Universal Peace Federation Assembles Global Leaders from More than 150 Countries To Develop New Model for Leadership, Action

“We stand at a critical juncture in history, with rising threats to peace emerging across the globe; our awareness of this unstable context underscores the importance of our work during Peace Summit 2023,” said Dr. Thomas G. Walsh, Chairman of UPF International.

The events will be live-streamed from South Korea, beginning at 9:30 a.m. KST on May 3, and will be accessible simultaneously in time zones around the world and in different languages. In the United States, the Opening Plenary will begin on May 2 at 8:30 p.m. EDT and 5:30 p.m. PDT and can be viewed here: https://media.peacelink.live/

A highlight of this year’s Summit is the inauguration of a new initiative called the International Elders Roundtable. This global project is designed to capture the wisdom and experience of elders to establish peace and stability in the society and the nation.

“Youth and adults have vision and enthusiasm, but elders provide a path by their experience and knowledge. Hence, for there to be eternal peace and prosperity, there must be cooperation between elders, adults, and youth in our society,” said H.E. Maithripala Sirisena, former president of Sri Lanka, who was at planning meetings for the Elders initiative.

Peace Summit 2023 regional sessions will focus on peacebuilding in North America, Asia Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean, Africa, and Europe and the Middle East. There is a track for youth and students, as well as breakout sessions around UPF’s seven primary associations. Laureates of the Sunhak Peace Prize will speak at a special luncheon in their honor.

A major UPF project, Think Tank 2022, focuses on bringing peace to the Korean Peninsula, East Asia and the Indo-Pacific Rim Region. On May 4, at 9:00 a.m. KST, a session featuring Dr. Michael Pillsbury, former senior fellow and director for Chinese strategy at the Hudson Institute, will be among those to address the topic of peace in the Indo-Pacific. In the United States, this event will be on May 3 at 8:00 p.m. EDT, 5:00 p.m. PDT at this link: https://media.peacelink.live/

Additional highlights are celebrations around the 80th birthday of UPF Co-Founder Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon on Friday May 5. As part of that celebration, Dr. Moon will officiate a Culture of Peace Dedication Ceremony at the new Cheon Won Gung building. This huge multimedia exhibit hall and temple is intended to be a “homeland for the world and hometown of the heart for all people,” UPF’s late Co-Founder Rev. Dr. Sun Myung Moon said in 1997.

Peace Summit 2023 is part of UPF’s ongoing series of peacebuilding activities, which are held under the theme of mutual prosperity, interdependence, and shared universal values. UPF, an NGO in General Consultative Status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations, is known for its Rally of Hope series, the International Leadership Conference series, and, since early 2021, the Forum series of Think Tank 2022. The latter project was created to engage more than 2,000 global thought leaders on how to achieve a breakthrough for peace on the Korean Peninsula. (Details about Think Tank 2022 Forums can be found at UPF.org.)

As part of Peace Summit 2023, organizers will convene several high-level sessions around the work of UPF’s peacebuilding associations. These include:

● International Summit Council for Peace (ISCP) and the International Association of First Ladies for Peace (IAFLP)
● International Association of Parliamentarians for Peace (IAPP)
● Interreligious Association for Peace and Development (IAPD)
● International Association for Peace and Economic Development (IAED)
● International Media Association for Peace (IMAP)
● International Association of Academicians for Peace (IAAP)
● International Association of Arts and Culture for Peace (IAACP)