Cote D’Ivoire, The Beginning Of Peace That Transcends Religions

Abidjan,Cote d'Ivoire- On March 14th, at UniversitéCatholique de l'Afrique de l'Ouest (UCAO) in a country located in West Africa, Cote d'Ivoire, the 'Alliance of Religions' Peace Office in République de Côte d'Ivoire' was held for the cessation of war and world peace. This event was hosted by Heavenly Culture, World Peace, Restoration of Light (hereby referred to as HWPL, Chairman Man Hee Lee), a peace organization whose headquarters is located in South Korea. 21 religious leaders from various faiths such as Catholicism, Protestant, and Islam and theological students gathered together to discuss and understand the differences of each religion.

Registered under the Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs as an NGO, Heavenly Culture, World Peace, Restoration of Light(HWPL) is dedicated to cease all wars in order to bring about world peace and is actively working through its affiliated organizations: International Women's Peace Group (IWPG, Chairwoman Kim Nam Hee), and International Peace Youth Group (IPYG, executive director Kim Du Hyun).

Under the theme of “The Road toward Peace through Studying Religious Texts,” the leaders who hope for peace came together to share and discuss realistic ways to achieve peace. Some of the prominent participants were UCAO's professor GabrielZpanjar,Révérend Jean Charles EssiAnoh,representative pastor of Protestant Church, Konatemoussa, Muslim theology professor, Professor Mathieu BAMBA Lou from Cote d'Ivoire UNESCO committee.

After watching a video with various footages of the peace works that HWPL Chairman Man Hee Lee and IWPG Chairwoman Nam Hee Kim have done, the leaders had a time to define the true peace spoken according to their respective religions.

Gabriel Zpanjar, UCAO Philosophy professor and priest stated, after watching the video, that he became confident that world peace is possible when religious leaders unite together.He said “everyone here agreed that this kind of meeting is extremely important. The decision made through this meeting is that we need to work towards peace in 3 different ways: understanding each other, accepting one another, and working together. The reason why we came to this decision is because these types of meetings are necessary and justifiable.”

The video also demonstrated the highlights from the World Alliance of Religions' Peace (WARP) Summit hosted by HWPL in last September in Seoul, South Korea. Over 680 religious leaders from every corner of the world came and signed a peace agreement which asks the leaders to transcend religions, race, and countries in order to work to end wars and bring world peace.

The Alliance of Religions' Peace Office Meeting in Cote d'Ivoire was the fruit of the noteworthy peace movement of HWPL and signing of the agreement of the religious leaders at the WARP Summit. This interfaith gathering will be held continuously, thus religious leaders will be able to understand differences between religions and put their efforts to prevent any religious conflicts.

HWPL Chairman Man Hee Lee, who is leading the works of this peace movement, has stated, “As a war veteran, I've experienced the devastation caused by war at firsthand. It is the duty of our generation to end wars, protect the youth, and leave peace as a legacy for future generations” and that he will not stop working for peace until it is fully achieved.

HWPL is currently organizing the commemoration event of the second-year anniversary of the Declaration of World Peace on this coming May 25th.