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Argentine Parliamentarians Share World Summit 2017 Experience
Written by UPF-Argentina
Tuesday, March 28, 2017
Buenos Aires, Argentina—Four Argentine parliamentarians shared their report on the UPF World Summit 2017, “Peace, Security and Human Development,” held in February in Korea, which also included the first world assembly of the International Association of Parliamentarians for Peace (IAPP), at a meeting organized by UPF-Argentina. The event took place on March 28, 2017 at Bioy Casares Hall in Buenos Aires.
Mrs. Carolina Estebarena, a Buenos Aires city legislator , and Dr. Rosío Antinori, provincial deputy of Buenos Aires, shared their experiences with photos of the World Summit. (www.youtube.com/watch?v=egbLXgOUCos)
Afterwards, Prof. Fernanda Gil Lozano (www.youtube.com/watch?v=HV8AwUttE08) and Mr. Humberto Benedetto (www.youtube.com/watch?v=C97ejXCvnw8), a member of the Mercosur Parliament (Parlasur), shared their experiences and reflections. They had recently returned from a Mercosur parliament session in Montevideo, Uruguay where Mr. Benedetto presented a proposal to create an Interreligious Consultative Forum consisting of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, Venezuela and Bolivia.
Ambassador for Peace Mrs. María Teresa Narváez opened the meeting. The host, Mr. Gastón Cuneo spoke about new educational platforms and different activities developed by Magnaverum an e-learning company based in Buenos Aires. Mr. Carlos Varga, director of UPF-Argentina, highlighted the foundational work done in Korea.
Emcee Mr. Miguel Werner, UPF-Argentina’s secretary general, who also participated in the Summit, presented an audiovisual review of the Summit.
Mr. Werner reported that the IAPP was inaugurated in different regions throughout 2016. It is a new initiative of UPF to gather knowledge, experience and good practices of parliamentarians, transcending nationalism, seeking solutions to the critical issues of society, humanity and the planet, including: extremism and violence, ethical and religious conflicts, environmental pollution and climate change, poverty and corruption, the education crisis and family breakdown, nuclear proliferation, territorial disputes and the refugee crisis.
Highlights of the World Summit
Recognition for Helping Refugees
Italian surgeon Dr. Gino Strada and Afghan educator Dr. Sakena Yacoobi were the recipients at the second award ceremony of the Sunhak Peace Prize for their gallant efforts to deal with the world refugee crisis. The ceremony was held on February 3 as part of the fourth World Summit.
Dr. Strada is the founder of Emergency, an NGO which provides high-quality services free of charge in Africa and the Middle East to victims of conflicts and poverty. The organization provides surgeries and offers treatments in many war-torn countries and promotes the “right to be cured” to all refugees (www.emergency.it). Dr. Yacoobi, founder of the Afghan Institute of Learning (AIL), has developed a new educational method for refugees. AIL has helped advocate for the rights of Muslim women and children, the most affected of the 60 million refugees (www.afghaninstituteoflearning.org).
Dr. Strada described the adverse consequences of war and those who fight to survive the devastation after every missile and bomb strike. He thanked the hosts for their world peace activities and dialogue, and criticized the hypocrisy of leaders who speak of peace but continue to be party to conflict. He demanded “the elimination of war,” and pointed out that 90 percent of victims are civilians: “people like us.”
Dr. Yacoobi recounted her own experience as a victim of forced displacement. She highlighted the peace vision taught and practiced by Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon and her late husband, Rev. Sun Myung Moon: “We are one family under God,” and with enthusiasm, proclaimed the importance of education and programs that promote “wisdom, love, dignity, responsibility and cooperation.”
The Sunhak Peace Prize was created by Dr. Moon, and awards $1 million to people or entities for work towards conflict resolution, social justice and environmental sustainability under the theme, “Building a better world for future generations.”
Fourth World Summit: “Peace, Security and Human Development”
The ceremony of the second Sunhak Peace Prize was held during the fourth World Summit of UPF International, which gathered 700 participants, including more than 300 parliamentarians and government officials, leaders of civil society organizations and religious representatives from 120 countries. Presentations were given on how to tackle the issues that affect humanity and the world—from climate change, poverty and development to corruption, extremism and conflict—as well as on the role and responsibility of science; the importance of spirituality for peace; universally shared values, and more.
The Summit included a session of the International Association of Parliamentarians for Peace (IAPP) at Korea’s National Assembly and the launching of the Peace Road, a project that seeks to “connect the world through peace” and to “realize the dream of one global family.” Also, regional representatives of the IAPP were appointed, and the International Leadership Conferences (ILC) that were held in different regions in 2016 were highlighted.
The Summit also included a session of the twenty-third International Conference on the Unity of the Sciences (ICUS), from February 4 to 5, under the theme, “Environmental Crisis on Earth and the Role of the Sciences,” with a program which included Nobel laureates, scientists and other specialists.
On February 2, the participants of the Summit were invited to celebrate the birthday of the UPF founders. Dr. Sun Jin Moon, their daughter and chair of UPF International, spoke talked about the work and legacy of her parents and welcomed families and friends from around the world to the Cheongshim Peace World Center, about 50 miles northeast of Seoul. The event was attended by more than 25,000 people and viewed by many more thousands via Internet around the world. Former U.S. congressman Dan Burton, on behalf of the Summit participants, gave congratulatory words of appreciation to the founders, whose vision and peace message were conveyed in a great musical presentation which followed.
Among the different general and regional issues (such as conflict resolution in the Middle East and the Korean peninsula), the Summit highlighted the goals of peaceful coexistence, mutual prosperity and universally shared values. The conclusive premises from the sessions include: 1. the urgent need for dialogue and cooperation in an interconnected world with global issues; 2. the path towards peace and development requires good governance; 3. the protection of human beings and the environment; 4. recognition of the family as the central institution for a stable society. (To read a complete report on the World Summit, visit www.upf.org/conferences/world-summit.)
For more information about the Sunhak Peace Prize, visit http://sunhakprize.com/eng; UPF, the World Summit and the IAPP: www.upf.org; the Peace Road: http://peaceroad.net; and ICUS: http://icus.org.
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