| April 2008 | Vol 3, Issue 7
| | | | | | From a Museum of War to the Palace of Peace
|  The 320 Ambassadors for Peace from 91 countries participating in the latest International Leadership Conference (ILC) in Seoul experienced a dramatic lesson in the history of the Korean peninsula during the first weekend in April.
As a part of the overall program, the delegation visited the Peace Palace in the mountains outside Seoul near the North Korean border for a briefing from UPF Chairman Rev. Chung Hwan Kwak. They then made their way to the Korean War Museum in the capital to see for themselves the sorrowful history of the Korean war and witness the country's amazing recovery from devastation.
"Visiting this museum made me feel again the big loss of human life during war," said Wu Cheng Yu, an Ambassador for Peace making his first visit to Korea. "How to prevent war and make peace? That is the challenge facing all Ambassadors for Peace." Read More...
| |  | | | | Nepal Concludes Historic Elections
|  Source: Robert Kittel, UPI Correspondent
Nepal's first elections in nine years were disrupted by scattered incidents of violence across the country Thursday, but overall the elections were hailed as peaceful. Voters expressed a sense of pride that they finally had a voice in selecting the leadership that will rewrite the nation's Constitution and decide the fate of the monarchy.
Incidents included booth capturing, destruction of ballots, and preventing voters from entering polling stations. In some cases the violence between political parties turned deadly -- at least two people were killed. The Maoists were blamed for instigating most of the trouble, though not all.
Voter turnout was high; in some districts as high as 80 percent, but nationwide it was expected to run about 60 to 70 percent. Results may be announced as early as Friday, but could be postponed for days due to voter irregularities undermining the credibility of the elections.
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| Germany - On the Way to a Peaceful Society
|  Over 70 Ambassadors for Peace, guests, and members of the UPF Peace Council gathered March 14-16, 2008, in the Naturfreundehaus in Berlin-Lichterfelde. This was the third gathering of the German National Peace Council, with the topic "On the way to a peaceful society."
Renowned representatives of the Abrahamic religions gathered for inspiring speeches, activity reports, and work group discussions. Prof. Dr. Elizer Glaubach and his wife Rachel attended as guests of honor. Prof. Glaubach served four terms on the Jerusalem City Council and attended the Camp David Talks as a specialist on the situation of Jerusalem. Other noted speakers were Imam Abdullah Haselhoef, former president of the Muslim Council of the Netherlands; Dr. Hedwig Raskob, psychologist and peace researcher; and Amir Mohammad Herzog, president of the Islamic Society of German-Speaking Muslims e.V. Read More...
| | Sri Lanka - Youth Leadership Development |  Basketball clinics and peace lectures drawing on texts held sacred in Sri Lanka's multi-religious society were highlights of a recent Youth Leadership Development program in Sri Lanka.
About 60 Sri Lankan youth attended the March 28-30, 2008, seminar at the Subodhi Center for Integral Studies in Moratuwa, Colombo. It was organized by the Universal Peace Federation and sports educators in collaboration with Sri Lanka's Ministry of Sports and its Department of Education in the Western Province.
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| | Zimbabwe - Overcoming Difficulties and Still Trying to Help! |  The International Relief Friendship Foundation Zimbabwe Chapter is doing very well considering difficulties the country is going through, politically, economically as well as the HIV/AIDS pandemic.
One difficulty is that non-governmental organizations may carry out microfinance programs to help people who start business projects, but they may not charge interest. We talked to the authorities and reached some kind of understanding; we then started our program.
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