HWPL Australia hosts Peace Events across 3 Major Cities To Commemorate the Annual Peace Summit 2019
By Marilie Bomediano
Collage photos by Marilie Bomediano
Sydney-Australia
September 18, 2019
HWPL Australia successfully hosted peace conferences in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, to raise awareness about peace culture and the Declaration of Peace and Cessation of War (D.P.C.W)
Sydney, September 8, 2019 – For the first time in the 5-years’ of Heavenly Culture World Peace and Restoration of Light’s (HWPL) World Peace Summit, the Australian branch of this peace NGO hosted Legislate Peace events, aligned to the summit held every year at the HWPL Headquarters in Seoul, South Korea.
Instead of HWPL regional and national representatives attending the grand celebration at the Peace Summit hosted by HWPL Chairman, Man Hee Lee in the week of September 18th every year, in South Korea, on the 7th September 2019 and 8th of September 2019, members of the community, academicians, peace educators, government officials, and several peace organisations came together in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne, to raise awareness of the work of peace by HWPL and other organisations.
HWPL Australia hosted three unique events, a Peace Conference in Sydney, an outdoor Peace Fair in Melbourne and a Flash-mob in Brisbane. Over thousands participants from across Australia attended these events, all in support of the Legislate Peace Campaign, the Declaration of Peace and Cessation of War (DPCW), which paves the way for freedom of religion, end to war and creating lasting peace and harmony among diverse communities and nations.
8th of September, 2019, Sydney held its Peace Conference “Peace Heroes of History”, in Tempe High School 1:30pm onwards. Keynote speakers included academicians, peace educators, key media professionals, community heads, peace organisation representatives, government officials and distinguished guests. The conference also screened videos showcasing the multicultural activities and peace work held by various peace organisations including HWPL.
The Peace Conference had three sub-sections, and began by celebrating and paying tribute to the work of revolutionary peace heroes the world has seen in the past, such as Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela and Imam Hussein. The next segment showcased the incessant work of peace icons, global spiritual leaders and peace activists of today, such as the 14th Dalai Lama, Thich Nhat Hanh and Man Hee Lee, Chairman, HWPL. The final section focused on the future and explored the next steps for peace, the International Law framework of Declaration of Peace and Cessation of War (DPCW) and the integral role played by all sectors of society including media, youth, women, and inter-faith leaders.
The peace conference ended with an award ceremony, recognizing the work and efforts of the new generation peace heroes and activists, Sameer Qasim, Hadil Sabah, Saroni Roy and Tahera Jehanbeen, appointed as Peace Ambassadors by International Women’s Peace Group (IWPG) and Deputy Mayor of North Sydney, Councilor Stephen Barbour and Dr. Jan Ali received Certificate of Appreciation by HWPL.
“It was an inspiring and impressive event to see so many people as catalysts for peace”, said, Patricia Garcia AO, Rotary Peace Fellow, Former UNAA Program Manager UN Sustainable Development Goals & Honorary Associate, Department of Peace and Conflict Studies, University of Sydney.
Melbourne, September 8, 2019 - HWPL Australia & IPYG Australia (International Peace Youth Group) hosted an all-day ‘Peace, Harmony and Environmental Sustainability’ peace fair to commemorate the HWPL Annual Peace Summit. HWPL Melbourne & IPYG have hosted several peace activities in the last 5 years, in the Melbourne CBD, St. Kilda, City of Port Phillip, Manningham and White Horse, including city clean-up drive, tree planting volunteer work, youth peace walks and Youth Ethnic Sports - YES for Peace, monthly WARP office interfaith dialogue forums, to discuss and explore religious scriptures to find peaceful resolutions to war & conflict. HWPL Melbourne was nominated for the Manningham Civic Awards in May 2019.
Multi-cultural community organisations, peace NGOs, government officials and distinguished guests from across the City of Melbourne attended the peace fair and shared ideas and knowledge to explore practical solutions for peace and sustainability, not just for a better Australia, but for a more harmonious global peace village. The event also included community members and volunteers writing on sand the words Peace, HWPL and DPCW, visible from the sky.
Brisbane, September 7, 2019 - IPYG, IWPG and HWPL, Brisbane, hosted a flash-mob dance in Queens Garden, Brisbane, to commemorate the HWPL Annual Peace Summit. Based on the 10th Article of the DPCW, Spreading a Culture of Peace, members of the community and several peace organisations came together to dance on the theme “Make Your Mark”, to encourage members of the society to begin taking definitive steps for peace. Further they also conducted an activity of putting flag pins on a blank world map completing it and showcasing the value of peace for everyone.
HWPL, IPYG, IWPG and several of its supporting partners in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and around the world, through such events constantly emphasise HWPL’s vision of creating lasting peace for future generations in Australia and the world.
About HWPL
HWPL is an international, non-denominational, peace non-government organisation registered with the United Nations Economic & Social Council (ECOSOC) and United Nations Department of Global Communications (DGC). Created in 2014, in Seoul, South Korea, by a Korean War Veteran, HWPL is committed to achieving world peace and cessation of war and is now working in 176 countries. HWPL works to achieve this goal through its Legislate Peace Campaign, World Alliance of Religions for Peace (WARP) Office, and Peace Education. More information about HWPL and the work of peace, is available at www.hwpl.kr/en