Manila, 22 February

A grand peace festival under the theme of “We are One for Peace to Attain Sustainable Development” was held on 15 February with 30,000 participants in the Philippine Sports Stadium in Bulacan in order to forge international peace solidarity.

This festival was co-organized by Heavenly Culture, World Peace, Restoration of Light (HWPL), a UN-affiliated NGO headquartered in South Korea, and Volunteer Individuals for Peace (VIP), a non-profit corporation registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in the Philippines.

The event was attended by social, educational, and political figures such as governors, 11 Davao chiefs, presidents of 16 universities, professors, students, citizens, and media. In the opening ceremony, the students from 13 universities performed parades and performances for the festival.

Hon. Wilhelmino M. Sy-Alvarado, Governor of the province of Bulacan, delivered his welcoming message by saying “I thank all those who made this peace rally together and will devote all my best efforts to serve you, the heroes of peace, to achieve peace.”

In his speech, Chairman Man Hee Lee of HWPL stressed on the importance of uniting one as we are all peace messengers regardless of religion and nationality. He also urged for collective efforts of all members of society to establish sustainable development and peace secured by international law for peace. “Every individual of the family of the global village born in this era should become a messenger of peace to end the war and make sustainable peace a legacy for future generations,” Mr. Lee said.

According to organizers, this festival was the very result of a strategic partnership between HWPL and VIP to seek international cooperation for peace-building from civil society groups in the Philippines and South Korea through education and campaigns as a cultural approach. In their partnership through a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA), the two organizations planned to expand the work of peace starting with State Universities and Colleges (SUCs), Local Universities and Colleges (LUCs) and also established January 24th as ‘Day of Peace’ in support of the DPCW.—HWPL Information Team