NEW YORK, NY / June 22, 2022 / Heavenly Culture, World Peace, Restoration of Light (HWPL), an international peace organization in the Republic of Korea, is engendering a new culture of world peace by hosting dialogues and introducing peace initiatives with the support of educational and religious institutions and organizations.

The most notable achievement of HWPL is contributing to peace in Mindanao, the Philippines. Chairman Man Hee-lee was instrumental in ending a 40-year conflict by establishing a peace agreement. This became the blueprint for peace initiatives that could be implemented in other nations facing similar conflicts.

In 2013, tensions were high in the Philippines due to reignited military clashes between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), the largest armed resistance group in Southeast Asia. The MILF's intentions were honorable as the group sought to combat political, cultural and economic discrimination that has been prevalent since the Spanish and Western colonial period. The Philippine government declared war with the militant group. With the conflict resulting in more than 100,000 casualties, many institutions and international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) supported a peaceful resolution. Finally, on January 24, 2014, a government-MILF peace agreement was drafted.

HWPL Mindanao Peace Agreement

In 2013, an HWPL representative visiting Mindanao summoned Catholic and Islamic officials and urged them to stop the conflict and cooperate to achieve peace. After signing the End of War and World Peace Agreement, two leaders - representing local Islam and Catholicism, government and the private sector, politics and religion - joined hands. Since then, January 24th became the anniversary of the Mindanao peace agreement.

The significance of the January 24th agreement lies in it becoming the cornerstone of a peace movement in which HWPL, social leaders and citizens work together in the spirit of reconciliation and coexistence.

HWPL Peace Efforts Today Go Beyond Mindanao

Since the end of the Cold War, ethnic and religious conflicts have increased significantly, accounting for more than 80% of conflicts that occur worldwide. This shift in the kinds of conflicts taking place around the globe calls for a new approach to achieving peace.

In recent years, major cities in Mindanao, including Cotabato City and Davao City, have decided to support and implement the Declaration of Peace and Cessation of War (DPCW). Introduced by HWPL Chairman Man Hee-lee, the DPCW functions as an international legal document that is designed to be implemented by central and local governments as well as civil society.

Efforts to establish peace through cooperation with central government ministries in the field of education are also expanding. With the support of the United Nations and UNESCO, HWPL has begun to offer peace education programs to students and citizens in the Philippines. To date, HWPL has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with 70 educational institutions in Mindanao. Several national committees of UNESCO have also signed MOUs with HWPL and are beginning to introduce peace education.

In 2018, an MOU was signed with the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), an organization in the Philippines under the direct control of the president. In cooperation with the ministry of education, a national curriculum for peace education and training has been created. Through these efforts, 2,551 teachers from 557 educational institutions have been trained in the Philippines, providing peace education to 23,000 students (200 teachers and 5,000 students in Mindanao).

'Let's all become messengers of peace and leave peace as a legacy for future generations,' says HWPL Chairman Lee Man-hee. The chairman and HWPL volunteers firmly believe peace will become a reality when people around the world take the lead and become shepherds of peace.

For more news on the Mindanao HWPL peace work, please visit: http://news.hwpl.kr/en/news/view/190301376/SpecialBondofPeacethatTiesMindanaoandHWPLTogether

CONTACT:
Amanda Dixon
hwpl.nybranch@gmail.com

SOURCE: Heavenly Culture World Peace Restoration of Light