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Peace Education
A “Peace Road” on Four Wheels and Two Wheels
Written by Vitaly Maksimov, secretary general, UPF-Belarus
Sunday, July 17, 2016
Minsk, Belarus—Using automobiles and bicycles, peace-loving Belarusians took part in the Peace Road 2016 event.
UPF-Belarus, in partnership with the international public association Cultural Exchange, organized an action with the theme "Peace Road 2016: Toward Comprehensive Peace."
The event was held on July 17, on a beautiful, sunny day. The date was chosen for its proximity to Nelson Mandela International Day (July 18), in recognition of the former South African president's contributions to a culture of peace and freedom.
The event had several goals: creating conditions for peace and prosperity in Belarus; supporting the peaceful reunification of North and South Korea; promoting the establishment of a fifth United Nations office on the Korean Peninsula; as well as informing the public about the peaceful ideology and achievements of UPF Founders Rev. Dr. Sun Myung Moon and Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon, who have lived for the ideal of "one human family under God" that transcends racial, national and religious barriers.
In the morning, both the motorists and the bicyclists gathered at the picturesque Komsomol Lake in Minsk, the capital, not far from the South Korean Embassy. Vitaly Maksimov, the representative of the Universal Peace Federation in Belarus, in his welcoming speech to the participants spoke about the vision of Dr. Moon, who in 1981 proposed the building of an International Peace Highway — an ambitious project to connect South Korea and Japan through an underwater tunnel, and Russia and North America through a tunnel and bridge crossing the Bering Strait. This network of international highways will help to unite the world through a road system similar to the body’s system of blood vessels.
Konstantin V. Krylov, regional secretary general of UPF-Eurasia, welcomed the participants. He presented to them the regional Peace Road flag, which already had traveled hundreds of kilometers together with the Peace Road team of Russia. The participants enjoyed the performance of young violinists before signing their names to a Peace Road poster. Finally, with the hearty applause of onlookers in their ears, the motorists and bicyclists started on their separate journeys.
The group of automobile drivers traveled about three hours from Minsk to the city of Vitebsk, where they gave an inspirational message for peace in front of 500 people at the site of the International Festival of Arts "Slavic Bazaar in Vitebsk."
Meanwhile, the bicyclists rode 53 kilometers (almost 33 miles) from the South Korean Embassy in Minsk to Korolevo village, where the Belarus chapters of UPF and an affiliated organization, the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification (FFWPU), have an education center. There the participants watched a short film about the Peace Road project.
As the guests tasted a selection of Korean and Belarusian cuisines, they discussed the idea that, as members of one human family under God, we are all responsible for creating world peace, especially now in the era of globalization. For the sake of a peaceful future, we definitely need to come together.
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