Marriage and Family
UPF organizes seminars and conferences related to strengthening marriage and family.
- Written by: Lynn Walsh, Director, Marriage and Family Initiative, Universal Peace Federation
Amsterdam, the Netherlands - The fifth World Congress of Families, held in Amsterdam Aug. 10 to 12, 2009, assembled academics, researchers, political and religious leaders, journalists, business people, and numerous NGO leaders from around the world.
- Written by: UPF-UK Marriage and Family Initiative
London, UK - “Promotion of stable marriages and the commitment this requires is one of the most powerful ways we can contribute to rebuilding an unbroken, positive, peaceful Britain,” stated Edward Hartley, at a July 18, 2009 conference in London.
- Written by: Mercedes Gonzalez, UPF - Spain
Madrid, Spain - Mr. Edward Hartley from the United Kingdom was the guest speaker for UPF-Spain's sixth marriage and family seminar on June 20, 2009.
- Written by: Kenji Watanabe, UPF-Fiji
Suva, Fiji - Religious leaders of the Fiji Islands gathered at the Nasinu Town Council Chamber on June 13, 2009 to discuss the values of “marriage and family.”
- Written by: UPF International
"Peace, One Family at a Time"
Value of the Family:
Uplift the universal value of the family, marriage, parenting, and the older generation. Family, as the school of love and character, is the building block of peace.
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Promoting a Family-friendly Culture:
Grass-roots initiatives by Ambassadors for Peace in various parts of the world to strengthen marriage and family
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Network and Resources:
Participate in conferences and UN symposiums, meet others and share best practices and educational programs that help develop healthy relationships
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We Need Your Wisdom!
We invite Ambassadors for Peace to submit insights from their religious tradition about the value of the family and apply this to the theme of the UN Economic and Social Council's annual meeting in July: "improving global public health." Email statements (maximum 100 words) to
UPF Declaration on Families
For reports about the celebration of the International Day of Families in more than 30 nations, click here.
- Written by: Mercedes Gonzáles, UPF-Spain
Madrid, Spain - At the Peace Embassy in Madrid, UPF-Spain held its fifth seminar on family moral values and family-related social problems on May 23, 2009.
- Written by: UPF Japan
Hiratsuka, Japan - The third “Family Peace Festival in South Kanagawa” was held in a venue in Hiratsuka City in the Kanagawa prefecture on April 26 as a part of the Global Peace Festival. Nearly 1,200 people gathered for the event.
- Written by: UPF - Spain
Madrid, Spain - UPF-Spain's April 18, 2009 forum on Marriage and Family Values featured a presentation on the topic of "What to Value in Our Conjugal Partner."
- Written by: Robert Kittel
Dhaka, Bangladesh - Straight talk about the sacredness of human sexuality took place at a conference on “The Family as the Foundation for World Peace.”
- Written by: UPF - Spain
Madrid, Spain - The third seminar in the Marriage and Family series, March 21, 2009, focused on the engagement period and addressed the importance of maintaining one's virginity while preparing for marriage.
- Written by: Qamrul A. Khanson
As envisaged earlier by UPF-Canada's Central District, the much awaited Inter-Religious Family Festival was celebrated on March 15 with full fervor and zest, which has sown the seeds of unified action to establish peace within and around. People of different ethnic origins and religious groups gathered to share their common values to contribute towards peaceful co-existence and peace among them. The gathering looked like a unified family under one God. Catholics, Protestants, Assyrians, Muslims, Sikhs, and others could be seen intermingling and sharing their appreciation of each other.
- Written by: Genie Kagawa, Deputy Director, UPF Office of UN Relations, New York
New York, USA - H.E. Hamid Al Bayati, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Iraq to the UN addressed a Women for Peace gathering in New York City on March 12, 2009, in conjunction with the 53rd Session of the UN’s Commission on the Status of Women.