Melbourne, Australia—The Victoria Peace Council held its second meeting to define the vision, mission, values and peacebuilding principles to guide its work.
The peace council was formed in April 2015 following UPF’s proposal for the establishment of peace councils that receive input from faith traditions as well as politics and academia.
Representatives of the Christian, Muslim, Jewish and Hindu faiths sit on the Victoria Peace Council, as do academics in the areas of religion, international relations, engineering, business, education and science and professionals in the fields of psychology, information technology, health and business The peace council of Australia’s southeastern state also includes representatives from state and local governments and leaders of NGOs.
In the meeting held on July 11, 2015, the peace council adopted the following proposals:
Vision
Peace achieved through cooperation among people of all ethnicities, religions and nationalities.
Mission
Peacebuilding that incorporates the spirit and values of faith traditions and the input and cooperation of social, cultural, academic and political dimensions.
Values
Service for the greater good, goodwill, humility, respect, fairness and equality.
Peacebuilding Principles
- Peace must be realized
- Faith traditions subscribe to the principle that for peace in human affairs to be realized, humans need to be at peace with God or the divine essence within.
- Faith-based and secular moral values should be combined in peacebuilding.
- Peace and social cohesion are realized through interactions and cooperation beyond the boundaries of ethnicity, nationality and religion. In the global village, peacebuilding requires a worldview that is global in its outlook. Cooperation across civilizational boundaries is needed to counter polarization and extremism.