Youth and Service
Kiev, Ukraine - The third international children-and-youth choreography festival and contest on the theme “Dancing Beyond Borders-2012” that took place in Kiev on April 6 and 7 was a real pageant of creativity and talents. The initiators of this remarkable event were the Ballet Academy of Ukraine, Universal Peace Federation, center of culture “Sun”, and international charitable foundation “Art Beyond Borders.”
During Russia's annual "Spring Week of Goodness," April 21-23, 2012, UPF volunteers and Youth Ambassadors for Peace carried out about 100 projects in several cities.
Vienna, Austria - Following up on the international youth conference during the UN International Year of Youth last July about youth perspectives on peace, the Youth-UPF Austria organized an April 12 forum on “Exploring Global Citizenship.”
Baan Dadthongchareon, Thailand - A Religious Youth Project in an agricultural community in northern Thailand from March 15 to 19 promoted understanding, friendship, and harmony among participants. The 70 Buddhist, Muslim, Christian, and Catholic youth worked together to improve a children's playground, build vegetable and fruit gardens, repair the road inside the school compound, and build a water drainage system.
Seoul, Korea - Eurasian athletes took medals at the recent World Festival of Culture and Sports (including the Wongu Peace Cup) in South Korea March 21 to 24. Professionals and amateurs from 40 nations competed as continental teams for medals in football, basketball, 100 m and 400 m races, table tennis, badminton, martial arts, and traditional Asian games of harmony and unity.
Chitwan, Nepal - More than 750 people without access to cardiac care benefited from a free health check-up program in Chitwan on March 11, 2012.
Narva, Estonia - In January UPF-Estonia organized a project with International Relief Friendship Foundation of Norway and an Orthodox church community in Narva, Estonia. UPF-Estonia received about 60 individually packed gifts from the children of a school in Norway. These gifts were distributed among the children at an Orthodox school in Narva.
St. Petersburg, Russia - People from Russia, Estonia and Latvia assembled iat the House of Writers near St. Petersburg for a Religious Youth Service project Jan. 24-27, 2012, helping clean the building and visiting religious sites in the area.
Anse-la-Raye, St. Lucia - UPF-St. Lucia hosted 17 members of the Generation Peace Academy who came from the United States to Anse-la-Raye in November 2011 to spend three weeks repairing homes along the beach and teaching classes at the local primary school.
Polonnaruwa, Sri Lanka - In a village that suffered some of the most brutal fighting of the Sri Lanka civil war, Religious Youth Service brought 43 people from four religious traditions to help build a community center as part of a service-learning project from December 16-22.
Lumbini, Nepal - The Universal Peace Federation opened its service project at a primary school in Lumbini, the birthplace of the Buddha, on December 1, the same day the government of Nepal launched a campaign to promote tourism and development of its key Buddhist shrines.
Sydney, Australia - UPF-Australia hosted the seventh annual Living for Others Award event on November 12. There was a full house of 120 attendees in the main hall of the Oceania Peace Embassy in Sydney.