Novosibirsk, Russia - Activists of UPF-Siberia carried out a seminar on the meaning of marriage and love: family as a school of love and human development as part of its Marriage and Family Peace Initiative. The Oct. 17, 2012 seminar was aimed at promoting good marriage and strong families that can resist the challenges that undermine the traditional family. Among the participants were NGO leaders, a representative of the mayor, students, and volunteers.
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The President of the Novosibirsk regional Women’s Initiative and Creative Association, Nadezhda Latrygina, advanced her idea about creating a City Council of Families in Novosibirsk, explaining that such an organization could make an urgent and timely contribution. At the First Congress of Russian Mothers, which took place in 2003 at the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow, Nadezhda explained her proposal about the need for parents’ work to be legally supported. The initiative promotes recognizing human problems as a priority on the state level, with the hope of promoting the initiative up to the federal level. The Siberian plenipotentiary representative of the Russian Federation President, Viktor Tolokonsky, said he supported this legislative initiative.
The problems of women, children, and families will stay unresolved until the rate of women participating in the structures responsible for working out crucial decisions reaches 50 percent. The reason is that the beloved and respected men are generally engaged in financially supporting their families so the raising and education of children is mostly left to the women.
Dmitry Oficerov informed the group about the World Congress of Families that will take place in Australia on May 12-18, 2013, sponsored in part by the Australian chapter of the Universal Peace Federation. Mr. Oficerov invited everybody to participate in the event.
Natalia Komuro, leader of the Blue Bird Center for Families, gave a lecture on “How to create a happy family” evoking sincere interest on the part of the young participants. In her presentation, she pointed out that few people take a deliberate approach to creating a family because people often mistake infatuation or passion for love. Strong families are based on sound understanding, and 95 percent of the happiness in a family depends on the woman’s efforts. Men create technology, make discoveries, etc., but they cannot produce children. Success in general depends on the knowledge of principles and ability to apply them in reality.
Finally, Dmitry Oficerov gave a presentation about the “Blessing for Peace” that will take place in February 2013. He spoke in detail about the Blessing for Peace movement that promotes universal peace on the planet and uplifts the sacred and meaning of marriage and family and their importance to society. The movement brings together people beyond racial, religious, and cultural barriers, and everybody feels responsible for creating "one family under God" as a parent, spouse, brother or sister, and child expanding the realm of peacemaking.
At the end of the program, participants shared informally over tea and refreshments.