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M. Hori: Address to Peace Summit 2023, Session IV-C
Written by Mrs. Moriko Hori, President of WFWP International
Wednesday, May 3, 2023
Address to Peace Summit 2023
May 2-5, 2023
Your Excellencies, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the concurrent session of International Association of First Ladies for Peace co-hosted by Women’s Federation for World Peace International. My name is Moriko Hori. I’m the newly appointed president of WFWPI.
We feel privileged to welcome such distinguished female leaders at this session. Thank you so much for attending the IAFLP session of the Peace Summit 2023.
Before I begin, I would like to acknowledge my mentors, the three previous WFWP International Presidents, who are with us today: Dr. Lan Young Moon, Prof. Yeon Ah Moon, and Dr. Julia Moon. Our deepest thanks for their dedication and achievements from which WFWP could develop as a worldwide organization.
The theme of our session is “Contemporary Challenges to Global Order: Women’s Leadership towards the World Culture of Peace.” Today, we have very distinguished women leaders who will speak on this theme. I’ve no doubt that each presenter will give valuable advice about how to bring peace in this age of polarization and much confusion.
The COVID pandemic has dramatically changed our way of life, increased inequalities and intensified conflicts and chaos. The pandemic has brought not only threats to our health but is also casting a dark shadow over the future for our young generations. They feel more alienated, and hopeless. They search for answers in unhealthy ways and places, and so, sadly, juvenile suicide rates have increased.
The Women’s Federation has chapters in 129 countries, each with remarkable, innovative programs to support local women in peacebuilding, development, and in encouraging their leadership capacities. Every day, I receive passionate reports about these activities and programs.
In DR Congo, WFWP hosted an event, “Cry for Women,” on International Women’s Day this year. Although we usually mark International Women’s Day with celebration, the president of WFWP D.R. Congo said that there are so many women, children and men still suffering at this very moment. We first need to have compassion and understanding about the pain and trauma of others. We need to cry with them, comfort them, and join hands with new resolve to pull them out of their misery and find solutions together with them.
In Afghanistan, WFWP had been conducting vocational training programs for women and girls for years. But the recent coup d’état there has broken their dreams, depriving them of educational opportunities, and casts a cloud of fear and despair.
I also recently received a painful report from Belarus. An 18-year-old boy whom I met there was mobilized to fight against Ukraine. He was traumatized because he has friends and relatives in Ukraine and was being forced to point a gun against his friends and relatives.
How can we break the chain of conflict, trauma and grief? How can we tackle all these devastating situations? How can we not leave a negative legacy and instead bring healing, hope and vision to the next generations?
WFWP is convinced that strengthening “family” is the key to solving our concerns.
WFWP’s co-founder, Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon, explained, “If women all around the world take one another’s hands as sisters, their men would cease to fight and kill one another… and, parents would no longer have to mourn the loss of their sons and daughters.”
This message was delivered at the time when WFWP launched our signature activity, the “Bridge of Peace” program. This activity was designed to help realize our important motto: “Our world is one global family.” By bringing women of enemy countries or cultures together as sisters—to listen, to forgive, to embrace and to redetermine the future—the wounds of abuse, misunderstanding, intolerance, prejudice and war can be healed.
As an NGO with the highest consultative status at the United Nations, WFWP has been engaged in many UN conferences. Among those is the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice (CCPCJ), hosted by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime in Vienna. According to UNODC, one of the most effective ways to prevent young people from committing crimes and getting involved with drugs is to strengthen family skills. Strengthening these family relationships can be improved through education and support for parents.
WFWP emphasizes the value of family education and family values. In a family, the role of mothers is very crucial, as well as the respect and love between parents. Mothers are the best teachers to educate their children about their own goodness, how worthy they are, and to guide them to be concerned about and responsible for local, social, national and global issues.
WFWP has worked so hard to bring peace among our neighbors, communities and the world since its inauguration in 1992. Sadly, our world is far from peaceful. WFWP cannot do this alone, but we have found many like-minded people, organizations and governments to work together to create the worldwide movement to end this sadness and madness. The International Association of First Ladies for Peace is such an organization. Like our own Global Women’s Peace Network, it aims to create a network of women leaders to stimulate one another to do more and be more effective.
In closing, I would like to ask all of you a favor. Let’s work together to break the chain of grief and suffering. Let’s strengthen families in our communities and countries, educate the young generation, and provide them with leadership opportunities, and especially, provide them hope for the future!!!
Thank you so much!
To go to the Peace Summit 2023 Schedule page, click here.