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Peace Tour in the Netherlands Builds Unity of Heart
Den Haag, the Netherlands - On March 15, The Universal Peace Federation in the Netherlands held a conference and Peace Gathering with the theme "One Family under God: A New Vision for Peace in the 21st Century" in Den Haag. It was the culmination of a week's activity under the banner the Global Peace Tour 2009.
International Women's Day, March 8, Den Haag
The week began on Sunday, March 8, when UPF activists, supported by young people from partner organizations Youth Service Initiative (a “gap year” program for European students with teams in Utrecht, Rotterdam, and Frankfurt) and the High School Association for Research of Principles, volunteered for service at the International Women's Day “Haags Vrouwenfeest” in Atrium Den Haag. Most of their activity was related to ushering, answering questions. and supporting speakers and workshop leaders; they were grateful to receive substantial refreshments and written expressions of gratitude.
Women's Federation for World Peace and Japanese Ambassadors for Peace
The Women's Federation for World Peace, a UPF partner organization, also exhibited at the Atrium, and Japanese goodwill ambassadors lent their support. Throughout the rest of the week, they visited politicians, ambassadors, and business people in The Hague, briefing them about UPF and the Global Peace Tour and presenting many of them with a framed oriental calligraphy of the UPF motto “Living for the sake of others."
Conference on Universal Values and the Economy, March 14, Utrecht
On Saturday, March 14, there was a one-day conference on Universal Values and the Economy in “De Paraplu” ontmoetingscentrum, Utrecht. Speakers included UPF-Netherlands Secretary General drs. Willem A. Koetsier, who gave an introduction to UPF, pointing out that Adam Smith, widely cited as the father of modern economics, was firstly a moral philosopher. Jhr. dr. P.A.C. Beelaerts van Blokland spoke about an Exploration into Peace, and Hans Campman, President of the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, spoke about Universal Values and the Economy. He examined the major and often contrasting, sometimes even opposing, impulses for change and development (mainly social or moral, secular or spiritual) in the second part of the last millennium: the Renaissance and Reformation, the French and American revolutions, Marxism/Communism and the quieter Christian socialism championed by William Wilberforce and Robert Owen in 19th Century Britain, which is leading today into a spiritually based-desire to work for mutual prosperity. He agreed with Dr. Beelaerts that the free market economy was preferable, provided that there was a moral base, and the current financial crisis was a signal that we need clearer moral values and spirituality.
After lunch, the discussion became more pragmatic, with Dr. W.F. van Eekelen speaking on the European Union as an Answer to Difficult Economic Times, and Prof. Marcel Canoy, economist, publicist and adviser to the European Commission, speaking on the Way to a New and Just Economy. They came to similar conclusions as the earlier speakers, commenting that gross domestic product (GDP) was a very limited indication of a nation's true prosperity and stressing that non-economic factors needed more attention in order to more correctly assess a nation's well-being. With reference to Robert Kennedy, who said that GDP measured everything except that which made life worthwhile, it was suggested that the Human Development Index is a better indicator because it combines normalized measures of life expectancy, literacy, educational attainment, and GDP.
Conference and Peace Gathering, March 15, Den Haag
A conference and Peace Gathering on the theme “One Family under God” was held at De Pier, Scheveningen, Den Haag. Speakers included Mark P. Brann (Secretary General, UPF-Europe): “A vision for Peace in the 21st Century”; Dr. Van Eekelen: “The European Union, a Model for Peace and Prosperity”; Drs. L.A.C. Baroness van Tuyll van Serooskerken (child psychologist and therapist): “Education of Character and Family Values”; and Mrs. Maartje Bos (Stichting Ghana Haarlem): “Service Projects in Ghana.” Japanese Ambassadors for Peace visiting the Netherlands to support the Peace Tour performed a Japanese “Dragonfly Dance.”
In the evening Peace Gathering, there were musical performances by Eleanor Flowers Klerkx, AISA Sufi choir, and Dutch singing legend Milly Scott. Invocations were offered by Rev. Jacob Korf (Protestant Christian), Abdullah Haselhoef (Muslim), and Prof. M.K. Gautam (Hindu). Speakers included the evening's 'host' Dr. Beelaerts welcoming everyone, Mrs. Janneke van Eekelen-Wentink on Three Dimensional Thinking, and Prof. M.K. Gautam reflecting on UPF's core values.
Mark P. Brann gave the keynote speech “One Family under God: A New Vision for Peace in the 21st Century,” which is the core element of the Global Peace Tour. He expressed, “Almost everyone in the world would agree that we are living at time of global crisis. The attention of most governments, the G-20 and the United Nations is currently focused on the ongoing worldwide financial chaos. On top of that, there is the continuing challenge of ongoing conflict and violence flaring up all over the world. Even more fundamentally, we face a growing moral and spiritual crisis, evidenced in the rise of family and marriage breakdown, divorce, the spread of sexually transmitted diseases and the growing number of young people alienated from society and prone to violent and anarchic impulses.
“Another serious concern for people of every nation is the issue of human care and protection of the environment. We need to respond more quickly and more consistently to the global challenges of climate change, deforestation, deteriorating air quality, water and soil contamination, to name but a few.
“Despite these challenges, I believe that the universal appeal of the vision to create 'One Family under God' testifies to the fact that we do live at a time when lasting change is truly possible, if we are able to understand the root causes of our problems. This is the main purpose of the Global Peace Tour, which is promoting a platform of interfaith cooperation, strengthening the family, and a culture of service for the sake of renewing our communities and nations. We are looking for nothing less than a moral and spiritual awakening rooted in the universal vision of 'One Family under God.'”
He talked of "the Dream of God," the importance of an interfaith effort for peace, and the need for a “culture of service.” After giving examples of some of UPF's activities around the world, he finished, “Together, let us dare to dream the greatest dream of all! Let us own the dream to create 'One Family under God.'”
After the speeches, Milly Scott sang a special Peace Anthem and the sublime “From a Distance” (first made famous by Bette Midler). She then galvanized everyone with “Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory of the Coming of the Lord,” so that everyone was on their feet and dancing by the time she started singing “When the Saints go Marching In.”
Conclusion of an extraordinary occasion and an extraordinary week
In conclusion, Dr. Beelaerts presented Mrs. Bos with an Ambassador for Peace certificate, waxing lyrical in fulsome praise of her presentation and work, and continuing with a bardic, even theatrical appreciation of everyone's contribution to the day.
It was an extraordinary occasion, which drew together people of a multitude of social, cultural, national, racial, and religious backgrounds, including those of differing convictions within the same religious tradition, for example, traditional Muslims, Sufis and Ahmadis, all united in the determination to do what they could to fulfill the “greatest dream of all, One Family under God.”
It was quite a challenge for UPF-Netherlands to organize so many activities in such a short period of time, but one fairly new contact wrote: "It was a good day yesterday. Nice people and interesting speeches. I was impressed to see it all went so well. There was everything; coffee, tea, a table with leaflets, guest speakers, microphones, lights... And it all worked!! My compliments." And it was felt that not only had "it all worked," but that our activists and Ambassadors for Peace had all become closer and of one heart.
For the keynote address and more information about the peace tour, click here.
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