A flurry of anticipation filled the room of over 350 student and community leaders who convened at the Cerritos Center for Performing Arts last Saturday, November 7th for “Advancing the Light of Peace: HWPL Peace Event,” a forum to discuss peace initiatives in the sectors of religion, education, city government and women in the Southern California region.
The forum, hosted by Heavenly Culture, World Peace and Restoration of Light (HWPL), an international non-profit registered under the Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs with two wings, the International Peace Youth Group (IPYG) and the International Women Peace Group (IWPG) also included an honored welcome for the Chairman of HWPL, Mr. Man Hee Lee and Chairwoman of IWPG, Ms. Kim Nam Hee who traveled from South Korea to Cerritos, California to meet the community leaders and listen to the good news.
Chairman Lee’s visit to the United States marks his 21st World Tour to meet international heads of states, religious leaders, media and youth to speak on the urgency of united global commitment for HWPL’s two initiatives: an international law for the cessation of war and an alliance of religions through its WARP Peace Offices. On September 17-18, 2015, HWPL commemorated the 1st Anniversary of its World Alliance of Religions for Peace Summit in Seoul, South Korea which finalized the 1st draft of the law by the HWPL Law Committee.
To a pensive audience, Chairman Lee posed the question, “How sad it is that the young people are the ones sent to war, without having a chance for their lives to fully blossom. Isn’t this our responsibility to change? If not us, who will?”
As a representative of the religious sector, Bhai Satpal Singh Khalsa spoke on his experiences with HWPL’s WARP Offices that facilitate the discussion of religious scriptures for understanding. "I find a ray of hope in Chairman Lee as I feel God himself has sent him as a messenger of peace to us. In a relatively short time, HWPL and Mr. Lee have inspired, guided and motivated many across the world including youth, women, heads of states and world religious leaders.”
Professor Mutombo Nkulu-N’Sengha of the California State University of Northridge joined by professors from USC, CSULB and University of the West presented as the representative of education on the importance of including religious dialogue into school curriculum, expressing his commitment to work with HWPL to incorporate HWPL peacebuilding into his university classroom and the Bumuntu Peace Institute in Congo, Africa.
