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South Asia Peace Initiative
Inaugural Nepal Leadership Conference
Written by Dr. Robert S. Kittel, Director of Education, UPF-Asia; Photo-journalist, Segye-Ilbo
Saturday, February 18, 2012
Chitwan, Nepal – “Father Sun Myung Moon’s Peace Principles motivate people to sacrifice for the greater good,” declared the Vice-President of Nepal, H.E. Parmanand Jha, at a February 18 conference dedicated to transformational leadership and good governance.
Vice-President Jha continued, “This spirit of sacrifice cannot be bought with money. It cannot be learned in a book. It can only be acquired by experience. This is what the UPF Founder is teaching, and this is what is needed in Nepal.”
Here in this Himalayan nation, people are looking for a new model of good governance. In Chitwan, a city located in central Nepal, more than 250 high-level leaders from the military, police, and civil society, as well as educational and political fields were inspired to listen to presentations on UPF’s Principles of Peace.
“I could understand that the root of our Hindu religion, the oldest religion on earth, is directly connected to Father Moon’s Principles of Peace,” said Mr. Laxman Dahal, a local participant. He was referring to two fundamental concepts in Father Moon’s teaching: (1) the mind-body alignment where we should put the public interests above personal concerns and (2) the sacredness of human sexuality which mandates purity before marriage and fidelity within marriage.
Former Deputy Inspector General of Police Gyanendra Bikram Mahat, who first conceived of the idea of this conference, looked back at the past decade of fighting and felt that the nation of Nepal was “severely wounded.” As an Ambassador for Peace he felt called to hold this conference because “through UPF’s Principles of Peace we can overcome the strong barriers that have divided our country.” He added that the young people in particular benefit from the various educational and service oriented projects sponsored by UPF-Nepal.
The Chair of UPF-Asia, Dr. Chung Sik Yong, flew from the Philippines to attend this first Nepal Leadership Conference. He explained three qualities of a good leader:
- A good leader has the heart of a parent; i.e., he or she sacrifices unconditionally.
- A good leader has the heart of a teacher, not only in the transmission of knowledge but also guiding young people to understand what is right and wrong.
- Finally, a good leader has the heart of a true owner in that he or she takes responsibility no matter who caused the problem.
In his Congratulatory Remarks on the occasion, Hon. Narayan Dahal, Constituent Assembly Member from the Communist Party of Nepal-Maoists, the largest political party in Nepal, said that he agreed that poverty and illiteracy were not the cause of corruption. In fact, it was just the opposite: the corruption of the mind-body relationship causes poverty by emphasizing private priorities.
Hon. Ek Nath Dhakal closed the lively conference by advocating “positive thinking, reconciliation, team work, and mutual respect” as essential elements of a good society. He recapped the program by emphasizing that Father Moon’s vision can help Nepal advance lasting peace and development.
Ambassador for Peace certificates were presented to 16 participants.
Before inviting the guests to lunch, Mr. N.S. Gajurel, Vice-President of UPF-Nepal, thanked everyone for coming saying that their attendance will inspire ongoing efforts.
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