In a ceremony at the conclusion of the 2013 Global Peace Convention in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Global Peace Foundation International President James Flynn announced that the 2014 Convention would be hosted in Asunción, Paraguay, a nation where GPF has worked extensively to support education excellence, economic development, and democratic governance.
Warmly thanking and congratulating the Malaysia Organizing Committee for preparation and hosting of the 2013 Convention, with participants from 40 nations, Mr. Flynn invited representatives from Malaysia and Paraguay to the stage to formally pass the flag to begin planning and preparations for the next convening in late 2014.
GPF Latin America regional representative Thomas Field introduced the Paraguay representatives —which included National Senator Lilian Samaniego, Alto Paraguay Governor Marlene Ocampos, Julia Maciel, Counselor with the Paraguay Permanent Mission to the United Nations, and Dr. Jose Altamirano, Director of Instituto de Desarrollo del Pensamiento Patria Soñada, a GPF-supported research institute—and reflected on his experience in Malaysia and in previous Conventions.
“I have seen that each year the Convention is getting bigger, and more significant,” Mr. Field said. “The bar is being raised higher and higher. In every country in Latin America, the work of Dr. Moon and the Global Peace Foundation is having an impact, especially through our alliances with such organizations as the National Leadership Conference in Uruguay, the Esquipulas Foundation in Central America, and now with the formation of the Latin American Presidential Mission with as many as 20 former heads of state.
“There is no country in Latin America where the Global Peace Foundation and the work of Dr. Moon has had a greater impact than Paraguay,” Mr. Field added. “From youth to all sectors of society and the highest levels of government, the entire country has been affected by our work, and there is real excitement there. We invite you all to come and see for yourself.”
“Paraguay is a young country, with more than 70 percent of the population below 35 years of age,” said Magali Caceres, a Paraguayan young leader and recent graduate of George Washington University in Washington, DC. “We are a generation characterized by an open heart, by a desire to make a difference, by doing things in a different way. This is why I would like to invite each of you to come to Paraguay. Save some money and come to Paraguay To those of those who are young, or who are young in spirit, Paraguay is waiting for you.”
Previous Global Peace Conventions have been hosted in Atlanta (2012), Seoul (2011), Nairobi (2010), and Manila (2009).