Almaty, Kazakhstan—The publication in Russian of the book World Scripture and the Teachings of Sun Myung Moon was the occasion for a roundtable held in Almaty, Kazakhstan’s largest city.
The audience at the May 27, 2015, meeting consisted of Ambassadors for Peace, students, and members of educational clubs.
The leading theologian of Kazakhstan, Professor Arthur I. Artemyev, who is also a member of the UPF Global Peace Council, initiated the meeting.
Other prominent participants included Vladimir Ivanov, head of the Almaty Department for Religious Affairs; a poet, Amantay Ahetov; Irina Tsypkova, a department head of St. Petersburg State University; and Lamin Bangura, chair of the African Association. The event was attended by 11 Ambassadors for Peace.
The artistic part of the program was presented by the famous singer Akaltyn Bekbolatova, who performed beautiful songs. This was followed by a report about UPF activities in 2015. The first speaker was Larisa Lee, honorary president of the Family Federation for World Peace (FFWPU) Kazakhstan, a sister organization of UPF, who spoke about the importance of interreligious cooperation.
Professor Artemyev spoke about his experience in writing the preface to World Scripture and the Teachings of Sun Myung Moon. After reading the book, he was so inspired that he wrote the preface in just five days. With deep respect he shared his memories of UPF Founder Dr. Sun Myung Moon, calling him one of the most prominent religious leaders of the 20th century.
FFWPU-Kazakhstan President Kyzzhibek T. Khamzaeva spoke on family values as they appear in the new book. Vladimir Dolgov was the next speaker. Very much inspired by the speakers, the Ambassadors for Peace could not sit still but instead started sharing memories about Dr. Moon and the UPF conferences that they had attended.
At the end of the presentation, the participants expressed their firm resolve to intensify the activities of UPF-Kazakhstan, and gave a number of practical proposals and ideas.