Copenhagen, Denmark—The Nordic chapters of UPF organized a seminar on the Principles of Peace.
Fifty participants from Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark gathered at Copenhagen’s Zoku hotel for the one-day meeting on March 25, 2023.
Seventeen Ambassadors for Peace attended the seminar, as well as religious leaders, politicians, academicians, artists, businessmen, entrepreneurs, NGO representatives and UPF members.
In his welcoming remarks, UPF-Denmark Secretary General Karsten Nielsen said: “We are here to learn something new and gain hope of creating a new culture of peace through the Unification Principles. These principles are an expression of God’s deepest love, and it is a dream we know can be realized.”
After an introductory video about UPF, three one-hour sessions followed:
- “Universal Values as a Foundation for Peace”
- “The Root Causes of Conflict”
- “Bringing Peace and Reconciliation.”
Dr. David Hanna, the chairman of UPF for Northern Europe, presented the lectures, using very moving PowerPoint slides.
“The Unification Principles are a new expression of religious truth for our age, which opens the way for a harmonized view of religion and science, identifies universal values present in major world faiths, reveals God as a God of heart and identifies clearly the importance of human responsibility, and provides understanding for tackling real problems,” Dr. Hanna said.
He quoted UPF founder Rev. Dr. Sun Myung Moon:
We are born for the sake of love, live for the sake of love, and finally die for the sake of love. … Not only people, but all beings desire true love. This is why human beings, as the highest beings in creation, should embrace and love the masterpieces of God’s creation and teach creation how to love. All creation is longing to receive and experience God’s love through men and women who have become one with God at the pinnacle of true love. It is a shame that we have not realized this degree of love.
In the fourth session, “The UPF Contribution,” Dr. Hanna introduced the innovative work and projects of UPF in creating a new culture of peace and explained how to put the Peace Principles into practice.
He concluded with another quote from Dr. Moon:
Humanity is traveling down a dead-end street. The only way to survive is to practice the peace philosophy of true love, true life and true lineage that I am teaching. … Soon the countries and peoples that appear strong and mighty will change course and shift in this direction.
Two new Ambassadors for Peace were introduced and received their certificates: Ellen Margrethe Gylling, a pastor of the National Church of Denmark, and Pakistani-born poet and writer Sadaf Mirza, who lives in Denmark.
Ambassador for Peace Metta Ai Kim Carter, a popular singer and songwriter, rounded off the day with two beautiful songs, and everyone in the room stood, joined hands and sang along.
Giving positive feedback to the organizers, the attendees expressed their appreciation for this new initiative in the Nordic region.