The Global Peace Leadership Conference Africa 2024 gathered delegates from across Africa and the world to discuss strategies for fostering peace, development, and cooperation. The conference promoted an African Renaissance that leverages the continent’s heritage and values, empowering African leadership, enhancing intracontinental partnerships, and encouraging ethical global citizenship. Dr. Hyun Jin P. Moon was a keynote speaker, highlighting the richness of Africa’s spiritual values and the importance of building a culture of peace around the model of an extended family.

While Nigeria is working to transition a new administration that began on May 29, 2023, Global Peace Foundation (GPF) Nigeria has been tirelessly working behind the scenes to ensure peace before, during, and after election season. 

The country, like many around the world, faces tension during each election season. However, GPF Nigeria’s ongoing work to prevent election violence has significantly lowered violence, including retaliation violence, and encouraged peaceful dialogue among diverse communities.

GPF’s vision, “One Family under God,” is at the core of every gathering hosted by GPF Nigeria. One of the latest assemblies brought together faith leaders, traditional rulers, and prominent youth and women leaders for a forum titled “The Role of Faith Leaders in Dousing Post-Election Tension.”

Rev. John Joseph Hayab, the Country Director of GPF Nigeria, gave welcoming remarks and recognized the significance of the audience’s diversity, saying, “There are lots of misgivings, misconceptions and misrepresentations of issues, particularly in social media which are capable of hampering the peace we worked together to achieve before, during and after the elections.”

“Elections are not over in Nigeria until after the inauguration and conclusion of cases in the court,” said Rev. Hayab. He charged the clerics and other leaders present to actively participate in helping dispel tension and mitigate violence amongst their followers.

Sheikh Halliru Abdullahi Maraya, the Northern Coordinator of GPF Nigeria, stated that the 2023 general elections were one of the most peaceful in the last 100 years of Nigerian political record thanks to the hard work of all parties present at the peacebuilding forum. Sheik Maraya applauded religious leaders for not letting political agendas overtake their places of worship but instead encouraged people to uphold common values and the nation’s interests as a whole. “Regardless of religious leanings, faith leaders must accept that as humans, we are first, members of one family under God and do all they can to preach it,” Sheik Maraya said.

Alhaji Yusuf Muhammad, the Sa’en Lere, who is the representative of Kaduna State Traditional Council and joint Patron of the KSPMC, and Rev. Bitrus Dangiwa, the Co-Chairman of KSPMC emphatically sounded in their separate remarks that Kaduna State Peace and Mediation Committee is one of the best things that has ever happened to Kaduna state. Alhaji Yusuf said, “The last election is the most peaceful I have witnessed in my life as an electorate in this country. It was relatively peaceful, particularly in Kaduna state, and thanks to the effort of GPF Nigeria.” He further pointed out that war and crisis begin from something small, so the Nigerian people must not give it a chance. He agreed with other speakers saying, “Religious leaders must set the standard and live by example. Do all you can and ensure you disseminate what we discuss here in your various churches and mosques.”

People across faith and denomination embraced the message of peace at the forum, pledging to work towards a peaceful transition during the administration turnover.

GPF Nigeria continues to advocate for community-driven peacebuilding through Peace and Reconciliation Committees around the country. Groups like the Lapai Peace and Reconciliation Committee are expanding sub-committees to address specific needs such as “Research, Quick Response, and Mediation.” Peace and Reconciliation Committees also conduct training programs for volunteers and are the planners for peace festivals that will be held throughout the coming year.

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.

“To tackle the obstacles before us that undermine peace and development we need, at every level – from the highest echelons of government to the smallest village community – leadership that is both moral and innovative.” —Dr. Hyun Jin P. Moon (Global Peace Leadership Conference 2018)

Our world is changing rapidly and in unpredictable ways. The global pandemic has underscored the need for readiness in online access, quality of education, and wellbeing of students and teachers. The need for moral and innovative educational leadership has never been more pertinent as systems and schools explore ways for continued learning and engaging students in the current climate and towards the recovery.

In order to adapt to the current and post-pandemic environment as well as the buildup of automation, artificial intelligence, robotics, and the Fourth Industrial Revolution, educators and administrators are having to rethink ways to prepare the next generation for the future. Thought leaders explored new trends, ideas, policies, models and notable practices underway internationally, nationally, and locally that prepares students for the future and to be successful in all aspects of their lives on a virtual conference hosted by Global Peace Foundation.

The conference especially highlighted exceptional models in Africa that have been making leaps in transforming education over the years, only increasing their efforts further after the global pandemic hit. Seeing the crisis as rather an opportunity for innovation. Online platforms are affecting how education is delivered and making it even more accessible for many. At the same time, the digital divide is also bringing into greater focus underserved communities, especially rural areas with inadequate infrastructure and absence of connectivity, challenges that confronted much of Africa before the pandemic struck, bringing it to the attention of key leaders and stakeholders in the African region.

Institutions of higher education have the physical and cyber infrastructure and educational expertise that could be deployed, and in the future, integrated into a holistic approach to education.

With all these opportunities, a major factor for success will remain within the home. The role of parents is more urgent than ever with the closure of schools and online learning reverting to the home. Soft skills like communication, collaboration, critical thinking, and problem solving—and values such as kindness, compassion, and respect—are learned in the home and are the foundation upon which skills can be developed and applied for human progress.

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 peace building models as the foundation for ethical and cohesive societies. Dr. Hyun Jin Preston Moon is founder and chairman of the Global Peace Foundation.

Paramount to the success of future generations will be the ability of educators, leaders, and youth to not only formulate innovative solutions to current challenges but also have the prudence to look beyond the crisis to transform education for the betterment of society for many years to come.

Experts, educators, and partners with Global Peace Foundation are pioneering models of transformation and sharing them with others through online conferences like the Online Africa Regional Youth Summit to propel a forward-thinking paradigm for education, encouraging teachers, students, and administrators to look beyond the current pandemic to prepare for recovery and be optimistic about the opportunities for the future. Partners in peacebuilding are utilizing technology in lieu of face-to-face meetings to help educators keep the ball rolling on creative processes to inspire students, teachers, and parents.

Africa is in an excellent position to demonstrate these models, blessed with natural resources and vibrant spiritual and cultural heritages. However, the number one asset of any nation is its people and Africa is home to one of the largest youth populations in the world.

Several challenges and opportunities face these young people, including the threat of extremism brought on by religious and ethnic conflict. Therefore, a comprehensive vision and broad, long-term strategy are needed to engage multi-sectoral alliances in developing and carrying out grassroots applications to build peace and prosperity in localized regions.

Moral and innovative leadership skills are essential to sustainable development and peacebuilding. Naturally creative, youth guided by universal principles and values found at the heart of every spiritual tradition will be at the forefront of advancing technology and discovering solutions to propel humanity forward. Educators will play an imperative role in guiding young people to develop these values, skills, and knowledge.

The Character and Creativity Initiative launched in 2010 is helping teachers and students around the world, from Kenya to the Philippines, Paraguay, Malaysia, and Uganda work towards making education relevant to the 21st century. The program equips students with a moral and innovative mindset, better preparing them to be good citizens and good neighbors.  It also seeks to develop initiative and flexibility of thought with an emphasis on personal responsibility and the creation of new opportunities.

Other programs mentioned in the webinar include Leap Hubs, a leadership, and entrepreneurship program piloted in Kenya in 2015, that provides guidance and space in secondary schools for highly motivated students to explore their ideas and learn what it takes to become business and social entrepreneurs. This combination of values and practical, innovative skills development emphasizes the equal importance of both human values and intelligence. Because technology itself is value-neutral, it must be guided by people of character to be useful for the greater good.

Youth have a high capacity to build peace. Not only are they the targeted demographic by extremist groups because of their passion and energy, but they are also the potential leaders in any society to promote counter-narratives against hate and radical ideologies. Youth are pioneers, inventors, and leaders.

Transforming education for our world’s youth will transform our world with leaders more capable of building sustainable peace. The online event was the first in a series that will be rolled out to building capacity in teachers, school principals, school systems, students, and parents during this unique time, as well as preparing learners for the recovery and the future.

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 peace building models as the foundation for ethical and cohesive societies. Dr. Hyun Jin Preston Moon is founder and chairman of the Global Peace Foundation.

Youth in Tanzania are demonstrating the vital role young leaders play in paving the way for sustainable peace.

Since Tanzania’s independence in 1961, the education system in Tanzania has undergone multiple transformations based on political and economic changes and now faces a number of challenges in issues related to teen pregnancy, gender inequality, and youth unemployment. In commemoration of the 2020 International Day of Education, Global Peace Foundation (GPF) and partners organized a youth dialogue comprising of teachers and students from a local university and secondary schools, as well as education stakeholders, media personnel, parents, and education analysts to reaffirm education as a fundamental right and to celebrate its empowerment to foster peace.

The head information officer of the United Nations, Ms. Stella Vuzo presenting her opening remark before the dialogue session

The dialogue for the importance of education proceeded through multiple panels that tackled subjects within this year’s international theme: “Learning for People, Planet, Prosperity, and Peace.”

Presentations emphasized how access and quality of education contributes to developing talents, skills, and creative potential to discover innovative solutions to the greatest challenges facing humanity and the environment.

Kelvin Eduard from YUNA spoke at the panel, “Learning for Planet,” on using education to preserve the environment and to develop ways to help reverse unsustainable practices so that people could live in harmony with nature in the future. As our greatest classroom, nature is an imperative priority to protect and respect.

At the panel, “Learning for Prosperity,” Glory from TEDI emphasized that youth should equip themselves with soft skills to prosper in the workforce. She said that the positive results of acquiring these skills will would include enhanced access to work and increased income.

Youth participating in the active dialogue session

For the panel, “Learning for Peace,” Irene Ishengoma from GPF spoke about creating a foundation of peace from contributing to reconciliation, mutual understanding, and social cohesion in the family. She discussed the importance of teaching the children these concepts to develop them as future peacebuilders because our core character is developed from a young age in our own families.

After the panels, the participants, inspired by what they learned from the presenters, freely discussed ways to make education meaningful enough to empower people, preserve the planet, build the prosperity of the youth, and promote peacebuilding.

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 peace building models as the foundation for ethical and cohesive societies. Dr. Hyun Jin Preston Moon is founder and chairman of the Global Peace Foundation.

“Religious people must work together within their communities to solve common social problems. The issue of the divided Korean peninsula should be viewed in this light. When you reach out and help those who suffer, they will meet God through you. This is how true missionary work can be done.”

-Bishop Sunday Ndukwo Onuoha

Bishop Sunday Ndukwo Onuoha has seen the power of interfaith cooperation first hand in his home country of Nigeria.

In 2009, an average of 300,000 people died from malaria. Studies concluded that the challenges were not for lack of knowledge or resources, but getting individuals and families to implement preventative measures into their daily life.

Nigeria Inter-Faith Action Association recognized that faith leaders played an important part in addressing the health epidemic. NIFFA calls it the “faith effect.” Faith leaders have the trust of their congregation, in turn, they can teach and enforce changes in mindset and behavior. Muslim and Christian leaders have worked together with NIFFA to take the message and practices of malaria prevention to their congregation. In Kaduna state, a year later, bed net usage has increased by 60%. Nigeria continues its battle against Malaria, but the casualties are falling.

Civic and religious leaders collaborate for grassroots efforts for reunification on the Korean peninsula

In a recent visit to Korea, Bishop Sunday called on faith leaders to work together to bring the “faith effect” into action to address the crisis on the Korean peninsula.

Bishop Sunday has also been active in promoting the Global Peace Foundation’s One Family Under God campaign that has brought communities in conflict in Nigeria together to build peace based on shared values and an affirmation that they are connected as children of God.

He cited other historical examples where faith leaders working together in pursuit of a common vision to ignite popular movements that transcended racial, cultural and religious bounds, to bring about significant social transformation, including Korea’s March First Independence Movement of 1919. Key to the public protests were faith groups that had laid the groundwork for years in their congregations, casting the vision of an independent Korea, articulating the principles and values of this new nation, and igniting a fire to lead to action.

Gandhi (center) with other peaceful protestors in the Salt March

Bishop Sunday brought forward other historical examples of social movements around the world such as Mahatma Gandhi, who reached out to people beyond the Hindu faith to advocate for India’s independence from colonial rule. He also noted that Nelson Mandela was able to embrace all people, no matter the color of their skin while endeavoring to end apartheid in South Africa. He also mentioned the example of the civil rights movement in the United States, which under the leadership of Martin Luther King Jr., was able to attract the support of people from all different religious, racial and political backgrounds.

Though the March First Movement did not lead to a free, independent and united Korea, the independence leaders who came from different faiths including Christianity, Buddhism, and Cheondoism, were able to unify millions of Koreans to peacefully protest colonial rule. Nearly 100 years later, Action for Korea United is drawing on the spirit of the March First Movement to drive towards the reunification of the two Koreas. Bishop Onuoha resolutely stated his belief that through people coming together, “reunification of the Korean Peninsula will happen.”

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 peace building models as the foundation for ethical and cohesive societies. Dr. Hyun Jin Preston Moon is founder and chairman of the Global Peace Foundation.

Read Dr. Hyun Jin P. Moon’s full speech delivered at the Global Peace Leadership Conference in Kampala, Uganda under the theme, “Moral and Innovative Leadership: New Models for Peace and Development,” on August 1-2, 2018, where he highlights the groundbreaking peacebuilding initiatives taking place across Africa and the importance of raising young people of character and creativity to tackle the world’s most pressing challenges today.

Select schools in Uganda have been chosen to implement a curriculum which, in a complement to promoting academic excellence, helps to cultivate peace and community building skills. The Global Peace Foundation Uganda has been implementing the Character and Creativity Initiatives (CCI) towards this end.

These schools have begun to demonstrate a high level of innovation, entrepreneurship, and teamwork as well as a culture of peace in the school and wider community. Parents and community members have been key contributors to this school-wide transformation, pointing to the importance of the school-home-community connection in raising the whole child.

Teachers participate in CCI training programs

Participants including administration, staff, teachers, students and parents CCI schools have reported positive outcomes related to this inclusive, ethical framework and its corresponding CCI activities and programs.

A key practice of CCI actively involves parents as well as Muslim and Christian leaders to guide teachers on how to integrate the values of respect, dialogue, reconciliation, teamwork and unity beyond religious and cultural boundaries in the classroom and the school in general.

To reinforce these lessons, GPF actively engages students of different religious and cultural backgrounds to work and interact with one another in service to the community. This has helped to transform the culture not only in the schools but also in the students’ homes. When students of diverse backgrounds work together for projects such as community cleans-ups, tree planting, support work for orphans, they model desirable attitudes and behaviors for those they serve; they not only cultivate leadership skills but also naturally developing a culture of care and service among students, families and the community.

CCI demonstration schools have also embraced the idea of interfaith prayers, calling for unity in diversity, peace and academic excellence.  The schools also invite faith and cultural religious leaders to jointly work to nurture good character among students and the community at large.  This strengthens awareness of and commitment to the vision of One Family under God and motivates students to think of character and creativity as part of a “whole person education” even beyond the schoolyard.

Global Peace Foundation in Uganda

Parents of students are invited to participate and observe their children during School Visitation Days, which has helped to invite higher parent participation in schools. This, in turn, has shown to help to make more accurate assessments and evaluations to tailor learning and engagement in ways that improve discipline, academic performance and create effective solutions to a student’s unique challenges.

This practice takes on the idea that in educating for a world of One Family Under God, individual families must be engaged to become the basis for peace and development of every individual.  Parents and teachers jointly work together to educate the “whole person” through investing resources in CCI best practices.

These are just some of the best practices from the Uganda CCI schools. How might you bring character and creativity to your own community?

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 peace building models as the foundation for ethical and cohesive societies. Dr. Hyun Jin Preston Moon is founder and chairman of the Global Peace Foundation.