UPF International, New York—UPF International has launched a new webinar series, named "Peace Talks," offering a wide range of content related to the concerns and traditional conference themes of UPF, highlighting values of interdependence, mutual prosperity and universal values.
The "Peace Talks" series, which will appear weekly, will include programs that feature expert speakers on a variety of topics. Programs will highlight the work of UPF's associations: International Summit Council for Peace, International Association of Parliamentarians for Peace, Interreligious Association for Peace and Development, International Media Association for Peace, International Association for Peace and Economic Development, International Associations of Academicians for Peace, and International Association of First Ladies for Peace. Also included will be programs that focus on various regions, such as Africa, Asia, the Americas, Europe and the Middle East; programs that feature a wide range of partners such as intergovernmental organizations, interfaith organizations, and other NGOs; and, finally, programs that are aimed at capacity-building in areas such as fundraising, strategic planning, and membership management.
The first program of "Peace Talks," held on April 17, was titled "Circle of Light: Moving Through and Beyond the Coronavirus Crisis" and included presentations from Dr. Thomas Walsh, chairman of the Universal Peace Federation; Bishop Munib Younan, international honorary president of Religions for Peace and recent awardee of the Sunhak Peace Prize who lives in Jerusalem, Imam Shamsi Ali, director of the Jamaica Muslim Center in Jamaica, Queens, New York, and Rabbi Kevin DeCarli, an interfaith advisor to UPF-Switzerland.
Each spoke of the current crisis and offered their insightful reflections, largely from a moral and spiritual perspective, on the coronavirus crisis and our way forward. The video recording is available at https://youtu.be/HopeBpIyPvE. We hope you will take time to view it. You will note that Rabbi DeCarli, as he speaks in a very moving way, is himself suffering very intensely and immediately from being infected by the coronavirus, adding further to the urgency and seriousness of the moment.
The inaugural meeting included 268 participants from 64 nations.