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S.J. Moon: Introduction to the Founder, World Summit 2017
Written by Dr. Sun Jin Moon, Chair, UPF International
Saturday, February 4, 2017
Address to World Summit 2017, Seoul, Korea, February 1 to 5, 2017
Good morning! Your excellencies, distinguished parliamentarians, participants in this Inaugural World Assembly of the International Association of Parliamentarians for Peace (IAPP), Hon. Dan Burton and Hon. Speaker Jose De Venecia, the Co-Chairs of IAPP, ladies and gentlemen.
I am honored to be with you today and to have this opportunity to share a few words on this important occasion, to introduce my mother, Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon.
I would like to thank all of the dignitaries who, despite your busy work and travel schedules, came all the way to Korea to attend these very significant programs dealing with key world issues surrounding global peace, including humanitarian aid, education, sustainable ecological solutions, and a conscious human development.
My mother was concerned about the tight schedule of events. She was very pleased when you joined in with the joyful festivities, celebrated globally, and watched via Internet in more than 150 countries to commemorate the UPF founders’ birthday. Every year we offer praise and rejoice in the memory of my father’s heroic life of service for peace and to our courageous mother, who is valiantly, at 74 years old, carrying the torch of true love, peace and the legacy of living for the sake of others. It was our great honor to host all of you. Your presence deeply moved my mother, my entire family and our worldwide movement. Thank you very much!
I am sure you also all witnessed the impressive Sunhak Peace Prize Award Ceremony honoring Dr. Gino Strada and Dr. Sakena Yacoobi, whom I had the blessing to sit next to at lunch yesterday. I am in awe of their magnanimous heart of love, care, service and devotion to the displaced women and children of the world, at the risk of their very lives. Seated to my other side was my mother, who has also risked and offered her life to serve and save the world. We shared a passionate conversation about how we can do greater work for humanity. I am greatly humbled and enthused to have such role models in my life. The honor extends to all the participants in this room who have nobly dedicated their lives for the wellbeing of others and future generations. Your life’s work is essential to establishing a world of peace. Thank you for joining us for this IAPP assembly and World Summit conference. I hope we can have sincere, significant, purposeful dialogue to move this world toward peace and prosperity for all. All the events this time were spearheaded and led by my breathtakingly beautiful mother, whom you will see in a moment, who celebrated her 74th birthday! At a time when she should have been rejoicing, she could not ignore what was happening in this world. She is deeply pained and concerned about all the issues we are discussing today.
The principles my parents have taught throughout their lives are true love; to forgive, love, and unite as one family under God; and to “Live for the Sake of Others” (LFSO) by cultivating a culture of heart.
My father explained: “The culture of heart transcends the barriers of race, nation, and religion; it is a society of interdependence, mutual prosperity and universally shared values based on true love.” (“Chambumo Gyeong,” p. 969)
My parents have devoted their entire lives to this practice and they have never ceased educating men, women and children from around the globe to be devoted to God, our Heavenly Parent, and this global mission of peace.
My father said in the last sentence of his autobiography: “Each day I set out on my path with renewed determination..... My prayer is that every person on earth will be reborn as a peaceful, loving global citizen, transcending barriers of religion, ideology, and race.” (“As a Peace-Loving Global Citizen,” p. 343)
Now more than ever if we look out into this world today, no one can deny that this is the heart and mission we must share. Since my father’s passing in 2012, my mother has carried our father’s torch faster and brighter across the globe as she has led us to expand his work to higher levels, culminating in these events. She knows that to change the world, we need to unite world leaders and lawmakers to change the tide of individualism and to live for the betterment of all humankind and creation. This is the heart and sincere intention behind the creation of the IAPP global tour of 2016, which began at the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea. This initiative was met with enthusiasm by all those who attended the program, both members of the Korean National Assembly and the international parliamentarians, of which there were approximately 140 from 70 nations.
On this great foundation, my mother advised UPF to carry out a series of International Leadership Conferences in eight regions around the world, and to promote and launch IAPP. I know that many of you who supported and attended these programs are with us today. I am grateful for having you here. I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Also in the spirit of one family under God, my mother sent her family members, all led and organized by the esteemed Dr. Walsh to tour the globe and enlist peace-centered leaders to realize a global change of thought and policy. My brother Kwon Jin Moon joined the IAPP programs in Costa Rica, Paraguay and Zambia. My sisters-in-law, Yeon Ah Moon and Julia Moon (with the beautiful Little Angels), represented my mother in Nepal. I am grateful for their amazing work and support.
It was my honor to have participated in the IAPP programs in London, Tokyo and in the U.S. Congress in Washington, D.C. Now we have gathered here full circle once again in Korea for this Inaugural World Assembly of the IAPP. I know that you were at the National Assembly of Korea two days ago. I heard it was a tremendous success.
I believe our gathering today, and in fact this entire World Summit 2017, will be a launching point for profound change and growth of the IAPP initiative that we will carry out during our 2017 mission.
Are we ready to meet our beautiful host, the one who brought us all here together? I hope you will join me in giving a very warm welcome to our host, the Co-Founder of the UPF and the Founder of the IAPP, my beloved mother, Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon.
Dr. Sun Jin Moon, Chair, UPF International
Dr. Sun Jin Moon is the daughter of Rev. Dr. Sun Myung Moon and Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon. A graduate of Harvard University in the United States, she is the Chair of UPF International; International President of the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification International, as well as a wide range of philanthropic, humanitarian, civil society and business initiatives. Dr. Moon is Chair of the Seil Tour Company, based in Seoul, Korea, and serves on the Board of Directors of The Washington Times Foundation and the Yongpyong Ski Resort in Pyongchang, Korea, where the 2018 Winter Olympics will be held.
To go to the 2017 World Summit Conference Schedule, click here.