Global Peace Women and the Global Peace Foundation launched a new campaign, Women and Families in Peacebuilding: Catalysts for Transformative Change, to spotlight inspiring women from their networks who have shown exceptional dedication to peacebuilding, service, and community transformation.

Emphasizing the idea that “peace begins in the home,” the initiative highlights the vital role women and families play in creating lasting peace through compassion, education, and intergenerational values. These women—mothers, educators, faith leaders, and community builders—are recognized for their grassroots efforts in reconciliation, advocacy, and healing after conflict. Their stories aim to motivate others to embrace peacebuilding roles in their own communities.

Read their encouraging stories:

A GPW Leadership Academy graduate launched a mental health initiative in Ruiru, Kenya, with support from GPW’s Global Women Dream grant. Running from July to December 2024, the project offered training, counseling, and community activities to help women manage stress, anxiety, and trauma, empowering them to support both their families and communities. Read

In Mkovur Zema, Benue State, Nigeria, a Global Peace Women Nigeria project empowered women, especially widows, through sustainable livelihoods and nutrition-focused training. The initiative equipped 20 widows with leadership skills, economic tools, and support to rebuild their lives and strengthen their families. The project fostered self-reliance, unity, and community development. Read

Disasters do more than destroy homes—they upend lives and leave families struggling to rebuild. In 2023, Cyclone Freddy devastated Mtauchira Village in Chiradzulu district, killing 18 people and displacing 59 families. With the village rendered uninhabitable, residents were forced into camps. For these displaced families, recovery goes beyond emergency aid—it’s about regaining dignity, livelihoods, and a sense of belonging. The Family Matters Assistance Project is stepping in to help. Read

In Tanzania’s Mtwara region, the Familia Moja Initiatives: Amplifying Change for Sustainable Peace project is strengthening families as the foundation of lasting peace. Recognizing that peace starts at home, the project empowered vulnerable families to become agents of change. The initiative tackled issues like conflict and gender-based violence by helping families lead the way toward stronger, more peaceful communities. Read

In Hayin Dan Mani, Kaduna, a transformation is taking place. Thirty single mothers, once facing economic hardship and social stigma, are now thriving as business owners and community leaders. The Empowering Single Mothers through Craftsmanship and Entrepreneurship project has provided these women with income-generating skills, confidence, and renewed leadership in their families and communities. Read

In Malawi’s Machinga district, women are driving community change through Ndife Amodzi (“We Are One”), a peacebuilding and empowerment initiative that equips women with skills in entrepreneurship, sustainable farming, and civic leadership, promoting strong families as the foundation of peaceful societies. Read

Launched in 2022, Project Saksham promotes moral values and leadership in youth through values-based education. The program encourages peaceful mindsets and strong character to build harmony within families and communities. By January 2025, the project had reached 11 schools in Kathmandu District, engaging 268 students, 20 volunteers, and 11 teachers in interactive workshops focused on leadership, teamwork, and service. Read

In Tanzania’s Rufiji District, a young woman launched the Empower Women with Disabilities through Economic Generation project from July to December 2024. The initiative aimed to break the barriers of economic marginalization and social exclusion faced by women with disabilities by providing 40 women with entrepreneurial skills, seed capital, and tools to improve their livelihoods. Read

This compilation of stories is adapted from stories featured on the Global Peace Foundation website. The Global Peace Foundation is an international non-sectarian, non-partisan, nonprofit organization, that 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.

A team of women navigated rugged rural terrain to bring food and hygiene kits to underprivileged families in the Philippines. A heart of service is at the core of Global Peace Women’s (GPW) mission to empower women as leaders in their homes and communities. With the belief that all people are members of One Family under God, GPW endeavors to uplift families, envisioning a future where every individual thrives in a society rooted in compassion.

In a heartwarming display of unity and compassion, Global Peace Women (GPW) Philippines embarked on a transformative journey to empower families and youth in Barangay Tinucan, Tanay Rizal. Under the leadership of Program Coordinator Ana Marie S. Mira, GPW Philippines Country Coordinator, the Women Empowerment Program orchestrated a remarkable initiative titled “Let the light of Compassion Keep on Shining through Giving and Sharing.” On January 29, 2024, this collaborative effort unfolded, illuminating the lives of thirty less privileged families nestled in the remote corners of Tanay.

Navigating through rugged terrain, crossing three rivers, and overcoming logistical challenges, the team embarked on their mission with unwavering determination. Upon reaching their destination, they engaged in heartfelt discussions with mothers about the significance of proper hygiene as a cornerstone of a healthy lifestyle. Amidst smiles and immense gratitude, the families received a ray of hope through bags of groceries containing essential items such as rice, canned goods, noodles, coffee, cookies, and chips. Additionally, hygiene kits and school supplies were distributed, sparking excitement among the young students and instilling a renewed zeal for education.

The project was not merely about material gifts but embodied the essence of GPW’s values, principles, and approach. It exemplified the organization’s commitment to fostering collaborative endeavors that empower families and youth, envisioning a future where every individual thrives in a society rooted in compassion and solidarity.

GPW is a partner of the Global Peace Foundation that supports the advancement of the vision of ‘One Family under God’ by engaging women in societal leadership.

Through practical support and empowering discussions, the project reinforced the belief in the family as the primary institution for nurturing love, virtue, and resilience. By extending a helping hand to those in need, the project also cultivated a culture of service within the community, laying the foundation for sustainable peacebuilding efforts.

Reflecting on the project’s success, Ana Marie S. Mira emphasized the importance of strategic partnerships and expressed gratitude for the unwavering support of their partner organizations.

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.

Global Peace Women Plenary 2021
Keynote Address
Dr. Junsook Moon
August 13, 2021

Ladies and gentlemen joining us from around the world,

Greetings! Welcome to the Plenary of the Women’s Leadership Track at the 2021 Virtual Global Peace Convention on Moral and Innovative Leadership in Peacebuilding for Our Changing World.

Hon. Samaniego, thank you for your kind words of support. I also want to extend my gratitude towards our other distinguished speakers: H.E. Dr. Hajiya, Amina Namadi Sambo, Dr. Nona Ricafort, and Dr. Eva Latham, who are not only incredible women leaders, but also active peace builders in their communities and around the world. Thank you for sharing your expertise with us today. I am so glad that we can come together virtually and continue working towards our mission of peace and development through service minded women leadership.

I miss seeing your faces and sharing the irreplaceable human connection that comes when meeting in person. Although the global pandemic has made it difficult for us to gather, I am grateful that the wonders of technology have enabled us to meet together today, even from far away.

Our theme for the Women’s Leadership track is Service-minded Women Advancing Peace in the Home and World During Unprecedented Times.

The pandemic is the first of its kind in our lifetimes. The world as we know it has been altered, perhaps irrevocably.

Undoubtedly, each and every one of us has been through loss and change. Some of us have lost loved ones. Most of us have had to stay distant from people we long to see in person, and confront the stresses of a new reality, including job loss, remote work, and markedly altered school and home life.

As we faced these emerging challenges, we have had to wrestle with how to find meaning in the sacrifices and turmoil around us. We have had to transform crisis into opportunity and turn despair into hope.

The question we must ask ourselves is, “How can we, as women, as leaders, contribute to opening a path to a brighter future?”

The pandemic has revealed how the well-being of family fundamentally affects the health and wellness of all people. What does your family mean to you? Family is precious. When times are good, it is where we thrive and share happiness with loved ones. When times are hard, our families can be the place where we offer support and draw strength from each other. Through every season of life, I believe, the family can be an enduring source of gratitude, service, and love.

A crucial ingredient sustaining successful families is gratitude. Family means that we will always be connected regardless of our differences in personalities, talents, and interests. Having a family to turn to when things are tough means that we are never truly alone. When we appreciate and express gratitude for our family, we strengthen relationships that endure through all the ups and downs of life.

Service is another key element that families offer. Choosing to serve provides comfort and healing while uplifting ourselves and others. When times are especially difficult, we rely most on the physical, spiritual, and emotional care that we receive from family members.

Lastly, the most defining characteristic of family is deep, intimate, and unconditional love. When children first enter this world, they completely rely on the love and sacrifice of their parents. Even as adults, we realize that family provides the deep-seated love and support that helps us to overcome life’s greatest difficulties. The unconditional love in our families equips us to love others outside of the home. Over the past year, women have especially stepped forward to selflessly love and care for their families and communities. They are transformative teachers of peace both in the family and in society.

During the pandemic, Global Peace Women around the world have turned their focus to supporting women and families as the wellspring of gratitude, service, and love. In 16 nations, Global Peace Women have organized webinars, workshops, hotlines and public broadcasts to provide expert advice, counseling, livelihood training, and small group support for the well-being of families. We also met basic needs – providing meals, diapers, clothes, and sanitation products. These programs focused on various dimensions of family health including spiritual, emotional, and physical wellness. We are proud of our women leaders who continue to give hope and practical support. Their efforts have helped families create stable, loving environments even in the midst of these uncertain times.

Ladies and gentlemen, every parent wants to create a happy, healthy, and peaceful family that cultivates gratitude, serves others and offers unconditional love. Every family member has an irreplaceable role to play in creating such a family.

In my family, my husband and I play different, but equally important roles. My family leans on my husband, Dr. Hyun Jin Preston Moon, to cultivate self-discipline and strive for a high standard of excellence. He challenges all of us to grow past our own perceived limits and to accomplish so much more than we thought we could. He provides spiritual leadership for our family through his unabated dedication to building One Family under God. On the other hand, I am the one who observes how each of our children is doing. My children feel comfortable to tell me the details of their challenges and struggles. I usually know even before they tell me. At those times, I do my best to give support and encouragement to help my children take daily steps towards growing themselves, investing in their families and contributing to the world. Just as a father and mother offer complementary strengths in the family, I believe men and women have unique and important contributions to make both in the home and in society.

If my husband is the North Star that shows the ship where to go, perhaps I am the wind that fills the ship’s sails. If we take one step in the right direction every day, just as the winds blows the ship to safety through uncharted waters, I know that we can reach brighter shores together.

I invite you to find ways through which we can reach for deeper reserves of gratitude, service, and unconditional love in our daily lives. Global Peace Women strives to develop education, projects and initiatives that support women so we can nourish ourselves, our families, communities and the world with these gifts. 

The Family Volunteers for Peace initiative is yielding moving examples of women doing exactly this. In Nigeria, the Philippines, Uganda, and the United States, mothers have encouraged their families to serve. They have shared stories of how they have grown closer through volunteering together. Their families are also gaining important tools: problem-solving, character development, and skills for building healthy relationships to further peace in their homes and communities.  What beautiful examples of women leaders cultivating service-minded families who are rising above our current challenges.

Earlier this year, we hosted a webinar series entitled, “Women-led peacebuilding from the home to society.” The webinars sought to uplift and empower women who are cultivating seeds of peace in their homes and the world. Participants from around the world, representing countries from Asia, Africa, the Americas and Europe joined in engaging  conversations on teaching human rights in the family, bridging generations through music, practicing holistic health, cultivating service, and establishing family traditions to build a legacy of peace.

Ladies and gentlemen, it is true that we are living through unprecedented times. It has been profoundly difficult for our families, our societies and our world. But, let us not focus just on the challenges and pain. Let us look outward and find ways to serve together, and in doing so, we can bring healing and hope.

I know that the work of Global Peace Women is needed now, more than ever. We can serve as a platform to support and inspire incredible women leaders like yourselves. Let us work together towards a common vision of a world where every woman, man, child and family can pursue their utmost potential in peace.

Let us celebrate what we have accomplished, and also reflect on the question, “What more can we do?” I am certain that together, with our collective strength of service, heart and care, we will get through these times, and we will create a brighter, greater future.

Let us embark on the next step of this journey to build a peaceful world of One Family under God, one family and one community at a time.

May God bless you and your loved ones.

Thank you very much.

As the world faces the COVID19 pandemic, clearly it has called every one, women and men, people of all faiths, nations, and ages, to come together to innovate new solutions. Recently, the women of Global Peace Women in the Republic of Korea demonstrated the power of civil society.

In South Korea, similar to many other nations, the marketplace has struggled to keep up with the demand for hand sanitizer and masks. Global Peace Women and partner civic groups and citizens made and donated handmade masks, food, and other necessary items.

Global Peace Women, a division of Global Peace Foundation, hoped to ease the anxiety, especially for the elderly population as the number of cases was rapidly increasing in February by crafting and delivering handmade masks to underprivileged families.

Volunteers in Seoul, along with regional branches in Korea, carried out a fundraiser in late February and collected 2 million won (around $1,600 USD). With the funding, GPW staff and volunteers gathered and made 600 disposable masks along with 500 masks gathered by a mask-making company in order to help the city of Daegu, where the confirmed COVID-19 cases are most severe.

“We originally planned to purchase and deliver large amounts of masks with the donations at the time of the campaign, but due to the heightened demand for masks we began planning our own means of production,” said Mihwa Kim, director of GPW Korea.  “We hope that even a little help can provide consolation and encouragement and that this crisis will be overcome as soon as possible.”

The masks were delivered to homes in Daegu. Yeonsook Park, Vice President of the GPW Daegu branch, was touched by the outpouring of support and said, “The best way to repay this help is for the people with the virus to recover and return to their daily lives from isolation as quickly as possible,” she said, adding that she will work as head of a community organization to overcome the disease.

The global impact of COVID-19 has been profound, affecting daily life on large and small scales. However, across the world, volunteers and the kindness of neighbors are demonstrating the best in our humanity. During these challenging times, it is important to remember that even during the most difficult experiences, there are opportunities to be the inspiration and strength that others need to move our world forward.

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.

North Korean defectors and South Korean citizens are connecting through simple but effective grassroots projects that are helping to build economic capacity for women defecting from North Korea while also providing a place to nurture relationships between Koreans from both sides of the 38th parallel.

In addition to the political and social challenges, economic collaboration will be one of the most urgent challenges that a newly reunified Korea will have to address.

People-to-people connections and civil society engagement will be crucial in addressing such complex challenges, helping citizens from the North and South see each other as one people: one family.

With this in mind and while envisioning a future of shared prosperity on a reunited peninsula, the women’s division of Global Peace Foundation provided defectors with a chance to learn new skills and collaborate with South Korean entrepreneurs through North Korean Defectors Entrepreneur Training ENM (Educating + Networking + Mentoring).

North Korean women worked together to grind soybeans with millstone, boiling and then pressing them into a wooden frame. This hands-on learning experience to make tofu in the rural South Korean village of Cheongjung Sinheung was just one stop on their tour of food and drink industries for the group of women that defected from the North.

In addition to Cheongjung Sinheung Village, the women visited a traditional liquor manufacturing plant and the GTI International Trade and Investment Expo held in Donghae. The tour was part of the Global Peace Foundation (GPF) ongoing program North Korean Defectors Entrepreneur Training ENM (Educating + Networking + Mentoring).

As North Korean defector women are often breadwinners of their families, the stakes for finding jobs and starting businesses are high. With their newfound freedom in the South, these women may explore possibilities for economic development that they never dreamed of in the North. Yet, navigating through the unfamiliar and competitive job market in the South is a daunting task. GPF’s training program empowers these women by providing skills training, networking opportunities, mentoring, and industry exploration. Within a supportive community of mentors and other North Korean defectors, these women gain confidence in their job search or in starting their own businesses. They find renewed hope for shaping their own destinies for the better.

On this industry tour, the women learned about Guksundang’s Hoengseong (Industrial Complex) Plant’s 30-year manufacturing history and observed the production lines. They also learned about the process of promoting and selling products and signing contracts at the GTI International Trade and Investment Fair, an event where businesses from over 50 countries participated.

After the tour, Professor Heung-ryul Pyeon of Seojeong University gave a presentation at the Global Research Institute in Taebaek City. “The recent baby boomers of the 1960s are jumping into small-scale businesses, and 70 percent of them close within five years. For North Korean defectors to succeed in starting their businesses, they need to understand the culture of South Korean society and realize their strengths well.” He shared success stories of KFC founder Colonel Harland Sanders and Hyundai Group Chairman Ju-young Chung to illustrate his main point. “The most important thing, even more than creating items and management capabilities, is the indomitable spirit.”

In working to empower North Korean defector women and engaging them with their brethren in the South, GPF is laying the long-term groundwork from which to address the larger issue at hand—the long hoped-for reconciliation of the Korean peninsula.

Although economic empowerment for North Korean defector women is an important endeavor, GPF is simultaneously working to address the larger issue at hand, that is the division of the Korean peninsula.

Kim Mi-hwa, president of the Women’s Division for GPF Korea, also gave a presentation and shared her hopes for reunification, “South and North Korea have virtually lost their national identity for 70 years after the division… We need to recognize that through unification, the opportunity has come for our people to be leaders in the 21st century. We should work toward unification with one common vision between the two Koreas.”

She encouraged participants to be a part of the One Korea Global Campaign, a grassroots movement to bring awareness and draw support for the reunification of the two Koreas. As the 100th anniversary of the 1919 March First Korean Independence Movement draws near, Ms. Kim reminded them of the once unifying vision of the Korean people, the hope of a free, independent, and unified nation that upholds human rights and freedoms.

At the conclusion of the tour, one participant shared her experience saying, “I was able to gain inspiration and confidence in starting a new business by looking at the creative products. Through making tofu on our last part of the tour, I was able to discover the value of traditional Korean cuisine, and I am thinking to start a business.” She also commented on Ms. Kim’s presentation, “Hopefully, we reunify as soon as possible, and North Koreans will get a proper historical view. Unification is the only way to correct the distorted history education we receive in the North.”

The following is a keynote address for the women’s leadership forum by Dr. Junsook Moon, held at the Global Peace Convention 2019 in President’s Hotel, South Korea.

Distinguished guest and leaders from around the globe who are working tirelessly for the realization of world peace, how are you?

I warmly welcome and thank you for participating in the 2019 Global Peace Convention organized by the Global Peace Foundation. Our theme of “Korean Dream: a Vision for a Unified Korea” is especially significant because we are celebrating the centenary of the historic Samil (March First) Independence Movement.

It is a distinct pleasure to gather with you in my dear homeland of Korea with our shared conviction in the importance of “Women’s role in realizing Korean Reunification and Global Peace.” I would like to thank the Honorable Amina Sambo, humanitarian and wife of the former Vice President of Nigeria; the Honorable Shadya Karume, former First Lady of Zanzibar; Dr. Eva Latham, human rights expert and distinguished educator from the Netherlands; the Honorable Dr. Nona Ricafort, former Commissioner on the Commission of Higher Education in the Philippines; the Honorable In Ja Hwang and the Honorable Yeon Sook Lee, former members of the Korean National Assembly. I would also like to acknowledge the Global Peace Foundation and Global Peace Women Korea for preparing this program.

The Korean Dream and Peaceful Unification

The 2019 Global Peace Convention brings together women leaders from around the world who have transcended national interests through service and dedication. Together, we will collaborate and work toward a unified Korea and a peaceful world.

My husband, Dr. Hyun Jin Moon, and I have continuously striven to realize world peace in all sectors of society. Through the Global Peace Foundation, in particular, we initiated comprehensive and transformative projects to establish peaceful and prosperous societies centered on the vision of One Family under God. Because we believe that the Korean peninsula is geographically and historically positioned to play a critical role in realizing world peace, we focused our efforts on building substantive progress toward Korea’s reunification. With Action for Korea United, a coalition of over 800 civic organizations, we are leading a grassroots movement guided by the Korean Dream to usher in the peaceful reunification of Korea.

My husband authored Korean Dream: A Vision for a Unified Korea to ask fundamental questions and offer a practical solution regarding the issue of Korean reunification. Unlike previous approaches that emphasized methodology or the process of reunification, Dr. Moon explored the fundamental question of what a unified Korea should look like. His answer is rooted in the Hongik Ingan ideal which is embedded in 5,000 years of Korean history and culture.

Hongik Ingan, which means to live for the benefit of all humanity, is the founding aspiration of Korea. This simple phrase contains profound spiritual meaning that transcends history and time. Korean reunification cannot be achieved through short-sighted policies based on the geopolitics of the last 10, 20 years. The Hongik Ingan ideal that runs through the Korean Dream represents the destiny and yearning of the Korean people, its DNA. Thus, the reunification of Korea is not just the physical combination of North and South Korea into one whole state. Neither is unification only for the sake of Korea; rather, it is a worthy and historic cause that furthers the peace and development of the entire world.

Women’s Role for Unification and Peace

Then, who should lead the charge to benefit all mankind? Who can play a major role in creating a new nation rooted in the Hongik Ingan ideal? Where does this historical mission start? I dare say that all the women leaders gathered here are the ones who should lead, and I am convinced that this mission begins first in our homes.

Both men and women, of course, share the responsibility to create families and a nation that embodies Hongik Ingan. However, it is undeniable that women are born with a natural affinity for empathy, genuine love, and sacrifice. Think about your own mother. You know to what extent she leads a life of devotion and sacrifice for the sake of the entire family.

However, no mother expects compensation for her sacrifice. She only hopes for her children to be healthy and happy, dedicating herself to the family’s harmony and wellbeing, and guiding everyone on the right path. A righteous and strong-minded mother illuminates not only her family but also helps society and history to shine even under challenging circumstances. Great historical leaders have the dedication and teaching of great mothers behind them. Mothers of many great Korean independence leaders did not stop their children even as they risked their lives. Rather, they taught that it was righteous to serve their homeland. Korean history is filled with countless examples of mothers, women leaders, and women patriots who loved and sacrificed for their country. For instance, Yu Gwan-sun, a young girl raised by righteous and enlightened parents, ended up leading the cheers for Korea during the March First Movement. For her bravery, she was arrested, tortured, and tragically died in prison at the tender age of 18. Yet I believe that the sacrificial spirit of Korea’s women patriots who loved their country and humanity can serve as an exemplary model to women leaders around the world.

The Precious Role of Women and Family as the Foundation for Peace

Where does such a noble life begin? It begins in the home! Family is the most important and fundamental building block of society, the nation, and the world. Familial relationships encompass the most intimate and enduring relationships of love, even more, sacred than religion. This is why parents and family have tremendous influence in shaping a person’s character. We know all too well that someone raised in a family filled with peace, love, and mutual support is likely to have vastly different outcomes from someone who experienced abusive and self-centered relationships.

If we treat each other like brothers and sisters, cherishing and empathizing with each other as parents do, how can destructive violence and war ever take root? If men and women grow up in a family respecting and serving each other because they know that they absolutely need each other, how could we see the widespread animosity between the genders sweeping across Korea and the entire world? I believe that the Hongik Ingan ideal of benefiting every human and the vision of the Korean Dream will provide a fundamental solution to one of the foremost contemporary social issues, the conflict between men and women. Global Peace Women recognizes that men and women each have unique value and dignity that are complementary to each other. Both men and women have the responsibility to work together to create vibrant, happy families.

Furthermore, we assert that the pursuit of human rights and peace should begin in households that strive to treat all human beings as members of their family. Just as a mother naturally becomes the center of love and empathy in the home, women leaders who embody love and service play critical roles in promoting peace and uplifting human dignity throughout society. Recognizing this, we should support the growth and development of women’s leadership around the world.

The Extended Family Model and Women’s Leadership as Fundamental Elements for a Unified Korea and World Peace

Korea’s traditional extended family model can make a significant contribution to one of the greatest tasks to achieving world peace–the peaceful reunification of Korea. For the role of parents and family inextricably determines the fate of a nation.

The creation of a new nation described in the Korean Dream emphasizes the extended family because it is where we inherit traditions and develop the root of identity through three generations. More than in any other setting, the extended family is where we come to realize that we exist today due to the love, sacrifice, and dedication of our parents and forefathers. The shared experience of living for the sake of family members, the nation, and all humanity through an extended family culture will allow the citizens of a newly united Korea to practice Hongik Ingan in their daily lives.

Any dream or vision must be made real through our everyday actions or else remain a fantasy. The extended family model that Koreans cultivated throughout history is the very place where the Korean Dream can come to life through lived experiences.

As Mother Teresa asserted, instead of searching for world peace in any other place, “If you want to change the world, go home and love your family.” This teaching is consistent with Global Peace Women’s advocacy that “Peace Begins in the Home.”

We live in an age when the world needs citizens who internalize Hongik Ingan values, especially women, to further Korean reunification and world peace. More than ever, places of chaos and conflict are yearning for women’s peace, love, and service-based leadership.

Global Peace Women’s Initiatives for Peace based on the Korean Dream

Women leaders making important contributions to various sectors throughout the world!

The reunification of the Korean Peninsula is relevant not only to Koreans but to all people working toward world peace. Thus, it is significant and timely that we are gathered at this convention to discuss “women’s leadership for a unified Korea and global peace.”

We will also share the diverse ways that women leaders around the world are spearheading efforts to realize the Korean Dream vision. We have numerous and innovative case studies, including conferences to further women’s leadership, service-based cultural programs promoting reunification, education to develop the economic capacity of North Korean refugees, culture and art initiatives to promote Kore- an reunification for children in the home, and Korean Dream workbooks for women leaders and elementary school students. This afternoon, women leaders from around the world, as well as North and South Korea, will participate in a special service program. It presents an opportunity for us to give and take love and transcend boundaries between different nationalities.

Korea’s peaceful reunification is not just the work of the Korean government or a handful of organizations. It is a historical mission that Koreans throughout the world and all people should and can work together to fulfill. The moment is now. I sincerely ask that women leaders participating in this convention and all righteous people of the international community pioneer the path to Korean reunification and world peace. From the bottom of my heart, I thank each of you for sharing this noble dream with me and for setting the model of women’s leadership in your families, societies, and the world.

May God forever bless you and your families.

Thank you very much.

“The family is the first place where children learn love and respect. Children also learn the lessons of integrity, hard work and responsibility.” —Dr. Junsook Moon

Peace Begins in the Home in 2018

In countries around the world, from Tanzania to Nepal, Korea, and Uganda, tens of thousands are showing their support for a global campaign that has swept all family members into the peacebuilding process that “Peace Begins in the Home.”

Programs implemented by Global Peace Women, the women’s division of Global Peace Foundation, remind parents that one of the most important leadership positions they hold is in their families. This is where they start as change makers in their society. From the family, they can positively impact the emotional and spiritual foundations of each family member. They can cultivate essential virtues like perseverance, dedication to the community, and integrity, and to inspire future generations with the vision to be moral and innovative people who can contribute to their world.

Forums, conferences, campaigns and grassroots projects in 2018 brought the message that peacebuilding starts in the family, then expands to nations and communities around the world.

1. The women’s track, Peace Begins in the Home: Women-led Initiatives for Peace and Development, at the 2018 Global Peace Leadership Conference provided a wide range of approaches and models for comprehensive peacebuilding starting from the home and expanding to the world. Topics such as healthy relationship building, financial capacity building, and women’s participation in the decision-making process were an integral part of the discussion on how women-led initiatives could play a crucial role in bringing sustainable development and peace in societies around the world

2. Campaigns to bring peaceful reunification to the Korean peninsula inspired people from around the world to take part in the Korean Dream by first discovering how to fulfill it within their own families.

3. Global Peace Women’s ongoing campaign, Peace Begins in the Home, is spreading the message of empowerment for family-led peacebuilding in communities around the world.

A World of Peace through God-centered Families

The Family Peace Association celebrated its 1-year anniversary this year. At the December 2 inaugural ceremony last year, Dr. Moon issued a powerful call to strengthen God-centered families, as the cradle of civilizational advance and the cornerstone of God’s ideal of a peaceful world.

The role of God-centered families is central to all positive human development since it brings back the divinity in that sacred institution and aligns it to the original purpose of creation. Without such families, humanity will not have the moral clarity and conviction to take on the challenges of this age and build a brighter future for our children and grandchildren. The course of human society will turn on how well we understand this truth and the choices we make today to act upon it.

The Family Peace Association is working with partners across national, religious, and ethic differences, to support families in cultivating strong family traditions that connect them to God’s vision for humanity, and carrying on important universal principles and values from generation to generation.

The following speech was delivered during the Global Peace Leadership Conference on August 1, 2018 in Kampala, Uganda by Dr. Junsook Moon, chairwoman of Global Peace Women, the women’s division of the Global Peace Foundation.

Peace Begins in the Home: Women-led Initiatives for Peace and Development

Dr. Junsook Moon, Chairwoman of the women’s division of Global Peace Foundation

Distinguished guests, Ladies and Gentlemen:

Good morning, and welcome to the 2018 Global Peace Leadership Conference. This gathering is a historic and timely event for Africa and the world.

In this blessed country endowed with majestic natural beauty, called the Pearl of Africa, it is befitting that we have gathered under the theme, “Peace Begins in the Home: Women-Led Initiatives for Peace and Development.”

I want to thank the President and the government of Uganda for the warm hospitality and for making this convening possible. I am very inspired to be among many great leaders from around the world.

Introduction

Without exception, all of us long for peace in our homes, our nations and our world. Yet, this peace which all of us desire has eluded us for most of human history. Conflicts in the name of religion have killed millions upon millions. Ethnic bloodshed and genocides have plagued our beautiful lands for ages. Daily violence is perpetrated against women and children in every corner of society. We even face the threat of nuclear conflicts between nations, leaving us to question our very survival.

Nonetheless, we still strive to attain peace in our homes and nations. Such desire resides deep in our original DNA, and all of us, at different levels, have experienced the profound and fulfilling effect that peace brings to our soul and to our surroundings.

My husband, Dr. Hyun Jin Preston Moon, the founder of Global Peace Foundation, emphasizes that true peace can only come about when we recognize that we are all sons and daughters of one Heavenly Father. That is the common basis on which we can transcend the human trappings, whether they are racial, ethnic, national or even religious, which have caused hatred and division.

In support of this vision of One Family under God, Global Peace Women, since its founding in 2011, has been addressing the critical roles that women must play in building peaceful families, communities and nations.

Unique Value and Role of Women

Naturally, women are peace-builders, harmonizers and healers. This is because we are endowed by our Creator with innate qualities of empathy, grace and caring for others. This is most evident in motherhood, when a mother is completely committed to the wellbeing of her child, giving every ounce of her body and soul. With unconditional love, she makes any sacrifice for her child, no matter how great. A mother’s heart to empathize, to forgive and to embrace is driven by divine qualities that are beyond reason and calculus; it is pure love pouring down, effortlessly and eternally.

The father’s role is undoubtedly critical. However, women’s innate nurturing qualities allow them to impress upon her children, especially during all-important formative years, the value of unconditional love, human kindness and life. We, at Global Peace Women, seek to uplift those qualities and recognize that women have the most important responsibility of raising and educating children to become seekers of peace.

While women have assumed various duties beyond the immediate care of their families, we must remind ourselves that our intrinsic value is not determined by professional success or socio-political status. The true value of a woman, which is unique and irreplaceable, resides in the fact that she can bring new life into this world, infuse her children with genuine love, and allow them to experience the dignity and divinity of human life, beginning in the home and expanding into society and the world.

In my own motherhood journey of raising nine children, I became deeply and fundamentally moved by this realization. I must admit, as a young girl growing up in a traditional Confucius household and observing, for instance, my grandfather’s seemingly preferential treatment of my brother, I sometimes felt less important and lacking in some ways. Why was my brother getting more attention, (or more sweet treats than me), I remember wondering. Should I also have been born as a boy?

Yet, over the course of several years and eventually when I became a mother, I came to appreciate woman’s true value as God intended. Along with tremendous joy and inner fulfillment that comes from being a wife and a mother, with my genuine love and devotion, I was able to become the emotional center of my family. It is in this spirit that Global Peace Women initiated the “Peace Begins in the Home” international movement, recognizing home and family as the foundational bedrock to impart these essential values and principles.

Women’s Role and Contribution to Family and Society

Women leaders from around the world participate in the 2018 Global Peace Leadership Conference in Uganda

“Peace begins in the home because it is where we learn to trust, respect, and work together with members of our human family. The warm and nurturing family environment that women create is the model for the peaceful world of One Family under God.” – Dr. Jun Sook Moon, Global Peace Convention 2017

Tanzanian mother participate in an education program hosted by Global Peace Foundation

A young Tanzanian mother sat at her desk, balancing a pencil in one hand and her precious wiggling baby in the other. She carefully transcribed the numbers and letters that volunteer teachers pointed to on the classroom blackboard.

Other children scurry down the aisles, weaving between their mothers and fathers and other students.

This classroom and others like it are a part of Global Peace Foundations’ efforts to empower girls and women of all ages. In the safe environment, the women and girls are encouraged to advance their leadership capacities within their families and communities.  Classes cover subjects like English literacy and hygiene.

A common thread binds these students: their motivation.  Most of them attend classes as parents, siblings, aunts, uncles, and grandparents, and are driven to become better for their families.

The programs remind participants, particularly parents, that one of the most important leadership positions they hold is in their families. This is where they start as change makers in their society. From the family, they can positively impact the emotional and spiritual foundations of each family member. They can cultivate essential virtues like perseverance, dedication to the community, and integrity, and to inspire future generations with the vision to be moral and innovative people who can contribute to their world.

A classroom full of mothers and sisters in Tanzania.

The classrooms focus on the innate value of each individual and their unique contribution to building healthy families as the foundation of healthy societies.

The workshops uplift not position, wealth, or power as measures of leadership and success, but essential and important qualities that women bring to the table that make them natural and powerful leaders in their family. These qualities also bring value to their community, school, workplace, and government.

The program is an offshoot of a leadership academy that is raising young Tanzanian women who are energizing the movement to help families and communities recognize the unique value and vital role of women.

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