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Peace Education
Leadership Conference on Fulfilling the American Ideal
Written by UPF-USA
Sunday, March 2, 2008
From February 29 to March 2, 2008, 130 people from around the United States gathered in the nation’s capital for the latest in the American Leadership Conference series, entitled “Fulfilling the American Ideal: Visionary Leadership in the 21st Century.” The Sheraton National Hotel was the site of the conference, which was designed around the new American Leadership Conference curriculum.
The five exciting new presentations of the curriculum address the cultural conflict now raging across our nation and world. At the center of this conflict, called “the culture war” by some, is the role of God or faith in the public arena. The new American Leadership Conference curriculum not only addresses these issues but also shows the role faith played in the founding of the nation, the thread of faith running through our history, and the urgent need to reaffirm the centrality of faith in order to overcome the severe cultural challenges facing our peoples. Also, it is shown clearly that America must help the rest of the world by gaining control of the spread of drugs, pornography, free sex, and other hedonistic influences and then exporting goodness to other nations rather than the present “toxic cultural sludge.” The five PowerPoint presentations given are entitled:
- “Forging a New Cultural Consensus on Values”
- “America Adrift: The Crisis of Values"
- “The Case for God in the Public Square”
- “Fulfilling the American Dream: Individuals of Character, Families with Integrity”
- “American Leadership and the World”
At the opening banquet, the participants were welcomed warmly by UPF-North America Chairman, Dr. Charles S. Yang. The viewing of the video “On Common Ground” set the appropriate spiritual atmosphere of “One Family Under God,” which was essentially both the theme and the strong conclusion of the conference.
The format of the conference includes commentary from a distinguished speaker following each of the five new PowerPoint presentations. After the commentary, roundtable discussions allowed the participants to exchange ideas and build close bonds with each other. The discussions were so animated that many of the 13 groups continued their discussion right through the 30-minute break periods.
On the final morning, “Sleeves Rolled Up” breakout workshops were given on the Universal Peace Federation’s Character Education program, Healthy Lifestyles for Youth and Strengthening Marriage and Family, and America’s Role in the World with case studies from the Middle East (including the Middle East Peace Initiative) and Africa (featuring the developing African Council of Ambassadors for Peace that is originating from Ambassadors for Peace in America).
The concluding luncheon featured the appointment of 23 new Ambassadors for Peace followed by inspired testimonies from a number of the participants. Becoming an Ambassador for Peace and helping to form local Ambassador for Peace Associations across the nation are the main action components of the new American Leadership Conferences.
Many of the 130 participants asked for copies of the curriculum presentations so that they could quickly begin teaching it themselves to their respective constituencies. The participants’ collective strong response and commitment attested to the effectiveness of the new curriculum and was a positive indicator of the significant impact that the American Leadership Conferences promise to bring to the nation.
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