[HWPL]

[HWPL] HWPL Hosted YEPW in Ethiopia!

Chairman ManHee Lee is the head representative of the global peace organization HWPL (Heavenly Culture, World Peace, Restoration of Light), which is striving for the enactment and implementation of the international peace law 'Declaration of Peace and Cessation of War (DPCW)'. The  DPCW is a legal instrument comprised of 10 articles and 38 clauses that can end wars and hostilities throughout the world. HWPL is also spreading a culture of peace and implementing peace education.

Chairman ManHee Lee experienced the cruelty and tragedy of war as a veteran of the Korean War. This is one of the reasons why he founded a global peace campaign as the head of HWPL. He has traveled the globe more than 35 times to meet and persuade politicians, legal experts, journalists, professors, peace activists, civil organization leaders, heads of tribes and others to unite them for the work of peace. The significant fruits borne out of his hard work are the World Alliance of Religions' Peace (WARP) Summit and HWPL Peace Committee. The DPCW was drafted and finalised by the HWPL Peace Committee.

How, you may wonder, do I know this? About 10 years ago, when I had just been discharged from military service, I came to know HWPL and Chairman ManHee Lee while researching the topic of civil conflicts to satisfy my curiosity in ongoing global issues. At that time, the island of Mindanao in the Philippines was suffering from a major civil conflict that lasted more than 40 years, and Chairman ManHee Lee and HWPL resolved this conflict through non-violent means.

Chairman Lee brought an end to the conflict in Mindanao by holding a peace talk between the warring Catholic and Islamic groups. Before the talk, HWPL and Chairman ManHee Lee held a Peace Walk to spread the culture of peace in Mindanao with the many locals who had gathered out of a desire for peace.

Chairman ManHee Lee's pressing appeal today is that humanity unites for sustainable peace in order to pass on the legacy of peace to future generations worldwide. He doesn't just talk peace, but has worked tirelessly for it through practical peace campaigns for over a decade.

I decided to become a supporter of HWPL and Chairman ManHee Lee's peace initiatives because I also desire a world of peace for all posterity.

Today I'd like to introduce an article from HWPL official homepage regarding the YEPW :)

Ethiopian Youth Calls for National Harmony at YEPW

 On 5 January, the Youth Empowerment Peace Workshop (YEPW) was held at the CPU Business and Information Technology College in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia with over 80 youth from diverse ethnic backgrounds gathered as participants.

The participants at the workshop prepared for the harmony of Ethiopia discussed on three topics: 1) What are the challenges for making one Ethiopia? 2) When do you feel Ethiopia as one nation? and 3) How can we gather all the ethnic groups to become one Ethiopia? After the discussions, guests gave speeches and together, the participants made a hand-printed flag. Also, youth organizations announced plans to make “One Ethiopia.”

Yonas Berhanu, the Executive Director of Live for Generation, called for love for humanity and solidarity through his speech by saying that, “I understand that in order for Ethiopia to become a country that goes beyond itself and generous to the world, we might realize that all nation beings must go together and contribute to a common goal. If it is possible to respect individuality, solidarity, self-esteem, nation, religion, thought, ideology, it is possible to respect others because it is possible to respect ourselves and respect others. In any planet of the world, even if our nation, tribe, views, ideas are different, we are human beings.”

Also, Feven Terefe Woldegebreal, the Project Coordinator of Endurance Youth Association said, “Now days, we know that there are threats that challenges our unity. There are conflicts between ethnic groups that we often witness. None of the ethnic groups should regard themselves as superior to others. No ethnic group should be treated unfairly. The education system, the judicial organ, civil societies, and religious associations should be highly committed to serving all people. Human rights organizations should know about the fair treatment of all ethnic groups. The government’s resource utilization and opportunities should also be distributed fairly.”

She further added, “Ethiopia has the second-largest youth population in Africa, with about 37.4 million people aged 10 to 24 years. Therefore, we have to engage them to positively influence the interaction between ethnic groups for the sustainable development of Ethiopia. Lastly but not the least, rather than magnifying our ethnic differences and going for civil war, it would be better to take advantage of our diversity for tourist attraction and other source of income for the country.” As shown through the speech, she emphasized how important it is for youth to get involved in dialogues and discussions, and that we should foster the atmosphere of mutual respect and peace.

▲ Group Discussion

In addition, when youth organizations declared their plans for forming alliance in Ethiopia, the Endurance Youth Association stated it will regularly upload peace messages on social media young adults frequently use, and Live for Generation promised to run a SNS video-making contest for harmony in the country.

Endale Mulatu, the Coordinator of Peace Education Center in Wachemo University commented when asked what he felt after engaging in the workshop, “To be honest, I felt so happy in participating your YEPW events in AA. I could learn a lot of valuable lessons from the workshop and the shared experiences from different partners were very constructive points to build peaceful nation.”

At YEPW, participants from different ethnicities in Ethiopia gathered as one under the keyword “Youth,” and they were able to put into action the heart that yearned for harmony. After the first workshop, the International Youth Peace Group (IPYG) and youth organizations are continuing to have discussions for practical peace activities, and in the second workshop scheduled to be held in March, the results of the activities will be shared.

The YEPW (Youth Empowerment Peace Workshop) was restructured into the YEPW (Youth Engagement & Peacebuilding Working Group) in April of 2023, and it still work for the world peace with youth of the world. If you want to join the peace work with HWPL, please click following link.

HWPL Official Homepage

https://www.hwpl.kr/language/en/home-hwpl-_en/