Vienna, Austria - Three hundred participants and civil society leaders representing more than 40 NGOs gathered in one of the largest NGO conferences ever held in the United Nations building in Vienna to attend the Austrian event of the Global Peace Tour 2009 entitled “Reconciliation and the Role of Global Peace Festivals.” More than 20 embassies were represented by the ambassador or a senior staff member.

Manila, Philippines - Building on the foundation of the successful Global Peace Festivals in Manila and the southern Philippine island of Mindanao last year, the GPF launched the Mindanao Peace Initiative in sessions at the Philippine House of Representatives and in cities across Mindanao in late February and early March. Governor Khalid Dimaporo of Lanao Del Norte in Mindanao welcomed Global Peace Festival (GPF) Chairman Dr. Hyun Jin Moon to a crowd of thousands of youths in Tubod, along with leading R&B artist JR and Pops Fernandez...

Tokyo, Japan - The main program took place on March 1 at the Saitama Super Arena, where 20,000 gathered to celebrate the vision of one family under God. Rev. Walter Fauntroy who served for 20 years as a member of the US Congress, inspired the audience when he spoke of the convergence of the vision of US civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., with that of Rev. Dr. Sun Myung Moon. He added that a new generation was arising 40 years after the assassination of Dr. King in 1968, and he referred to this as a “Joshua generation” that overcomes the challenges they face and moves humanity into a new promised land.

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - The President of UPF-Malaysia, Tan Sri Zaleha Ismail, has been seeking ways to connect the young people of her country with the world. This led to the "Power of 10 Sen" campaign, which is collecting donations of coins help the children in Gaza.

Nairobi, Kenya - Young leaders from government, academia, and the volunteer sector are invited to a ground-breaking International Young Leaders conference in Nairobi, Kenya, March 19 to 21. The conference theme is "The Role of Young Leaders in Achieving UN Millennium Development Goals and Peacebuilding in Africa."