wonderland

UPF’s Pacific Christian Leadership Conference Celebrates 1st Anniversary

Washington, DC, Oct 27 (Bernama-GLOBE NEWSWIRE) —FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Engaging Christian Cooperation to Strengthen Families:
UPF’s Pacific Christian Leadership Conference Celebrates 1st Anniversary – QUEZON CITY, PHILIPPINES

On Oct. 26, 2022, some 120 religious leaders from the Asia Pacific region celebrated the first anniversary of the Pacific Christian Leadership Conference (PCLC), an ecumenical organization under the umbrella of the Universal Peace Federation (UPF) that promotes Christian unity and interfaith cooperation.

Christian leaders from many nations joined in prayers for peace and discussed ways to assist Christianity in fulfilling its destiny as a beacon of freedom, faith, and family throughout the world. They focused on ways to develop good character in youth and strengthen the institution of marriage, which are the keys to building stable and loving families. The conference’s theme was drawn from Ephesians 4:2-3: “With all humility and gentleness, with patience bearing with one another in love, make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.”

Peace is when “all Christian clergy come together in front of heaven, by the love of Jesus Christ, the heavenly love,” said Rev. Masaichi Hori, chair of the PCLC Executive Committee, in his opening remarks at the Luxent Hotel in Quezon City, Philippines.

“We are foremost sons and daughters of God…we are one human family under God,” UPF International Director General Dr. Yun Young-ho said in remarks delivered by Dr. Julius Malicdem, vice chair of the PCLC Executive Committee.

UPF, a global non-profit organization with consultative status at the United Nations, promotes interreligious cooperation as part of its peacebuilding efforts. The PCLC and its affiliate, the World Christian Leadership Conference (WCLC), was co-founded by Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon and her husband, the Rev. Dr. Sun Myung Moon.

In Dr. Moon’s video remarks, she said that despite the suffering and chaos that has befallen humanity throughout history, God never gave up His dream of seeing His children live in the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth.

“Throughout history, religions have guided human beings,” she said. “Now, however, it is obvious they have reached their final destination. This means the hope of humanity is to actually fulfill the original ideal that God had at the beginning of creation. God, our Heavenly Parent, wanted our first human ancestors to become true parents — ancestors of goodness connected to God as a couple.”

Dr. Moon and her late husband began the international Marriage Blessing movement in the 1960s to unite millions of couples from diverse backgrounds and usher in a new era of peace through cross-cultural families centered on God. Dr. Robert S. Kittel, co-chair of the PCLC Executive Committee, said that its core mission is to help churches revive the Christian spirit in all societies and become peacemakers. “We know…unsolved familial wars fester and grow beyond the family,” he said. “They are the foundation and fuel that turn into social, racial, civil, national, and even world wars.”

The PCLC sessions focused on how Christianity can instill high moral standards and a sense of altruism, empathy, and kindness in young people, and how churches can strengthen marriage and family as “building blocks” of a heavenly community.

Among the conference speakers were: Bishop Grepor “Butch” Belgica, Presidential Adviser for Moral Transformation and Religious Affairs Office of the President, Republic of the Philippines; Bishop Dr. Ki Hoon Kim, Chairman, World Christian Leadership Conference; Most Rev. Nolly C, Buco, Auxiliary Bishop from the Dioceses of Antipolo in the Philippines; Rev. Dr.Luonne Rouse, National Co-Chair, American Clergy Leadership Conference; Bishop Joharni Bendoy, Evangelical Bishops Conference of the Philippines; Rev. Jimmy Sormin, Executive Secretary, Communion of Churches in Indonesia; Min. Joshua Holmes, National Co-Director, Young Christian Leadership Conference/Assistant Pastor, Manhattan (USA) Family Church; Ptr.Raniera Pene. Minister and Youth Leader, The Ratana Church of New Zealand; Rev. Ronnie D. Sodusta, Regional Vice President, Family Federation for World Peace and Unification (FFWPU)-Asia Pacific Region 2; Msgr. Joseph Lalo, Priest, Eastern Catholic Church: Neo Monastic of St. Thomas, Philippines; Hon. J. Uduch Sengebau Sr., Vice President, Republic of Palau; Mrs. WendyFrancis, National Director for Politics, Australian Christian Lobby; Msgr.Pedro Gerardo Santos, Parish Priest of St. Andrew the Apostle Parish, Makati City, Philippines; Abp. Antonio J. Ledesma, Archbishop-Emeritus of Cagayan de Oro, Philippines; Rev. Gregory Stone, Secretary-General, PCLC Executive Committee; Rev. Yutaka Yamada, Sub-Regional Director, FFWPU-Oceania; and Rev. Demian Dunkley, President, FFWPU-Asia Pacific Region 1.

The PCLC nations include Australia, Fiji, Indonesia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Tonga, and Vanuatu.

ASIA PACIFIC Media contacts:

Pacific Christian Leadership Conference Southeast Asia Office (Quezon City, Philippines): Tel: 632-8924-1833

Email: pclcconferencesecretariat@gmail.com

Pacific Christian Leadership Conference Oceania Office (NSW, Australia): (61-2) 9211-9978

Email: oceaniahq@gmail.com

Attachment

• PCLC

William Selig
Universal Peace Federation
240-274-1744
wselig@upf.org

SOURCE : Universal Peace Federation USA

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 25 (Bernama) — Intimissimi, the Italian brand and part of the Calzedonia Group has partnered with brand strategy firm, Folk Hero, to develop and reimagine their Brand Story.

This is ultimately leading to the launch of Intimissimi’s new global platform, The Art of Italian Lingerie.

Launching globally, the inaugural campaign features supermodel, producer, and businesswoman Heidi Klum, alongside her daughter Leni Klum.

“Once a brand is really clear on the story they are trying to tell, once they have found something truly compelling to say it becomes so empowering creatively,” said chief executive officer of Folk Hero, Rob Klingensmith in a statement.

Directed by award-winning creative director, Thomas Hayo, Folk Hero developed the brand and launch strategy, writing, producing and creative directing the campaign.

“The Art of Italian Lingerie is not only Intimissimi’s brand platform but a testament to our leading innovation that drives luxury and confidence for our consumers and the global community,“ said general manager of Calzedonia Group, Marcello Veronesi.

The company also recently announced that Jennifer Lopez will be the next brand and campaign ambassador.

Folk Hero helps its clients develop unusually compelling brand narratives, architecture, identity and tone-of-voice, all underpinned by a robust research methodology and a deep understanding of contemporary consumer behaviours.

— BERNAMA

AsiaNet 98439

^{Chongming Water Secret}

SHANGHAI, Oct. 25, 2022 /Xinhua-AsiaNet/–

Water is believed the secret to the bumper harvest of high quality agricultural products in Chongming. The quality of water in the district maintains the same standard as the water quality of the Dongfeng Xisha Reservoir and Qingcaosha Reservoir — the major drinking water sources for Shanghai residents.

Since 2007, Chongming has initiated an industrial structure adjustment program in accordance with the requirements of its ecological island construction and the city’s industrial structure adjustment.

After over 10 years of effort, nearly 300 projects with out-dated production capacity have been shut down or relocated, including industries such as textile, printing and dyeing, and paper making, which are worried to cause pollution to the water environment.

Through the unremitting water environment improvement project, Chongming’s surface water quality compliance rate has reached 100 percent, and agricultural production continues to benefit. Mitten crab is one of the most renowned local aquatic products. Chongming crab is often hailed by gourmands for its attractive aroma and sweet taste.

Wang Chenghui, a professor with Shanghai Ocean University, attributes Chongming’s location at the mouth of the Yangtze River to this special flavor. The water quality here, where the fresh water and salty water meets, is rich in nutrients, Wang says.

Although Chongming has a smaller water area and limited production capacity compared with nearby crab-breeding areas in Jiangsu and Anhui provinces, it can improve its crab quality to increase its popularity and value, Wang adds.

Like the crab, high-quality rice is another signature produce of the district. In 2017, Chongming Rice, free from use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, won the silver medal for its high quality in Shanghai.

The allocation of farming area for green food within the district has reached 92 percent.

At the Jiangfan Fruit and Vegetable Professional Cooperative in Chongming’s Miaozhen Town, the model of “rice, fish and cray- fish” has been ongoing for many years.

By raising fish, crayfish and other organisms in rice fields, weeds and pests can be minimized without the use of pesticides.

In the nutritious water, fish and crayfish are well fed while rice produces a good yield, as well as an increased market value.

According to Huang Guochao, head of the cooperative, the income per hectare on the farm is several times that of conventional rice planting.

Source: Information Office of Shanghai Chongming District People’s Government

Image Attachments Links:

   Link: http://asianetnews.net/view-attachment?attach-id=432159

   Caption: Chongming Water Secret

   Link: http://asianetnews.net/view-attachment?attach-id=432165

   Caption: Chongming crab

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 25 (Bernama) — The “night economy” in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region has played a significant role in stimulating domestic demand and serving to boost people’s livelihood there.

In recent years, the regional authorities released a series of policies to promote the night economy’s development, and all parts of the region have actively carried out activities such as night eating out, night viewing, night entertainment, and night shopping.

In a statement, the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Culture and Tourism Department said such night economic activities turn “traveller flow” into “traveller stay”, thereby effectively activating night consumption and boosting economic growth.

It said a number of national-level night culture and tourism consumption clusters, such as the “Three Streets and Two Alleys” in Nanning, the ASEAN Culture and Tourism Area in Nanning, and Yueye Dong Village in Liuzhou, have become the models for night economic development in Guangxi.

“In recent years, promoted by multiple favourable policies such as old city renovation and urban renewal, the once outdated ‘Three Streets and Two Alleys’, in downtown Nanning, have also taken a new lease of life,” it said.

In addition, as the night closes in, the street market in Nanning ASEAN Culture and Tourism Area is as bright as daytime, flowing with light and colour. It has gathered more than 2,000 night business entities and developed eight night-themed consumption activities.

To upgrade night consumption, Guangxi recently issued policies encouraging businesses to stay open late and focus on cultivating and building a number of night culture and tourism consumption clusters.

“Night economy has played an increasingly important role in releasing consumption vitality and promoting economic growth.

“We will continue to promote the innovation and development of the night economy; advance the integration of business, culture and tourism; vigorously develop new business formats and foster new scenes of night consumption; activate new hot spots of night consumption; and empower the upgrade of urban economy,” said Lai Fuqiang, deputy director of the region’s Department of Culture and Tourism.

— BERNAMA

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 20 (Bernama) — Mary Kay Inc, a global champion for women’s empowerment and gender equality, has advocated the inclusion of women suppliers of services and products into the global value chain as a powerful strategy for companies to drive sustainable growth and social impact.

At the Diversity Summit held in Praque, Czech Republic, its global head of sustainability and social impact, Virginie Naigeon-Malek said investing in women-owned businesses and including them in the global supply chain is not only the right thing to do, it is also the smart thing to do for corporations.

Naigeon-Malek said that as women suppliers win more business, their families, local communities and national economies benefit.

“Studies show that women entrepreneurs tend to reinvest up to 90 per cent of their earnings in their families and communities, thus linking inclusive economic growth directly to development.

“Women businesses need to have an equal footing while competing for contract opportunities,” said Naigeon-Malek, who was one of the featured keynote speakers at the summit.

“At the summit, Mary Kay has shared with transparency its gender-responsive procurement (GRP) global journey,” it said in a statement.

Hosted by Startup Disrupt in September 2022, the summit was the largest European hybrid conference on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), bringing together more than 50 keynote speakers from the non-profit, government and business sectors.

Speakers and thought leaders shared insights on key topics such as leveraging DEI ecosystem with business goals; developing and sustaining DEI company culture; inclusive design and innovation; and women’s empowerment.

— BERNAMA