Chile—On Tuesday, September 28 at 7:00 PM, UPF Chile held a brief event for the Inauguration of the IAPD. Even though IAPD has held two previous activities in Chile, through this event we officially established IAPD and announced our vision, mission and also some of our goals for the future. Without a doubt, the spirit of the event was centered on the great importance of people and faith groups working together towards our collective goals of helping to make the world more united, centered on the love and ideals of God.
The speakers for this event were:
Dr. Simao Ferabolli, president of UPF Brazil and secretary general for UPF in South America. Dr. Ferabolli shared an inspiring presentation that helped us all understand more clearly about the historical roots, as well as the current international activities of IAPD.
Sister Karoline Mayer, a well-known Catholic nun, and the founder and leader of the foundation “Cristo Vive” (Living Christ), which serves over 23,000 people in a poverty-stricken area of Santiago, Chile. Sister Karoline gave a heartfelt presentation for the event.
Pastor Edgardo Hernandez, pastor of the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification in the city of Concepcion, Chile. Pastor Edgardo spoke about some of the biblical foundations for interreligious work in the world.
Father Bernardo Astudillo, the main Catholic priest for Easter Island, Chile. Father Astudillo shared his vision concerning ecumenical activities on his island and in general.
We also shared a brief video about IAPD. Overall, we feel that the speakers as well as the public who were viewing the event live by YouTube—about 40 persons overall during the hour-long event—were inspired and also well informed about the principles and objectives of IAPD.
We closed the event with a video of rousing gospel choir music from the US and a renewed commitment to help develop the vision of True Parents among all peoples of faith in the world.