St. Petersburg, Russia - The first meeting of the St. Petersburg Peace Council after the summer holidays took place on October 13, and Ambassadors for Peace discussed the results of the summer programs and made plans for the coming year.
The meeting was attended by Konstantin Krylov, Secretary General of UPF-Russia. He shared about the programs initiated by UPF in various nations, such as Albania, China, Congo, Egypt, Nepal, Nigeria, UK.
Afterwards, participants were given an interesting account of events, followed by a slide presentation about celebrations of the UN International Day of Peace in different nations initiated by UPF chapters. The UPF programs were held in about 70 nations of the world, including Austria, Canada, Finland, France, Germany, Israel, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Spain, and Norway.
Closer at hand, the call to commemorate the UN International Day of Peace was answered by UPF in Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, and Latvia.
In Russia, people also actively celebrated the UN International Day of Peace; among the cities that organized special activities were: Moscow, St. Petersburg, Khabarovsk, Kondopoga, Kostomuksha, Saratov, Serov, Tyumen, Yekaterinburg, Perm, Chelyabinsk, Nizhny Novgorod, Novosibirsk, Rostov-on-Don, Nizhnevartovsk, Vladivostok, and Tula.
Tatyana Krasnosumova, Secretary General of UPF-Northwest Russia, gave her report about summer programs and plans for the coming year.
A “Baltic Dialogue” conference was held at the Peace Embassy in Riga, Latvia in June, bringing together 30 people, including Ambassadors for Peace and guests. Among them were teachers from schools and universities, youth, and public officials of Latvia. There was a constructive discussion on the interaction between Russia and Latvia to pursue the peacebuilding theme: “Peace in your mind – love in your family – peace on the planet.”
On July 20, our city was visited by a Korean delegation representing the Seoul City Council, headed by Mr. John-Paul Hong of UPF-Korea. The guests were welcomed by the rector of the St. Petersburg Finance and Economics University. Their purpose was to make contacts for further exchanges in the field of education.
Participants were offered a slide presentation about the International Day of Peace in St. Petersburg.
Guests were presented the activity plan of the UPF-Northwest Russia for the coming year:
October 24 – UN Day, family values
November 16 – UN International Day of Tolerance
November 9 – 14 – “Light of the Christmas Star” program
The first week of February – Interreligious Harmony Week program
Spring holidays – Youth camp for Young Ambassadors for Peace in Kondopoga
Spring holidays – trip to Riga
Summer – “Nations Unity Cup”
March – Forum of creative groups on the theme “The right to live” (in Stockholm and Tallinn)
End of February – “Shining Lapland”: journey to fairyland
May 15 – UN International Day of Families
May 25 – International Day of Africa
Denis Pigasov, UPF volunteer, told about his participation in the Novosibirsk project “Cherish friendship – create a park of peace.” The leading idea of the program was to expand the participants’ knowledge about peacemaking activity and acquire experience in intercultural cooperation.