Bangkok, Thailand—UPF held an Asian Leadership Conference (ALC) in Bangkok, Thailand from April 26 to 29, 2019. Seminars have been held monthly or bi‑monthly for the past 11 years.
This time there were 91 guests from 12 nations—the largest number of participants ever to attend an ALC—including from Bangladesh (5), Cambodia (38), China (6), India (5), Kazakhstan (3), Kyrgyzstan (3), Laos (7), Malaysia (3), Nepal (3), Singapore (2), Thailand (12), and Uzbekistan (3). The theme of the conference was “Providing Vision and Leadership for Nation-Building and Peace.”
Presentations were displayed in three languages: English, Cambodian and Russian. In addition, audio translations were in Chinese and Thai.
UPF’s Principles of Peace were the core of the educational program. The basic content was presented using both a religious and a secular approach. In other words, in presenting each of the main topics, quotes from the holy scriptures of the world’s religions as well as supporting sociological data were provided.
Among the participants were current and former government leaders—cabinet ministers, education ministers, members of parliament, governors, provincial council members, heads of departments—lawyers, mayors, CEOs, business entrepreneurs, district leaders, youth leaders, and teachers.
There were special presentations on both days. These included:
- The Attributes of True Love, which was given by Dr. Chung-sik Yong, regional chair, UPF-Asia-Pacific.
- UPF Founders’ Peace Initiatives, which was given by Hon. Ek Nath Dhakal, chair, UPF- and the International Association of Parliamentarians for Peace (IAPP)-Asia-Pacific.
- A Case Study: Cambodia’s Family Education Program, which was given by Mr. Hajime Saito, director, UPF-Indochina.
- Best Practices: Headwing Ideology, which was given by Hon. Ek Nath Dhakal.
- A Case Study: UPF’s Cooperation with the Thai Government, which was given by Mr. Kamol Thananopavarn, national director, Family Federation for World Peace and Unification (FFWPU)-Thailand.
The conclusion of the four-day conference was an Interfaith Peace Blessing.
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Reflections from participants:
“I think that [the content is] helpful for all the participants. When we return back home, we can concentrate our mind for our family.”
Cambodia
“If we can make people in the society aware, especially our young people, with the beautiful and useful vision of [Rev. Sun Myung Moon] regarding the meaning of marriage, love and peace, then our families, societies and nations will be peaceful and beautiful.”
India
“All the sessions were very good. All the speakers were excellent. The content gave me very good answers going forward. The entire conference was very well organized. So professional.”
Malaysia
“[UPF] is a wonderful organization for building peace in the nation.”
Bangladesh