(left to right) Opening panelists for the CCI Forum: Jose Altamirano, Director of IDPPS, Lilian Samaniego, Paraguay Senator, Alfredo Jaegli, President of the Paraguay National Congress, Luis Scaso, OEI representative, and Hermelinda Alvarenga, vice-minister of Higher Education.

Dr. Moon has emphasized character education as a crucial part of educating the whole child. The following is a report on the work of Global Peace Foundation and its partners to implement character education in Paraguay.

Since 2008, Paraguay’s Ministry of Education and Culture, in partnership with Global Peace Foundation has placed added emphasis on character competency education.  With the belief and understanding that is commonly held by organizations including the YMCA and the National Service-Learning Clearinghouse, that academic competencies are not enough to equip students with the tools necessary for a successful future, additional  curriculum has been introduced. This includes areas that focus on character and leadership skills such as communication, mediation and service.

In early June of this year, Phase I of the Character and Creativity Initiative (CCI) program was successfully completed. During this initial phase over seven hundred teachers were trained and educated in the CCI curriculum.

On June 17th, following the conclusion of Phase I, newly trained educators, students, teachers and administrators, convened for a forum on “”Character Formation of Paraguayan Youth”” at the National Congress of Paraguay, a sponsor of the forum. Global Peace Foundation, Ministry of Education and Culture, the Office of Congresswoman Lilian Samaniego, Together for Education and the Organization of Inter4American States (OEI) at the Congress of Paraguay were additional sponsors.

What was meant to be a modest gathering of educators, students and legislators, turned into a full house.  500 plus individuals, from all 17 states of Paraguay, gathered to share their experience and input on how their schools have been changed through the character education curriculum.  They also voiced their hope for continued implementation of the curriculum. This unexpected turnout forced organizers to “bring hundreds more chairs” to accommodate those who found themselves “standing at the rear and on the steps of congress.”

The forum was opened by the President of the Congress, followed by the unveiling of Phase II of CCI by GPF’s CCI Director, Juan Carlos Tominaga. Phase II will focus on nurturing creativity and building a transformative school culture. Ministry of Education officers, principals and teachers expressed their enthusiasm for the next phase of CCI.

As can be seen with the enthusiastic turnout at the CCI Forum in Paraguay, the curriculum is showing the importance of educating the whole child, both their minds and hearts to secure the success of future generations.

– To view the original article visit: www.globalpeace.org.

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Global Peace Foundation Chairman Hyun Jin Preston Moon addresses a conference on Governance, Ethics, and Development in Asunción. – See more at: http://www.globalpeace.org/newsapp/paraguay-conference-draws-former-latin-american-heads-of-state-for-dialogue-on-governance-ethics-and?A=SearchResult&SearchID=7265552&ObjectID=6726448&ObjectType=35#sthash.0F5uLj7g.dpuf

Through July and August, 8 Latin and Central American countries celebrate their independence day. The recent conference on “Governance, Ethics, and Development” affirmed that Latin America is on a verge of an era of stability and economic opportunity.

In his address at the conference opening plenary, Dr. Moon observed that although both Americas were settled by explorers carrying dreams of spiritual and economic opportunities, the stories of North and South America “unfolded differently with real qualitative and quantitative consequences for their peoples.”

The first 13 states that became the United States of America began as British colonies. Riding the waves of the Renaissance and Reformation, Great Britain had made strides to becoming a constitutional government that recognized the rights of every free Englishmen. The founding fathers of the United States drew upon these precedents to embark on their bold experiment: to build a nation that recognized and protected the rights and value endowed by the Creator to all men, a nation ruled by the people and for the people.

South America, however, took on the culture and political structures of the Iberian Peninsula. It became a bastion of old Europe; and to this day, feudalistic remnants are present: small elites control the social, political, religious and economic lives of the nation, with an ever present gap between the rich and poor.

A Latin American awakening would shake off these outdated vestments and make way for nations to emerge centered on time-tested principles such as God-given universal human rights and living for others.

These values are not foreign, to Central and South America.  Many nations are deeply spiritual, recognizing the pervading presence of God in their private and public life. Nations like Paraguay have embraced their indigenous and immigrant cultures.

Dr. Moon urged former, current and incoming presidents of Latin America to forge a road map for national development in Latin America based on values and principles.  As numerous countries celebrate their independence days, it is an appropriate  to affirm the core principles upon which they can and open an era of new social and economic opportunities.

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