Ms. Aruna Chandaria signing the Abuja Declaration.
ABUJA—The 2013 Global Peace and Leadership Conference, titled “Moral and Innovative Leadership: Building Sustainable Peace for a Prosperous Future,” concluded in Abuja Nov. 9. The Global Peace Foundation, established by Dr. Hyun Jin Moon in 2009, was a key conference organizer. The meeting concluded with a call for a strategic platform to promote universal principles for peace-building and transnational service. The declaration was signed by representatives from more than 20 nations who participated in the two-day conference and peace festival.
“With its diversity and size, Nigeria has the unique potential to lead the way in Africa, through community-based interfaith and cross-cultural cooperation, promoting principles that strengthen families, [and] that guide children and youth toward developing good character, and moral and entrepreneurial competencies,” said Dr. Hyun Jin Moon, Chairman and Founder of the Global Peace Foundation.
Bishop Sunday Onuoha speaking at the closing ceremony. Media professionals, community and regional leaders, and faith leaders, including the representatives of the Islamic Sultan of Sokoto, the Catholic Archbishop of Abuja, and the head of the Nigerian Inter-faith Action Association, Bishop Sunday Onuoha, spoke of common values and shared interests in promoting peace. The bishop drew applause during his speech when he declared a simple notion: “We are all related!”
Bishop Sunday Onuoha speaking at the closing ceremony.
Salamatu Hussaini-Suleiman, representative of the Economic Community of West African States, in her speech a day earlier, reminded the audience “Africa has the fastest-growing economies in the world, and that this is the time to reverse identity based hatred, insurgency and other disruptive security threats to the continent.” United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon’s youth envoy, Ahmad Alhendawi, in his recorded video message to conference organizers, endorsed efforts to empower young leaders in entrepreneurship and service to achieve peace and the U.N. MillenniumDevelopment Goals.
Civil society, government, business and faith leaders at the Global Peace Leadership Conference.The conference brought together dozens of civil society and faith organizations, including Muslims and Christians, to Nigeria’s capital. The conference was hosted by the Global Peace Foundation and its organizing partners, including the Nigerian Inter-faith Action Association, the Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution, and former African heads of state.
A Global Peace Convention will convene in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Dec. 5-8.
To see full declaration click here.
