Manado, Indonesia—UPF-Indonesia held seminars in character education in two provinces as part of its national tour, “Building Harmonious Families-Our Shared Responsibility.”
The first program took place in Manado, the capital of North Sulawesi province, from September 23 to 25, and was organized by local Ambassadors for Peace. On the morning of September 23, about 70 participants—among them, pastors, educators and students—gathered in the hall of the office of the Christian Student Movement of Indonesia (GMKI), which co-sponsored the event. The population in North Sulawesi is predominantly Christian, and people practice their faith with great fervor.
Mr. Julianto Philip, a committee member of the GMKI, warmly welcomed all the participants. Then Ambassadors for Peace Pastor Dantje Mumek and Prof. Dr. ABG Rattu, who organized the program, spoke about the objectives and purposes of UPF and emphasized that Indonesia needs the UPF philosophy of “living for the sake of others,” and a video about UPF’s activities around the world was shown.
Mr. Alfred Forno, secretary general of UPF-Indonesia, spoke about the chapter’s activities. Mrs. Ursula McLackland, secretary general of UPF-Asia, outlined the UPF Principles of Peace. “Living for the sake of others” and “absolute sexual morality” are the foundation for building harmonious families, she said. Without them, we will not be able to avoid conflict and the breakdown of family relationships. The students understood the importance of keeping sexual purity and made the Pure Love Pledge.
After a lively Q&A session, UPF appointed three new Ambassadors for Peace, all of them pastors and teachers of theology. Several of the pastors traveled from another city to participate in the program and were so inspired by what they had learned and experienced during it that they said they would like to arrange a seminar in their hometown. They shared that they feel they need to study UPF’s philosophy of peace and family values more deeply in order to address the problems of immorality in their society, especially among youth.
The second program was held at the SMA Muhammadiyah High School in Gorontalo, the capital of Gorontalo province. Members of the national tour team were welcomed by the principal and staff of the school. Two students prepared a spirited speech on religion and good character and presented it at the beginning of the program. Afterwards, remarks were given by chief guest of the program, Mr. H. Abdul Rasyid of the Provincial Education Service of Gorontalo; Dr. H. Arfan Tilome of the department of religion of Gorontalo province; Mrs. Asma Ulhusna Adam, an Ambassador for Peace and the coordinator of the program; and Mr. Syafrianto Adam, principal of the SMA Muhammadiyah High School.
They expressed their appreciation to the UPF team for coming all the way from Jakarta to teach their students the need to keep moral values. Dr. Tilome told the local coordinator that he wishes to learn more about UPF.
After the Ambassador for Peace awards were presented and a short break for prayer (staff and students of the high school are required to observe the five daily prayers), the main program began. Mr. Forno introduced UPF-Indonesia and Mrs. McLackland gave a presentation on the theme of the program. Afterwards, the students were given the chance to ask questions.
In the late afternoon, Mrs. Adam arranged for the UPF team to introduce its character education programs to the Provincial Education Service of Gorontalo. The staff listened carefully and decided to invite the team to hold a one-day program in the near future, after which, it will evaluate UPF’s character education curriculum and discuss how to collaborate with UPF on a long-term basis.