Over 15,000 people gathered at the Impact Arena in suburban Bangkok, Thailand, on June 13, making it the second largest convention center in all of Asia.

People are gathered from 35 nations from across the Asia-Pacific region to participate in the “Launching of Youth and Student for Peace in Asia-Pacific.”

Political officials and key figures from across Thailand filled the arena to capacity. However, Deputy Prime Minister Marshal Prajin Juntong acted as a proxy in place of Prime Minister of Thailand Prayut Chan-o-cha, who was unable to attend, due to a Cabinet meeting.

In addition, among the key political officials from various Asian countries, most notably in attendance were Minister of Education of Sri Lanka Akila Viraj Kariyawasam, Minister of Information and Culture of Youth Affairs of Afghanistan Dr. Kamal Sadat, National Assembly’s Legislative and Judicial Commission Chairman of Cambodia Pen Panha.

Deputy Prime Minister Prajin Juntong conveyed, “I express my sincere gratitude to Founder Hak Ja Han Moon, for allowing our government to hold this ‘Launching of Youth and Student for Peace in Asia-Pacific’ for establishing a healthy society through sexual purity. I hope that the International Association of Youth and Students for Peace will continue to exert a positive influence on youth and students to better enable them to form proper values. I pray for your success in building a network of youth and students.”

On June 12, at the UN Asia-Pacific Economic and Social Committee Headquarters in Bangkok, over 1,700 people, including prominent figures, youth and students from nations across the Asia-Pacific Region, also gathered. The Minister of Education of Thailand, Teerakiat Jareonsettasin, also attended representing the Thai government.

This was all done to encourage participation in the “Inauguration of the Network for Youth and Students for Peace in Asia and the Pacific.”

Minister Jareonsettasin stated, “International Association of Youth and Students for Peace has done what even what the (Thailand) government could not do. Therefore, the government is working together with the International Association of Youth and Students for Peace. I promise that the government will actively support your activities moving forward.”

The International Association of Youth and Students for Peace has started to ignite heat throughout these nations and kick up a storm before the entire world. Overcoming national boundaries, race and region, it appears that the citizens, and even political officials, are responding to the world peace and purity movement lead by youth from around the world.

It is a mystery as to why they are fascinated by this movement.

Regarding this matter, we inquired Family Federation for World Peace and Unification-Asia Continental Director Chung-Shik Yong, who has successfully led this International Association of Youth and Students for Peace Founding Rally.

The focus is, “establishing healthy families.” Through this, you can see that everyone can take part in establishing peace.

In the family, children learn and experience that heart of parents that wants to give and give again. As a response to this, children return happiness to their parents. This is what Mrs. Moon refers to as, “Hyojeong.” You can see that parental love is the first type of love children experience in their lives, and it is a love that lasts forever.

A heart of wanting to give affects a person’s character. This heart allows one to grow as an individual with a public mindset in the family, a model citizen in society, a patriot of a nation, and a peace-loving saint in the world.

If a culture of filial piety is established, its influence will expand in scale throughout all of society, including economics, the environment, politics, education, media and religion. As the family is the place where an altruistic mindset can first be learned, the family becomes the essence of everlasting peace and continual development.

Although the love of husband and wife is horizontal, it has the same characteristics of that of parental love. In other words, it is the desire to bring happiness to the other. One’s own happiness is secondary. They mutually think, “I hope my spouse can be happier than myself.”

A heart that acts for the sake of others is the very foundation of sustainability. When there is the mutual heart of wanting to give without ceasing, intimacy deepens, and a harmonious and everlasting relationship is formed. This is the opposite of selfishness, in which there is the mutual heart of wanting to receive. Thus, selfish relationships cannot last.

“Mrs. Moon is making efforts to establish, ‘One family society under one God’ that transcends nationality, religion and denomination, centering on true love. I would say that many people throughout the world feel the same regarding this great philosophy of true love, and are thus joined with us in these efforts.”

- Mrs. Moon founded the International Association of Youth and Students for Peace on February 23 this year. What does Mrs. Moon intend to achieve through this association?

“Founders Rev. Sun Myung Moon and Hak Ja Han Moon have founded numerous organizations regarding youth and students throughout their lives, and (even after Rev. Moon’s passing) Mrs. Moon has continued to support these organizations.

These organizations are contributing towards allowing youth throughout the world to have a sense of calling, overcoming the barriers of race, religion and ethnicity, and to make increasing efforts for individuals, families, nations and the world.

A recent example of such an organization is the International Association of Youth and Students for Peace.

We can learn four types of love in the family. These are ‘parental love,’ the love that parents give to their children, ‘filial piety,’ the love that children return to their parents, ‘sibling’s love,’ the love between siblings and ‘conjugal love,’ the love between husband and wife.

Youth and students are therefore responsible for two among these types of love, those being filial piety and sibling’s love.

The strongest force that guides youth and students to protect one’s sexual purity is filial piety. This is because one cannot misuse love if one lives a life of practicing filial piety.

Not only is the importance of the role of youth and students in continually building a culture of peace a self-evident truth, but their role is indispensable.

With the Launching of Youth and Student for Peace in Asia-Pacific in Thailand as the starting point, Mrs. Moon will continue to carry out activities throughout the five great oceans and six continents.

Therefore, Mrs. Moon will invest her full efforts and devotion towards youth and students in successfully carrying out the leading role in building a culture of peace of the future.”

- I heard that the founding ceremony of the International Association of Youth and Students for Peace that was held at Thailand was a tremendous success…

“That is correct. The conference held on June 12 was a tremendous success, with over 1,200 people in attendance, including over 800 people from Thailand and over 400 people from thirty other nations.

Notably at this event, the Minister of Education of Thailand, Dr. Teerakiat Jareonsettasin, was the host, and ministers from Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and Cambodia, along with deputy ministers from Malaysia, were also in attendance. With two former ministers, seven current National Assembly members, five governors, four vice-governors and twenty-six university presidents in attendance, government representatives and politicians from all across the Asia-Pacific nations clearly expressed their interest in activities led by the International Association of Youth and Students for Peace.

Although it was originally anticipated that 12,000 youth and student from the Asia-Pacific Region would participate at the June 13 founding ceremony, it became a vast sea of people, exceeding the original estimate by 3,000 participants.

Although naturally most of the participants were youth and students from Thailand, over 1,300 participants came from other countries. The largest representing body was from Cambodia with over 700 people, then from Malaysia (150 people), then from the Philippines (120 people), then from Nepal (100 people) and then finally from Singapore (62 people). 90 South Korean religious leaders also were in attendance. Excluding the VIP’s who attended the conference held yesterday, six top government officials, fifty-five university presidents, 220 principals, four military officials, sixty-six regional leaders and fifty-seven NGO leaders, all from Thailand and other Asia-Pacific nations, were also in attendance.

Most notably, Deputy Prime Minister Prajin Juntong, who gave the congratulatory address in place of the prime minister, did not leave his seat until the end of the 3-hour event divided into two parts. Deputy Prime Minister Juntong was happy in witnessing the positive impact that the purity movement and the series of activities we initiated left on Thailand.

“I am confident that this Asia-Pacific International Association of Youth and Students for Peace exerted enormous influence not only in this region, but to the world.”

- What type of positive effect do you think International Association of Youth and Students for Peace will have on the Asia-Pacific Region going forwards?