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Nordic Nations Host Regional Rally of Hope
Written by Steinar Murud, secretary general, UPF-Norway
Sunday, April 11, 2021
Oslo, Norway—UPF chapters in Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Iceland worked together to produce the first Nordic Rally of Hope.
The online event was held on April 11, 2021, with the title “Interdependence and Mutual Prosperity.” Each of the five participating nations was represented by a prominent speaker.
A total of 175 people participated through Zoom and Facebook, representing 25 nations.
The Europe-Middle East president of Family Federation for World Peace and Unification (FFWPU), an affiliated organization, gave an introduction and called on each person in the audience to think how they can contribute to peace.
The program continued with an interfaith water ceremony which was performed online by 11 religious representatives.
A Danish professor was the first speaker and commented on the UN Sustainable Development Goals as a good program working toward peace and development.
The second speaker was the first woman prime minister of Finland. She commented on the COVID-19 pandemic and said no nation can handle this by themselves. No one is safe until everybody is safe.
A Swedish scholar spoke about common values and asked everybody to make their own personal list of values and share it with others, as an exercise to develop mutual values.
Before the speech of UPF co-founder Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon, there was an excerpt from a cultural performance by the Little Angels Children’s Folk Ballet of Korea.
Dr. Moon reminded us of the need to listen to Heaven. We have tried to find solutions by our own power alone without finding lasting peace. We need to consider God, our Heavenly Parent, she said.
An Icelandic scholar said we are God’s extended hands. And then he spoke of “homeostasis”—balance. We need to search for balance in all relationships, he said.
The final speaker was a Norwegian former member of Parliament. He spoke of how to meet current tensions between different cultures. We need to search for the common values in each other’s faith and culture, he said. That can serve as a basis for sustainable peace.
Finally the Nordic Rally of Hope concluded with a performance of the song “Eternity.”
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