International Day of Conscience Launched at the UN in Vienna
Vienna, Austria—The International Day of Conscience was launched on April 5, 2019 during the World Leader Summit of Love and Peace at the United Nations in Vienna to awaken people’s conscience. The event was co-organized by the Federation of World Peace and Love (FOWPAL) and the Permanent Mission of Bahrain to the United Nations Office in Vienna.
Since April 5, 2018, FOWPAL had worked with various missions to the UN to promote the culture of peace with love and conscience. The idea had resonated with 31 Permanent Missions. In recognition of this initial global collaboration, FOWPAL chose April 5 as the International Day of Conscience.
At the start of the event, H.E. Dr. Yusuf Abdulkarim Bucheeri, Ambassador of Bahrain to the UN (Vienna), on behalf of His Majesty King Hamad Bin Isa Al-Khalifa, King of Bahrain, and His Royal Highness Prince Khalifa Bin Salman Al Khalifa, Prime Minister of Bahrain, expressed their warm greetings to the attendees from 35 nations and stated, “I would like to sincerely thank the FOWPAL for the efforts made to organize such a successful and important event.” From this cooperative experience, Ambassador Bucheeri was touched by the selfless dedication to peace of Dr. Hong and FOWPAL volunteers and sincerely expressed his wish to continue to work with FOWPAL to promote peace in the future.
It is very significant to officially proclaim the International Day of Conscience at the United Nations. “The purpose of the proclamation of the International Day of Conscience is to remind the people of the world to listen to their conscience and seek wisdom and balance through self-reflection and self-correction so as to attain inner peace. Through spreading a culture of love and peace guided by conscience to all global citizens, we hope that everyone’s conscience will become awakened and eventually the dream of world peace will become a reality,” said Dr. Hong in his welcome remarks.
In celebration of the International Day of Conscience, an ancient solemn ceremony of ringing the Bell of World Peace and Love was specially held at the UN in Vienna for the first time. Dr. Hong, Tao-Tze, President of FOWPAL; H.E. Mr. Anthony Carmona, former President of Trinidad and Tobago, and eight ambassadors to the UN in Vienna rang the Bell, including Ambassador Yusuf Abdulkarim Bucheeri of Bahrain, Ambassador Abu Zafar of Bangladesh, Ambassador Mirghani Abbaker Altayeb Bakhet of Sudan, Ambassador Hamad Ali Mohammed Subaih Alkaabi of the UAE, Ambassador Mohamed Mezghani of Tunisia, Ambassador Vivian Okeke of Nigeria; Ambassador Lourdes Gisela Victoria-Kruse of Dominican Republic, and Ambassador Ibrahim Assaf of Lebanon. The clear sound of the Bell reverberated in the depths of the attendees’ hearts, reminding them to follow the dictates of their conscience.
Another highlight of the event was the ceremony of endorsing the Declaration of International Day of Conscience. Dr. Hong, Tao-Tze, President of FOWPAL, and H.E. Dr. Yusuf Abdulkarim Bucheeri, Ambassador of Bahrain to the UN (Vienna), invited H.E. Mr. Anthony Carmona, former President of Trinidad and Tobago, and ambassadors and delegates of various Permanent Missions to the UN in Vienna to endorse the Declaration of International Day of Conscience, officially proclaiming April 5 as the International Day of Conscience. On Feb. 5, 2019, Dr. Hong initiated the endorsement campaign for the Declaration of International Day of Conscience at the UN in New York. To date, over a short period of two months, the declaration has been translated into 22 languages, and people in 120 nations have endorsed it.
“Let conscience be our guide!” shouted Dr. Hong, Mr. Anthony Carmona, former President of Trinidad and Tobago, and ambassadors and delegates of various Missions to the UN in Vienna as they showed their support for the International Day of Conscience. Each of them held a special clock, which is a compass of conscience, symbolizing that people should listen to the guidance of their conscience at all times.
H.E. Mr. Anthony Thomas Aquinas Carmona, the fifth President of Trinidad and Tobago as well as a Judge of the International Criminal Court from 2012 to 2013, delivered a keynote speech, sharing his insights and experiences about the promotion of peace, and earnestly pointed out: “The adoption of the proposal to establish an International Day of Conscience is very timely at this juncture in world history.”
In recognition of Mr. Carmona’s dedication and contributions to peace, Dr. Hong, Tao-Tze presented him with the FOWPAL World Peace Culture Award and a crystal pyramid.
The attendees were so inspired by the sincerity and goodwill of the organizers and speakers that they enthusiastically shared their heartfelt thoughts about conscience, love, and peace.
H.E. Mr. Md. Abu Zafar, Ambassador of Bangladesh to the UN in Vienna, stated, “The kind of world we are living in now, the importance of our global conscience is much greater than before. In order to attain peace, in order to promote world peace and love, let's work together towards this end.”
H.E. Ms. Vivian Okeke, Ambassador of Nigeria to the UN in Vienna, remarked, “I want to congratulate Dr. Hong for the launch of the International Day of Conscience.” “I believe that understanding of diversity leads to better understanding of people and the promotion of peace,” added Ambassador Okeke.
H.E. Ms. Lourdes Gisela Victoria-Kruse, Ambassador of Dominican Republic to the UN in Vienna, stressed, “In this turbulent times we are living, it is relevant to promote a culture of conscience. It is relevant to motivate people to follow their inner voice in everything they do. It is relevant to educate our children with the same values that enable our societies to develop. Let's inspire people to follow their conscience, speak conscientious words, do conscientious deeds, and spread the positive impact of conscience to change the world for the better.”
〔Speech〕
Global Launch of the International Day of Conscience-Conscience Guides Humanity onto the Path to Harmony and Truth
Dr. Hong, Tao-Tze, President of Federation of World Peace and Love
〔Video〕International Day of Conscience Launched at UN in Vienna