The GPF Chairwoman Dr. Junsook Moon’s speech was delivered in her stead by the Global Peace Women International President, Ms. Hanako Taura.
In 2023, the bi-annual Global Peace Convention was held as a series of interactive events, forums, and programs under the theme, “One Family Under God: Vision for National Transformation and a Civilization of Peace.” Unlike previous Conventions, the program’s concurrent sessions were held in an hybrid online and in-person format, which allowed for wider global engagement over a six-week period spanning from November 1 to December 14, 2023. The culminating events of the Convention were held in Manila, Philippines from December 10-14, 2023.
Find a transcript of Dr. Junsook Moon’s speech below.
Congratulations. We have accomplished a lot during this convention. Over the last month, guided by the theme “One Family under God: A Vision for National Transformation and A Civilization of Peace,” we envisioned how we will transform our nations and regions – our families and our consciousness – to build an era of peace.
In this beautiful nation of the Philippines, we are affirming that just as you have made a nation of a thousand islands – beneath the differences of our diverse cultures, languages, faiths and backgrounds – we are all one family, connected by a common spiritual origin, our shared humanity and a mutual commitment to a vision of peace and prosperity for all.
We opened the convention in November, right after Dia De Los Santos, when you traveled many miles to your hometowns to honor your ancestors. And we are closing not long before Christmas, when your family members come home from around the world, taking time to invest in faith and family.
Each of our cultures and faiths have similar traditions that acknowledge the centrality and sanctity of family, which is what I want to speak with you about today.
One family Under God: Faith, Family and Service
As my husband, Dr. Hyun Jin Moon, noted this morning, we stand at a turning point. The vision of One Family Under God is inspiring a global movement for peace, asking us to re-envision how we relate, organize, do business and transform nations. The infrastructure for lasting peace starts in our hearts and in our families. Therefore, it is imperative that we open the way for more women and families to sit at the peacebuilding table.
Recognizing this, we founded Global Peace Women in 2011. Our work has helped women embrace and contribute their unique capabilities to cultivate peace at home and in their communities, nations and world, and recognize the family as a foundational element in peacebuilding.
Guiding our efforts has been Global Peace Foundation’s values-based approach to peacebuilding that engages faith, family and service.
Faith traditions have articulated universal principles and shared values that undergird peace. By faith humanity has drawn closer to the source of truth and goodness, the force of human progress, the origin of our inalienable rights and freedoms, and our immutable value, our creator, God, and the enduring aspiration of global peace and prosperity. Therefore, it behooves us to engage people and communities of faith in this ongoing pursuit for peace.
As faith has led in the discovery of the principles and values of the vision of One Family Under God, family is where we translate them into relationships. The family is sacred – the most basic human social unit where life begins and is nurtured, and where we form our primary relationships that define how we relate to ourselves and the world.
And in service, we affirm our interconnectedness as one family and our capacity to look beyond personal interests and challenges to live for a greater good. It is the starting point of relationships of trust and mutuality. Furthermore, service empowers our agency, the power of the human spirit to change our reality through affirming peace and substantially expressing true love.
Faith, family and service connect us to the fundamentals of peace – principles and values, relationships, starting from the family, and ultimately the origin of this vision, that which holds this vision together, God, our Creator.
Peacebuilding and the Family Imperative
The state of our world today could draw dark clouds of fear and hopelessness. However, I found that no tempest can quell the spark of peace that burns in the hearth of the home, steady and ready to light the way. “Peace begins in the home,” coined in the formative stages of Global Peace Women, reminds us of this elementary place of peacebuilding – the family.
The family is a deeply personal, first-hand experience of peace. Investing in our children is investing in the future good of humanity, a very real affirmation of the infinite value and unlimited potential that resides in each person. Moreover, the extended family connects three generations: past, present and future, shedding light on what is most important our lives. At the end of the day, beyond accolades, wealth and titles, what remains are the people we have raised, the relationships and love that we have cultivated, and the legacy of good that we leave.
A family that pursues the dream of One Family Under God, puts the greater good, a shared good, first. This common ground,forms a foundation for men and women to build and grow together, not in competition but in complementarity. Like in marriage where a husband and wife commit to each other to form a family, bring new life into the world, and raise children who can become virtuous citizens who carry on the quest for global peace through generations – their differences become the most important aspects of their partnership.
Men and women were designed beautifully different. We need each other to see the whole picture of peace: sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, husbands and wives, mothers and fathers. We can uplift both men and women, honoring their innate God-given value and empowering each to contribute their unique and complimentary gifts to a greater good.
Women, as mothers, wives, sisters and daughters, we touch all lives. We are central to peace, in the family and world. Our empowerment starts, not with skills but with character, starting from our service-mindedness. We can be agents of peace when we aspire for big dreams – the biggest dream being the aspiration of One Family under God, starting in our families.
Just as the peacebuilding work of Global Peace Foundation within communities and nations is guided by universal principles and shared values, so too are relationships that engender peace at home. Our families need faith and service-mindedness if we are to raise true peacebuilders who will build communities, institutions, industries, societies and nations of a world of peace for all.
Family and National Transformation
Let me draw on a real example. My husband has advanced models of national transformation throughout the world – in Paraguay and on the Korean peninsula. He always starts with a vision which serves as a nexus to strengthen social cohesion, build consensus around shared values and elevate the moral and innovative leadership of the people. This lays the foundation for good governance and transparency, which is necessary for sustainable and equitable economic development.
Last year, Action for Korea United launched a three-year campaign to raise 10 million Korean Dreamers who pursue the Korean Dream, a vision of a free and unified Korean that can serve as a beacon of peacebuilding for the world. The Korean Dream is grounded on the ethic of hongik ingan, that calls the Korean people to live to benefit all humanity.
A crucial part of this endeavor is strengthening the Korean family, which has been a stronghold for Hongik Ingan, preserved in traditions and virtues handed down through generations. One such example is the special ceremony for a child’s first year birthday, dol. The baby chooses three objects that signify how they will contribute to humanity. For example, a brush means they will bring wisdom to the world, a rope means they will have a long life to do good, rice means they will bring prosperity, a book means they will seek truth to enlighten the world. This beautiful tradition calls a child, even from age one, to nobly live in service to humanity.
However, the pursuit of material development and prosperity has weakened the family and subsequently the social fabric of South Korea. Elderly are left to fend for themselves, the birth rate is one of the lowest in the world, while the suicide rate ranks in the top five. Youth are afraid to get married because of high cost of living and difficulties in finding and building lasting relationships of trust between men and women.
This is a far cry for the Korean extended family model of the past, where children were a blessing and every family member knew they had a special and important place. It was not perfect, but it honored principles and virtues that are important foundations for national transformation.
Korea’s quest for peaceful reunification based on the Korean Dream holds important lessons for peacebuilding and self-determination, particularly for emerging countries in the Global South. There are timeless jewels in our cultures that we must fuse in the foundations of national development. As we advance models of national transformation and pursue a civilization of peace – we must recognize that it cannot happen without our families and without God.
Launching a Movement of Service-Minded Youth for Global Peace
Today we can see the labors of love from such families, as we launch a groundbreaking initiative – the Global Peace Corps.
A generation of youth is spearheading this global effort to champion the vision of One Family under God. You are the people power that will set a high standard of selfless service, peacebuilders who will redefine the landscape of our world. You have the potential to tackle the most critical issues of our time: break down barriers, uplift, protect and engage every person, men and women so they can actively participate in peacebuilding, and inspire and someday even birth and raise subsequent generations of peacebuilders. From the bottom up and top down you are setting in motion the mechanisms for peacebuilding. I’m sure your parents are very proud.
Closing
There is so much hope. Dr. Moon always reminds us, “Dreamers are the ones who change the world.” And this room is full of dreamers from around the world, from all generations, and coming as families. Let’s commit to this sea change, from the Philippine Islands to the world, bringing this vision of peace, the vision of One Family Under God into reality, starting in our homes.
May God bless you and your families.
Thank you very much.