The International Association of Arts and Culture for Peace, known as IAACP, is one of the primary associations within the Universal Peace Federation structure.
The International Association of Arts and Culture for Peace (IAACP) was founded by Dr. Hak Ja Han to bring together artists, cultural leaders, and institutions across music, dance, fine arts, literature, film, and related fields in support of peacebuilding through culture. IAACP promotes artistic exchange, education, public performance, dialogue, and international cooperation across national, religious, and cultural boundaries.
Its work also relates to UPF’s long-standing support for the United Nations, especially where culture can strengthen human solidarity, mutual understanding, cooperation and development. It also aligns directly with the UN Sustainable Development Goals, especially SDG 4, SDG 16, and SDG 17. Its educational dimension also resonates with UNESCO’s work on Global Citizenship Education, especially in the cultivation of intercultural understanding, responsibility, and shared civic purpose through learning.
The IAACP was announced on November 22, 2020, during the Third Rally of Hope, but in fact it emerged from a much longer history, which began in 1962 and continues to the present. Long before IAACP was founded, Dr. Hak Ja Han and the late Rev. Sun Myung Moon had invested in children’s ensembles, folk ballet companies, choirs, rock bands, brass bands, orchestras, theater groups, arts schools, artist networks, concert venues, recording spaces, and later formal associations for artists working in the cause of peace. These were not isolated projects. Over time they formed a coherent cultural tradition that IAACP is building upon.
For more information, see the IAACP page on the UPF International website.
