Austria:- UPF Europe and the Middle East
Universal Peace Federation held an online conference. The webinar, which was held on July 29, 2021 03:00 PM was titled “ILC2021 SESSION VIII: Beyond Borders: The Peace Road Initiative Conference”.
Approximately 200 participants from 10 countries registered for the conference. The live broadcast on social media also generated a lot of interest. About 2,500 viewed the webinar on social networks one day later. The moderator of the webinar, Mrs. Elisabeth Cook, President, FFWPU Austria tbc. Welcoming numerous renowned members of the International community representatives and introduced to the International Dialogue speakers at the meeting were among those who expressed their views, Dr. Katsumi Otsuka, Chairman, UPF Europe & Middle East
Dr. Juraj Lajda, President, UPF Czech Republic, Mr. Ali Laçej, President, Albanians Peace Council, Albania, Dr. Afsar Rathor, President, LIOS-SOIL Organization; Former United Nations Official and Mr. Dmitry Samko, Coordinator, Peace Road Russia. Expressing their views, the speakers said the Korean Peninsula following World War II, people with a common history, culture, and language were divided by the Cold War struggle between superpowers. UPF conferences and forums bring together leading diplomats and scholars to offer insights into prospects for improved relations among the countries of the region. Political, military, economic, and civil-society factors are considered at conferences and forums. Civil-society initiatives between South Korea and North Korea include tourism, humanitarian projects, and various forms of personal engagement. Scroll down for reports. The Peace Road Initiative aims to tear down the walls that have historically divided humankind and bring it together as one family under God. The Initiative dates back to the 1981 announcement by the UPF Founders in Seoul, Korea, of the International Peace Highway Project. Beginning with a tunnel between Japan and a reunified Korea, the project links the world together through a global system of highways and railways, helping to create an interdependent, interconnected and harmonious world. Promoting this ideal, Peace Road activities are being held around the world, connecting people beyond borders to overcome the legacy of conflicts from past centuries. In this session, panelists was presented the Peace Road vision and Peace Road activities around the globe. The Peace Road initiative promotes two projects in particular: an undersea tunnel between Korea and Japan, and the Bering Strait Project to connect Alaska and Siberia. Until today, there has never been a road or highway specifically conceived and built as a highway to world peace. The International Peace Highway epitomizes Rev. Moon’s conviction that humanity is one family under God and that if people could meet each other in daily life, through culture, trade, and travel, the historic fears and misunderstandings that often divide us from our closest neighbors would break down. The speakers said Trade routes and infrastructure have been vital to the growth and stability of civilizations since the dawn of human history. Until roughly 9,000 BCE, a land bridge connected Siberia and Alaska, allowing humans to cross from Afro-Eurasia into the Americas. Around 114 BCE, the Han Dynasty of China expanded its Central Asian trade network, creating the “Silk Road,” which contributed to the economic and cultural interconnectedness of Europe, Asia, Africa and Oceania for millennia thereafter. The Romans built a massive network of roads throughout their Empire, connecting Western Europe to the Middle East and North Africa, many of which are still in use today, after thousands of years. President Dwight Eisenhower, a former general, concerned about the United States’ ability to mobilize in the face of military attack, advocated for the building of the interstate highway system, which was authorized by the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956. In 1994, the Channel Tunnel or “Chunnel,” was completed, creating the first-ever fixed link between the island of Great Britain and continental Europe. In 2013, the People’s Republic of China launched the Belt and Road Initiative, an ambitious global development involving infrastructure development and investments in 152 countries. The vision of the Peace Road Initiative goes beyond the materialistic desire for the economic and political benefits of an international road, and champions the spiritual dimension, which aims to tear down the walls that have historically divided us racism and cultural differences, prejudice and fear and bring humankind together as one family under God. After a lively discussion among the speakers, answering questions from the audience, the conference closed “ILC2021 SESSION VIII: Beyond Borders: The Peace Road Initiative”.
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