Chisinau, Moldova - A Religious Youth Service on the theme "Cooperate and Trust for Peace and Development" took place Aug. 3-6, 2014 in Vadul lui Voda, Moldova.
The project was organized by the International Association for Education in the Republic of Moldova in partnerships with the Sun Culture Center from Japan and co-sponsored by UPF.
A select group of 20 youth from Belarus, Russia, Japan, Korea, Burkina Faso and the Republic of Moldova representing Orthodox Christianity, Muslim, Hinduism, Mormon and Unification faith groups gathered together, communicated, worked and shared about their perspectives for better interfaith cooperation and building lasting peace and development at local, national, regional and international levels. Each participant's contribution was important for this project and assured its success. The program was conducted in English, and each member of the team gave their input, displaying genuine communication and heartfelt service.
The program was very participatory with topics and activities on themes such as "Understanding Interfaith Dialogue" and "Sharing Best Practices for Building Trust between People of Different Faiths." The group visited places of worship of different faiths (Jewish, Muslim, Orthodox Christianity and Unification tradition) to understand their values and views. They shared about their experiences and views on prevention of social vices from a spiritual perspective.
The service project included building a therapeutic walking path at the Vasieni Geriatric Center in the Ialoveni region. Participants engaged in teambuilding exercises on a set of ropes, made new friends and had memorable experiences visiting picturesque sites in Moldova.