Novosibirsk, Russia - In Novosibirsk, the geographical center of the Russian Federation, the first workshop of the Siberian chapter of UPF was held on December 14 to explain the goals and purposes of the Ambassadors for Peace movement. Among the participants were youth leaders, representatives of student organizations, university professors, a Russian Federation Honored Teacher, and people active in public affairs.
The workshop opened with a song by student-trombonist from the M.I. Glinka State Conservatory, Martinez Olyaka. In conclusion of his peacemaking tour in Central Asia, Konstantin Krylov, Secretary General of UPF-Russia who recently came back from Dushanbe, Tajikistan, described the situation on the Korean peninsula and talked about how Ambassadors for Peace are working for peace in the Middle East and Asia, especially Nepal. He also shared information about the development of the South Caucasus Peace Initiative, in particular about the conflict situation between Russia and Georgia.
Then, Mr. Krylov explained about developments in the proposal for an interreligious council at the United Nations made in 2000 by UPF founder, Dr. Sun Myung Moon. He quoted the Russian diplomat Yuri Vorontsov, who was Assistant-Secretary-General of the UN from 2000 to 2006: “It is of great importance that we convene meetings of religious leaders, congresses of religious leaders, where they would discuss not the differences in their doctrines but the current situation in our world. I don’t think that there will be serious discrepancies in their discussing issues of war and peace in some region of our planet or global ecological crises. I am sure the mentioned issues are of utmost importance for religions.”
Recent developments include a resolution passed by the UN General Assembly (GA UN A/65/L.5) declaring the first week of February each year as the Week of Interreligious Harmony. Based on this document, the November 22 UPF World Assembly launched a 50-day campaign in support of interreligious harmony.
The workshop launched the activities of the Universal Peace Federation in Siberia. The participants learned about peace initiatives and target programs within the post-Soviet territory. Some of them decided to become Ambassadors for Peace and work to promote the Millennium Development Goals, help to strengthen families, restore broken relations between peoples and nations, and overcome religious, national, and cultural barriers.