religion is an absolute necessity in ensuring true liberty. The world’s religions have a vital role to play in bringing about this transformation of consciousness.
– Dr. Hyun Jin Preston Moon, Global Peace Convention 2021

In our modern world, we have become so accustomed to religious freedom to the point that we often forget why it is so essential to peace and human flourishing. Thankfully, America was – by design – a society that allowed people of different religions to believe and practice their faith without interference from the government.

The American Founding Fathers understood that this was a dangerous experiment. Yet, they intentionally chose to protect religious freedom as an integral part of the design of the new nation. Essentially, they institutionalized what had already happened in the early colonial days and made a governmental structure that allowed communities to choose their religious faith and practices. The confidence to do this was primarily rooted in an enormous faith in God, the Creator, and His design of the universe.

Rather than restricting religious beliefs and forcing citizens to believe in one religion, the United States chartered a new course in human history. Dr. Hyun Jin Preston Moon writes in Korean Dream that the Declaration of Independence “advocated the theory of natural rights: the notion that fundamental human rights and freedoms are bestowed, not by the state or monarch, but directly to the people by the Creator, and the purpose of government was to ensure the protection of those rights. Thus, each person has intrinsic value that comes from the Creator and is the basis for the essential dignity of each person and the rights that such dignity naturally entails. It was truly a birth of an enlightened concept of liberty and human rights that pointed the way forward to our modern concept of universal human rights and freedoms.”

Religion has long been one of the reasons for much of the conflict in the world – but through its nearly 250 years, America has modeled not only the feasibility but the desirability of religious freedom. In America, the idea of “One Nation Under God” led to greater peace and material prosperity as individuals were given the ability to live out their faith and their dreams. In the Foreword to the Korean Dream book, Dr. Edwin J. Feulner notes that the “bedrock of a successful civil society is belief in a divine being and that this belief forms the basis for principled human interaction.”

The religious diversity and the competition for believers in this new religious “marketplace” enriched the nation as each religious community sought, as part of their faith and practice, to better society around them. They did this by serving the less fortunate by building shelters, soup kitchens, and hospitals, educating the next generation through building schools and universities, and engaging in simple acts of service to aid whoever needed it most.

As opposed to European society of the time, the exceptional nature of this is captured in the writings of a French political scientist and writer, Alexis de Tocqueville, who marveled at the productivity and bustling voluntary associations of every need or interest. The social engagement of the faithful – of whatever religious tradition – was the external expression of spiritual principles. For example, loving God and neighbor and living a life rooted in truth and righteousness ultimately led to the Abolitionist and Civil Rights movements.

Today, the challenge looks different, but the call to create a better world for future generations based on universal principles and shared values remains the same. Dr. Hyun Jin Preston Moon, in his Global Peace Convention keynote speech on August 15, 2021, called on the faithful to lead this charge:

Just as it was people of faith that engendered the American experiment, it should be the faithful that leads the world to peace by advocating the vision of One Family under God. All religions should cooperate to build a world free of conflict, reflecting the highest spiritual ideals, rooted in universal principles and values that reflect God’s truth, righteousness, goodness, and love for all humanity. Only then could we harness the power of faith to truly transform the world and build true everlasting peace and harmony for all.

How will you take up this call in your community?

World Interfaith Harmony week, celebrated the first week of February, gives us an opportunity to explore the universal principles and spiritual values upheld by the world’s great religious teachings.

Among these is the truth that good things don’t come easily.

We live in a time when so many people are seeking out fast and easy results. Surrounded by modern conveniences, it takes a lot for us to be able to step back and ask ourselves “at what cost?”

Does the convenience give us more time for the important things in life?

Or is it actually preventing us from an incredible opportunity for growth?

The truth is that a lot of opportunities for growth are not put in our lap as a neat package. Much of growth is wrapped in things that we do not want—many times, pain can be a precursor to growth; it all depends on the attitude we choose to have.

The opportunity to grow through challenges can be seen as a universal spiritual principle held by faith traditions around the world.

We can see in the age-old wisdom of the sages, there is a certain caution against the easy things in life. In the Christian scriptures, Romans 5:3-5 extolls the virtues of suffering and the potential it carries in making us better through the hardships:

We rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts.

Similarly, in the Dhammapada of the Buddhist tradition, we see the comparison of becoming a person of character as a process that might be like that of tempering metal:

By degrees, little by little, from time to time, a wise person should remove his own impurities as a smith removes the dross from silver.

While most people are probably unfamiliar with the process of producing fine metals, it is the most intense heat that produces the best silver and gold. When we consider this, we might want to ask if the price of convenience – the automated teller machines, the opt-out button for anything and everything, the “set it and forget it” mentality – might be costing us more than we bargained for.

In fact, the Quran of the Islamic faith extolls the beauty that awaits one behind the pain of growth in that it brings one closer to God:

O man! Verily you are ever toiling on towards your Lord – painfully toiling – but you shall meet Him…

And in the Jewish Talmud we see the benefits of the struggle that comes with the inconvenience of something that we moderns might deem inconvenient or incompatible with our daily, busy lifestyle: the continual effort to refine one’s character:

The study of Torah leads to precision, precision to zeal, zeal to cleanliness, cleanliness to restraint, restraint to purity, purity to holiness, holiness to meekness, meekness to fear of sin, fear of sin to saintliness, saintliness to the holy spirit, and the holy spirit to life eternal.

From Hinduism, there is the caution against turning a blind eye from the challenges that life will inevitably come our way. By accepting my own personal responsibility to make the tough choices in life to grow and become the people we are meant to be, we become our best friend instead of our own worst enemy:

Man should discover his own reality and not thwart himself.
For he has his self as his only friend, or as his only enemy.
A person has the self as a friend
When he conquered himself
but if he rejects his own reality,
the self will war against him. Bhagavad Gita 6.5-6 (Hinduism)

And last but not least, Confucius reflected on the process of learning through his own life as one of training in order to become truly free:

The Master said, “At fifteen I set my heart upon learning. At thirty I had planted my feet upon firm ground. At forty, I no longer suffered from perplexities. At fifty, I knew what were the biddings of Heaven. At sixty, I heard them with a docile ear. At seventy, I could follow the dictates of my own heart; for what I desired no longer overstepped the boundaries of right.”

All of these passages from the different wisdom traditions point to this truth about our human potential as rooted in the Divine. From this, we can deduce that the pivotal role personal growth – of our hearts, character, maturity, habits whatever pain that might come with it – helps us in fulfilling our divine potential.

So, in the many different choices, decisions that we come up against in our everyday lives, let’s begin to acquire the habit of asking: which are the choices that make us become better, help us to bring out the best in ourselves and which are the easy outs?

The following story shows the real impact of the Global Peace Foundation’s values-based approach to community-driven peacebuilding. The One Family Under God campaign brings together community and religious leaders, including women and youth, based on shared values to foster trust and stand in solidarity for tolerance and moral and innovative models of development.

Grace has lived in Nigeria’s Dutsen-Wai most of her life. She has watched her village in Northern Kaduna grow more and more fragmented as it has suffered from wave after wave of violence, rumor-mongering, and suspicion towards “others.”

The rise of radical religious groups such as Boko Haram and Ansaru had deepened mistrust and hate between existing tribal and religious communities. These growing political and religious tensions have caused common disputes over land, politics, and family to break out in violence.

Still, Grace remembers a time when the violence wasn’t so prevalent. “In those days, schools used to be combined for children from both faiths.” But the persisting crisis has led many families to stop sending their children to religiously mixed schools. “It led to the establishment of separate schools for pupils of different faiths.”

With less and less opportunities to engage with children of other faiths, distrust of other groups was spread into the next generation.

In was into this environment that the Global Peace Foundation (GPF) team entered Dusten Wai. They began working with local elders and leaders to implement community-driven peacebuilding programs. The local leaders quickly embraced the message of “One Family under God,” acknowledging their shared values and common humanity. In their places of worship, communities, and day to day interactions, the faith and community leaders modeled the message.

The process has brought renewed hope and commitment to rebuild trust beyond religious and tribal differences and has begun to yield tangible changes.

Today, some Christian and Muslim children have begun attending school together. For Grace, this change is immensely hopeful. “If we can revive the culture of combined schools, we can also restore our peaceful coexistence,” she said.

Margret, another resident of Dutsen Wai, described a parallel process of community engagement beyond religious and tribal lines. “As a result of GPF’s intervention, Fulani children during holidays visit me at home while I also send my children to them as well,” she said proudly.

Following the GPF intervention, the youth of different faiths have joined together to form an interfaith youth football club for the village.

Even beyond lines of religion, the intervention has encouraged people to reach others from different tribes to create new bonds of trust and gradually move towards cooperation.

Suleiman Aliyu, Chief Imam, Sutsen-Wai Juma’At Mosque said, “If I am asked to assess the campaign, I can say we have really achieved peace now.” Neighboring villages have reached out GPF to ask that the program is implemented in their communities, and the success has multiplied. Today, a pilot of the program is being implemented in Uganda.

The peacebuilding approach introduced by GPF begins with establishing a consensus over a shared vision for the community among local leaders. The vision of a shared future then translates into shifts in attitudes towards members of different races, tribes, and religious affiliations, and is expressed in new behaviors and collective initiatives like shared schools and home visits among neighbors who previously did not speak with one another.

The GPF Nigeria team shared lessons learned and best practices at the Global Peace Leadership Conference in Uganda on August 1-3, 2018.

The event was hosted by Honorary Chair H.E. General Yoweri K. Museveni, President of Uganda, and co-convened by the Government of Uganda, the Global Peace Foundation, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, Inter-religious Council of Uganda, and the Private Sector Foundation Uganda.

Come join the conversation – share your own stories, insights, ask questions, build new collaborations; be a part of building peace and advancing development across Africa and the world.

The original post appears on Global Peace Foundation. Global Peace Foundation is an international non-sectarian, non-partisan, nonprofit organization, which promotes an innovative, values-based approach to peacebuilding, guided by the vision of One Family under God.  GPF engages and organizes a global network of public and private-sector partners who develop community, national, and regional peacebuilding models as the foundation for ethical and cohesive societies. Dr. Hyun Jin Preston Moon is founder and chairman of the Global Peace Foundation.