History

The first two Global Peace Festivals were held in 2007 in the Philippines and in Paraguay. At that time, the GPF Co-Chair^[11], Hyun Jin Moon (the son of Unification Church founder Sun Myung Moon), announced the launch of a series of Global Peace Festivals worldwide.

The United States is one of 18-countries in 2008 to host a Global Peace Festival and Rally to launch the movement with faith leaders of all denominations, community, civic and political leaders, cultural artists, and youth. Yolanda Adams and David Phelps, along with the Global Peace Interfaith Choir, performed at the festival in Washington, DC^[12]. The festival had about 10,000 people attending.

In 2008 20 festivals were held; in North America, Central and South America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and Oceania.^[13] Ida Odinga, the wife of Kenya’s Prime Minister, spoke at the festival in London that year and praised an earlier festival held in her country.^[14]

In the Solomon Islands Christian church leaders urged a boycott of the festival by Christians and compared Unification Church founder Sun Myung Moon to the devil and the Antichrist. ^[15][16][17] The festival was defended by Nathaniel Waena, the Governor-General of the Solomon Islands who addressed the opening session of the Global Peace Festival conference, saying peace-building is a community responsibility and a social obligation on the part of all Christians and non-Christians alike. He also said, in reference to the volunteer service component of the festival, the more our youths interact socially and economically, the stronger our nation grows to full maturity.^[18]

A November 2008 festival in Roxas City in the Philippines was criticized by the Roman Catholic Church but supported by local business people.^[19][20][21] Bishop Pedro Maglaya of the United Church of Christ in the Philippines, spoke at an International Leadership Conference in the Philippines (conducted as part of the Global Peace Festival), calling on religious leaders to put more emphasis on humility as a way to solve conflicts and public corruption. This was interpreted by the local media as criticism of the Catholic clergy in the Phillipines.^[22]

The GPF theme song, "Where Peace Begins," was written by Trina Belamide of the Phillipines.^[23]