Stuttgart, Germany - “What are the values that promote peace at a time of globalization?” was the theme of a September 27, 2008 UPF conference in Stuttgart, Germany. The setting was the Bella Barba restaurant, whose owner generously offered the hall and all the facilities for free.
While the guests arrived, Nenad Butic from Munich played a couple of pieces on the classical guitar to get people in the spirit for this peace conference.
After this welcoming reception, the chairman of UPF-Germany reported about the interfaith network in Geneva, Switzerland, where there is remarkable progress in interreligious and intercultural networking with the goal of putting peace into practice.
The second lecture was a PowerPoint presentation about the five important issues of a modern peace movement, given by K. C. Hausmann, with a question-and-answer session and open discussion afterwards. How to put such high ideals into practice was the key theme.
After the break, Lirio Bellabarba sang a couple of modern songs, which moved people’s hearts.
Dr. Libone Thierry, an Ambassador for Peace, introduced his new book, The Hard Journey. He shared his experiences as an African citizen living in a foreign country. Also he expressed his deep longing for peace and righteousness and told us that he tries to inspire his readers with interesting ideas and a vision for better relationships among all human beings in the world. Finally, he expressed his thankfulness for the privilege to participate as an Ambassador for Peace in the work of the Universal Peace Federation, especially in Cameroon, West Africa, where he is planning to return soon.
Werner Fehlberg gave a PowerPoint presentation about the preparations for the Global Peace Festival in London November 20-23. He invested all his heart to inspire people to take part in the Global Peace Festival.
After some moving closing remarks, four new Ambassadors for Peace were appointed. The 60 participants left with renewed hope and a stronger vision of peace.
Forum on Promoting Peace at a Time of Globalization
- Written by: Hubert Arnoldi, UPF-Germany