Ohrid, Macedonia—UPF-Albania held a seminar at which 43 Ambassadors for Peace from Albania and Kosovo studied the UPF Principles of Peace in greater depth.
From April 5 to 8, 2018, the Ambassadors for Peace from 13 local peace councils of Albania and one couple from Kosovo gathered in the city of Ohrid in southwestern Macedonia.
Our goal was to have 50 Ambassadors for Peace this time; however, we ended up having 43, exactly the same as at the last seminar we held in December 2017.
The atmosphere of the seminar was very high all the time. The participants were very punctual and attentive to the presentations.
The lecturers were: Mr. Jack Corley, the Eastern Europe regional president for Family Federation for World Peace and Unification (FFWPU), an organization affiliated with UPF; Mr. Ali Lacej, the coordinator of the Albanian Peace Council; Mr. Gani Rroshi, the secretary general of UPF-Albania; and Mrs. Manjola Vasmatics, the vice president of FFWPU-Albania and the coordinator of UPF in Tirana, Albania’s capital.
Of the 43 Ambassadors for Peace, 28 were studying the Peace Principles in depth for the first time. Some of the chairs of local peace councils who attended did a lot to support the seminar through their involvement in the discussions and also by moderating some sessions.
Part of the program was also sightseeing and a “family evening,” in which everybody expressed their unique abilities through singing, dancing, storytelling and poetry. It was a very family-like atmosphere, and nobody felt embarrassed to express themselves naturally.
An interesting aspect of this seminar was also the morning meditation, when we read from the autobiography of UPF founder Rev. Dr. Sun Myung Moon, As a Peace-Loving Global Citizen, and then meditated on what we had read. Some of the participants expressed that now they understood for the first time the importance of meditation and prayer. The whole seminar actually was quite interactive, with many questions and comments from the participants.
The final session of the seminar was an International Peace Blessing for 12 Ambassadors for Peace and their spouses who hadn’t already taken part in the Marriage Blessing. After a short lecture explaining the meaning and value of the Marriage Blessing, Mr. Corley officiated the ceremony.
Imam Hysen Hormova and his wife were very happy to be chosen to be the representative couple for the ceremony. All the participants expressed their happiness at being part of this beautiful event.
At the end we gave the Ambassador for Peace certificate to 12 participants whose husband or wife was already was an Ambassador for Peace. Each of them was introduced by their spouse, and it was very beautiful.
The reflections written by the participants were very positive and hopeful. Many of them expressed their determination to come to Vienna, Austria, at the end of April to attend the Peace Starts with Me rally featuring UPF co-founder Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon.
Imam Hysen Hormova especially praised the UPF founders and thanked God for sending them at this time. He said that it is a great mission to unify all religions, and he vowed to continue studying the UPF Peace Principles.