Day: August 15, 2022

• Feedzai’s RiskOps Platform recognized for their work with with Lloyds Banking Group in Best Transaction Fraud Monitoring and Decisioning Innovation category
• The global award highlights how Feedzai’s patented innovation increased protection for banking customers against scams, and significantly lowered risk and fraud losses

SAN MATEO, Calif. and LISBON, Portugal, Aug. 15, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Feedzai, the world’s first RiskOps platform for financial risk management has been named Best Transaction Fraud Monitoring and Decisioning Innovation in the Aite-Novarica Group 2022 Fraud Impact Innovation Awards. The award highlights how Feedzai empowers the bank’s data scientists to protect customers from scams and other fraud using a patented algorithm and providing a 360-degree entity view of payment risk. Due to its proficiency in mitigating fraud risk, Feedzai’s patent innovation is helping many financial institutions including Lloyds Banking Group, one of the largest retail banks in the world.

According to recent reports, financial crime has been on the rise since the COVID-19 pandemic began and large numbers of people have turned online for their banking activities. In the U.S., the impact of identity fraud last year was $52 billion in financial loss, affecting 42 million consumer victims (Javelin Research). In the U.K., authorized push payment scams reached £355 million in the first half of 2021, a year-on-year increase of 70 percent.

“Today’s fraud scams are increasingly hard to stop by traditional solutions because the transactions involve genuine customers on their actual devices, at their usual IP,” said Pedro Barata, Chief Product Officer Feedzai. “Lloyds Banking Group and Feedzai have pioneered an approach that utilizes all available data across multiple channels to make fair fraud risk decisions in milliseconds, based on an individual’s specific details and activities, not one that is dependent on generalized customer groupings.”

Feedzai RiskOps Platform has been proven to increase protection for banking customers against scams. The innovation and technical strengths of the solution contributed to the award win, as they provide customers with tangible benefits, including:

• Financial crime risk mitigation – Higher detection rates and lower false-positives help protect banks and their customers from the costly and distressing experience of fraud and scams.
• Enhanced user experience – reduces friction for good customers and lowers the number of unnecessary contacts with analysts and call centers.
• Operational efficiency – Keeps intervention rates low and ensures a less complex system through model-driven as well as rule-driven systems.

“Organized crime continues to attack financial services firms and consumers, always finding new and clever ways to circumvent their defenses. Legacy approaches are less effective at keeping pace with, and adapting to, the escalating threat landscape,” says Chuck Subrt, Fraud & AML Practice Director at Aite-Novarica Group. “Fraud and AML executives recognize the imperative for more innovative tools that can drive meaningful intelligence, smarter decision-making, and better outcomes,” he explains.

For more information about Feedzai RiskOps Platform, go to: https://feedzai.com/riskops#riskops_platform

Feedzai will be honored at an awards presentation at Aite-Novarica Group’s Fifth Annual Financial Crime Forum in Charlotte, NC on September 19th.

About the Aite-Novarica Group 2022 Fraud Impact Innovation Awards: The Fraud & AML Impact Innovation awards honors organizations with innovations that are bringing the financial services industry one step closer to triumphing over fraud, money laundering, and other illicit activity. The winners were evaluated by a panel of internal Aite-Novarica Group advisors and external industry experts drawn from financial institutions and the media. Evaluation criteria include level of innovation, competitive advantage, market needs/drivers, impact and value, and future roadmap.

About Aite-Novarica Group:

Aite-Novarica Group is an advisory firm providing mission-critical insights on technology, regulations, strategy, and operations to hundreds of banks, insurers, payments providers, and investment firms—as well as the technology and service providers that support them. Comprising former senior technology, strategy, and operations executives as well as experienced researchers and consultants, our experts provide actionable advice to our client base, leveraging deep insights developed via our extensive network of clients and other industry contacts. Visit us on the web and connect with us on Twitter and LinkedIn.

About Lloyds Banking Group:
Lloyds Banking Group is a financial services group focused on retail and commercial customers – with millions of customers in the UK, and a presence in nearly every community. Lloyds Banking Group has many household names like Lloyds Bank, Halifax, Bank of Scotland and Scottish Widows.

About Feedzai:
Feedzai is the world’s first RiskOps platform, and the market leader in safeguarding global commerce with today’s most advanced cloud-based risk management platform, powered by machine learning and artificial intelligence. Feedzai is securing the transition to a cashless world while enabling digital trust in every transaction and payment type. The world’s largest banks, processors, and retailers trust Feedzai to protect trillions of dollars and manage risk while improving the customer experience for everyday users, without compromising privacy. Feedzai is a Series D company and has raised $282M to date. With a valuation of +$1.5B, the company’s technology protects 900 million people in 190 countries. For more information, visit feedzai.com

Press Contact – Feedzai
pr@feedzai.com

London, Aug. 15, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The CBI Index which is a yearly report that compares citizenship by investment programmes by ranking their performances and desirability is due for release later this week. The index ranks programmes through nine pillars of excellence that measures their overall performance and appeal.

Released yearly by the Financial Times’ PWM Magazine, the CBI Index rating system uses a wide range of indicators to measure how well global citizenship by investment (CBI) programmes work and how appealing they are. Its goal is to provide a rigorous and systematic way to evaluate programmes and make it easier for people to take informed choices about economic citizenship.

The 2021 CBI Index featured fourteen countries from around the world, with five from the Caribbean region: Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, Saint Lucia and St Kitts and Nevis. The index also featured nine countries from Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia, including Austria, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Egypt, Jordan, Malta, Montenegro, Turkey and Vanuatu. The Caribbean region are pioneers of the CBI industry, with St Kitts and Nevis launching the world’s first citizenship by investment programme in 1984.

Since the launch of the CBI Index in 2017, the Commonwealth of Dominica has been topping the charts and is regarded as one of the world’s leading citizenship by investment programmes. The Dominica CBI has continued to post exceptional scores for each of the nine pillars. Launched in 1993, it is the second oldest CBI programme in the world, with the government utilising the inflow of revenue to mitigate the impact of climate change and natural disasters.

In the 2021 CBI Index, Dominica scored a maximum score of ten in five out of the nine pillars, while scoring a solid nine in the citizenship timeline pillar. The minimum investment outlay, mandatory travel, ease of the process, due diligence, family, and certainty of product pillars showed the performance of the Dominica CBI, which scored a final score of 80.  There are speculations that Dominica might emerge as the best CBI programme this year.

St Kitts and Nevis made its debut in the top rankings in the 2021 CBI Index and claimed the top position as the most popular and number one citizenship by investment programme. Over the years, the programme has increased the scope of its definition of a dependant by including siblings of the main applicant or spouse (provided they are 30 years or younger, unmarried, childless and financially dependent on the main applicant). The programme also scored a total of 80 points in the final results and was the leader in the pillars of mandatory travel, citizenship timeline, due diligence, and family and scored a nine in the certainty of product.

The Citizenship  Investment Programme (CIP) of Saint Lucia, launched in 2016 and the newest in the Caribbean region ranked fourth in the 2021 CBI Index, is also striving to make its mark in the 2022 Index report. Last year, Saint Lucia’s total score was 74.  The Saint Lucia CIP scored high in the pillar of minimum investment outlay, mandatory travel, citizenship timeline and ease of the process while scoring seven points in the pillar of due diligence and freedom of movement and six in the certainty of product and standard of living.  It also became the first country to score one point higher in the standard of living pillar in the 2021 report.

With Saint Lucia’s change of leadership, it is expected that the programme will enter the top three in the 2022 CBI Index Report as the new administration has been working hard to re-brand the programme in an attempt to position itself amongst the world’s leading programmes.

The CBI Index utilises official sources and publications from several institutions with the highest international standings, as well as specialised information from CBI industry experts to conduct its research. The points are awarded after thorough evaluation of evidence, data and the letter of the law. All programmes are ranked based on the nine pillars below:

• Freedom of Movement
• Standard of Living
• Minimum Investment Outlay
• Mandatory Travel or Residence
• Citizenship Timeline
• Ease of Processing
• Due Diligence
• Family
• Certainty of Product

James McKay who heads up the research for the report believes that the CBI Index has established itself as the industry’s resource for a high-level, data-driven, impartial appraisal of available CBI programmes that help investors and their families to stay informed about investment decisions in a rapidly changing world.

Citizenship experts around the world eagerly await the results of the 2022 CBI Index which is expected to be released later this week. The Dominica and St Kitts and Nevis CBI programmes are expected to retain their top rankings with the Saint Lucia CIP making a steady upward climb through the rankings.

In a world where the notion of traditional citizenship is blurring, people are looking for more options to expand their boundaries. In such situations, citizenship by investment programmes help with portfolio diversification and successful applicants receive citizenship for life that are not based on where the person chooses to live.

As more programmes emerge, due diligence remains the utmost priority for these countries. Dominica and St Kitts and Nevis are recognised for having vigorous due diligence procedures utilising reputable due diligence agencies based in the UK and USA. All applicants and their dependants over the age of 16 undergo multi-layered background checks conducted by the world’s leading government and private agencies. The CBI Index report understands the gravity of due diligence and also evaluates programmes based on global safety and security. In recent years, family inclusiveness has become a critical factor which CBI nations can utilise to enhance the integrity of their offerings allowing them to move closer to harmonised due diligence standards.

CS Global Partners PR
CS Global Partners
+27 82 821 5664
nandi.canning@csglobalpartners.com

AMSTERDAM, Aug. 15, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The world’s leading provider of managed network solutions, Expereo, has announced the acquisition of Breeze Networks, a managed service provider of SD-WAN/SASE technologies. The acquisition fuels Expereo’s growth trajectory, further enhancing its SD-WAN/SASE practice, building on its expanding range of services to manage SD-WAN solutions at scale to partners and multinational enterprise customers across the globe.

This latest acquisition solidifies Expereo’s ambition to complement its managed network solutions with world-class advisory practice providing guidance to organizations on their global transformation to software-defined and internet-based networking. With the full support of majority investor Vitruvian Partners and minority investor Apax Partners SAS, Expereo intends to continue its acquisition strategy.

Breeze Networks is a managed service provider of cloud-based (SD-WAN) network connectivity and security solutions for enterprises and government agencies. An innovative and flexible network integrator, Breeze sources and manages the best SD-WAN networking and security solutions on the market.

As part of the acquisition, Expereo welcomes Matthew Lea, CTO of Breeze Networks as Technical Portfolio Lead. His expertise will be a great addition to the knowledge base of Expereo’s Technical team, led by CTO, Kristaps Petrovskis. Lea will drive Expereo’s expansion plans for its SD-WAN/SASE practice, solidifying the company’s presence in the UK market in his new role at Expereo.

“This acquisition comes at an exciting time, as we expand our SD-WAN services to address the growing need for agile, cost-effective cloud access and global network solutions in the market. With our shared vision to simplify global connectivity and provide world-class customer experience, the expertise of the team of professionals behind Breeze Networks will contribute great value as we join forces,” comments Irwin Fouwels, CEO of Expereo.

“Having recently worked with Expereo on a global deployment for one of our customers, we witnessed first-hand the shared values of both companies and commitment to providing excellence in delivery and customer service. We are excited about joining the Expereo family and are certain that the global reach and scale of Expereo will be a benefit to all of our stakeholders,” says George Cowan, Managing Director of Breeze Networks.

The rapid adoption of cloud-based applications and SD-WAN technologies puts Internet-based WANs at the center of multinational companies’ business models. Expereo is committed to simplifying the sourcing and management of such network solutions, whilst ensuring exceptional customer experience to cater to the needs of its MSP partners and multinational clients.

About Breeze Networks Ltd
Breeze Networks is a privately owned UK based supplier of SD-WAN based Network and Security Managed Services. Established in 2016 the company has designed and deployed a significant number of SD-WAN based global and regional networks to our customers in both the private sector and UK government agencies. The Breeze team have developed extensive knowledge and experience of best of breed SD-WAN/SASE products which allows us to help our customers on their Cloud transformation journeys.

About Expereo
Expereo is a leading global provider of managed network solutions including, Global Internet, SD-WAN/SASE, and Enhanced Internet. With an extensive global reach, Expereo is the trusted partner of 30% of Fortune 500 companies. It powers enterprise and government sites in more than 190 countries, helping customers improve productivity and empowering their networks and cloud services with the agility, flexibility and value of the Internet, with optimal network performance.

Expereo was acquired by Vitruvian Partners in April 2021. The international growth capital and buyout firm acquired a majority shareholding in Expereo from leading European private equity firm Apax Partners SAS.

Sofia Pensado
sofia@grammatikagency.com

Simulate the management of a burger shop with Play & Earn

SINGAPORE, Aug. 15, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Singapore-based global GameFi platform company, Digital Entertainment Asset Pte. Ltd. (DEA), announced the launch of its new blockchain game “Cookin’ Burger”, open beta version on its PlayMining platform today on Monday, August 15, 2022 at 14:00 (UTC＋8).

“Cookin’ Burger” is a multi-tasking cooking game in which you, as a staff member at a burger shop, take orders from various customers and serve them burgers quickly and accurately. Despite its simplicity of the game, the players can simulate the experience of running a real burger shop, using techniques such as learning customer preferences and figuring out the most efficient cooking orders.

In the upcoming official launch of “Cookin’ Burger”, we will offer ranking rewards based on the rankings, as well as a variety of additional features, so please stay tuned.

DEA will continue to enhance the game titles on PlayMining in order to provide “fun” and “surprise” through various contents to users around the world.

▼Click here to play “Cookin’ Burger”.
https://game.cookinburger.com

■About Cookin’ Burger
“Cookin’ Burger” is a multi-tasking cooking game in which a player, as a shop staff member in a burger shop, takes orders from various types of customers and aims to serve them accurately and quickly to build the shop’s reputation.

Players can become shop owners within the game by purchasing shop NFTs consisting of various grades. Build your shop’s reputation through game play, and as your reputation grows, you will have more opportunities to earn DEAPcoins in the game.

▼Click here to play “Cookin’ Burger”.
https://game.cookinburger.com

▼ For a detailed game overview of “Cookin’ Burger”, click here.
https://medium.com/playmining-game/playminings-fourth-game-title-overview-of-the-multitasking-cooking-game-cookin-burger-e98e58252640

▼ Click here to purchase shop NFTs for “Cookin’ Burger”.
PlayMining NFT (https://daa.playmining.com)

▼Latest news on “Cookin’ Burger” can be obtained in the following addresses.
・Special site (https://www.cookinburger.com/en)
・Twitter (https://twitter.com/PlayMining_SG)
・Discord (https://discord.com/invite/UcEAuyZGCV)

Digital Entertainment Asset Pte. Ltd. | https://dea.sg/jp
DEA, a global GameFi and meta verse platform business, was founded in Singapore in August 2018, and is developing “JobTribes”, a Play to Earn game, “PlayMining NFT”, an NFT marketplace and “PlayMining Verse”, a meta verse project. Using blockchain technology, the company aims to realize a world where one can create value by having fun.

Co-CEO: Naohito Yoshida, Kozo Yamada
Location: 7 Straits View, Marina One East Tower, #05-01, Singapore 018936
Establishment: August 2018
Business description: GameFi platform business

Contact Information
Digital Entertainment Asset Pte Ltd
Public Relation: Takasugi ｜tomoyuki_takasugi@dea.sg / Soeda｜soeda@dea.sg

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อัมสเตอร์ดัม, Aug. 15, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Expereo ซึ่งเป็นผู้ให้บริการชั้นนำของโลกด้านโซลูชันการบริหารจัดการโครงข่าย ได้ประกาศการเข้าซื้อกิจการ Breeze Networks ซึ่งเป็นผู้ให้บริการการจัดการของเทคโนโลยี SD-WAN/SASE การเข้าซื้อกิจการจะช่วยขับเคลื่อนเส้นทางการเติบโตของ Expereo โดยช่วยปรับปรุงแนวทางปฏิบัติ SD-WAN/SASE ของทางบริษัท โดยต่อยอดจากบริการที่ขยายออกไปเพื่อจัดการโซลูชัน SD-WAN ในระดับต่าง ๆ กับคู่ค้าและลูกค้าองค์กรข้ามชาติทั่วโลก

การเข้าซื้อกิจการครั้งล่าสุดนี้ตอกย้ำถึงความทะเยอทะยานของ Expereo ในการเสริมโซลูชันการบริหารจัดการโครงข่ายด้วยแนวทางการให้คำปรึกษาที่ดีเยี่ยมในระดับโลก ซึ่งจะให้คำแนะนำแก่องค์กรต่าง ๆ เกี่ยวกับการเปลี่ยนแปลงระดับโลกไปสู่ระบบเครือข่ายที่กำหนดโดยซอฟต์แวร์และใช้อินเทอร์เน็ตเป็นหลัก ด้วยการสนับสนุนอย่างเต็มที่จากนักลงทุนรายใหญ่อย่าง Vitruvian Partners และนักลงทุนรายย่อยอย่าง Apax Partners SAS ทำให้ Expereo ตั้งใจที่จะดำเนินการตามกลยุทธ์การเข้าซื้อกิจการต่อไป

Breeze Networks เป็นผู้ให้บริการด้านการบริหารจัดการในโซลูชันการเชื่อมต่อเครือข่ายและความปลอดภัยบนคลาวด์ (SD-WAN) ให้แก่องค์กรและหน่วยงานภาครัฐต่าง ๆ Breeze เป็นผู้รวบรวมเครือข่ายที่เป็นนวัตกรรมและยืดหยุ่น จัดหาและจัดการโซลูชันเครือข่ายและความปลอดภัย SD-WAN ที่ดีที่สุดในตลาด

และในส่วนหนึ่งของการเข้าซื้อกิจการนั้น Expereo ก็ได้ต้อนรับคุณ Matthew Lea ผู้เป็น CTO (ประธานเจ้าหน้าที่ฝ่ายเทคโนโลยี) ของ Breeze Networks ให้มาทำหน้าที่ในตำแหน่งหัวหน้าด้านการจัดการภาพรวมของโครงการด้านเทคนิค ความเชี่ยวชาญของเขาจะมาช่วยเป็นกำลังเสริมที่ยอดเยี่ยมในฐานความรู้ของทีมเทคนิคของ Expereo ซึ่งนำโดย Kristaps Petrovskis ผู้เป็น CTO บทบาทใหม่ของ Lea ที่ Expereo นั้นจะช่วยขับเคลื่อนในแผนการขยับขยายของ Expereo ในเรื่องแนวทางปฏิบัติ SD-WAN/SASE ของทางบริษัท ซึ่งจะทำให้บริษัทมีสถานะที่แข็งแกร่งในตลาดสหราชอาณาจักรได้

“การเข้าซื้อกิจการครั้งนี้เกิดในช่วงเวลาที่น่าตื่นเต้น เนื่องจากเป็นช่วงที่เรากำลังขยายบริการ SD-WAN เพื่อตอบสนองความต้องการในตลาดที่เพิ่มขึ้นสำหรับโซลูชันการเข้าถึงระบบคลาวด์และเครือข่ายทั่วโลกที่คล่องตัวและคุ้มค่า ด้วยวิสัยทัศน์ร่วมกันของเราในการทำให้การเชื่อมต่อทั่วโลกง่ายขึ้นและมอบประสบการณ์แก่ลูกค้าในระดับโลกนั้น ความเชี่ยวชาญของทีมงานมืออาชีพที่อยู่เบื้องหลัง Breeze Networks ก็จะช่วยสร้างคุณค่าอย่างมหาศาลในระหว่างที่เราได้ร่วมมือกัน” Irwin Fouwels ซีอีโอของ Expereo กล่าว

“การได้ทำงานร่วมกับ Expereo เพื่อให้บริการแก่หนึ่งในลูกค้าของเราในด้านการนำไปใช้ระดับโลกเมื่อเร็ว ๆ นี้นั้น ทำให้เราได้เห็นคุณค่าร่วมกันของทั้งสองบริษัทโดยตรง และได้มุ่งมั่นที่จะมอบความเป็นเลิศในเรื่องของการส่งมอบและการบริการลูกค้า เรารู้สึกตื่นเต้นที่ได้เข้าร่วมกับครอบครัว Expereo และมั่นใจว่าขนาดและการเข้าถึงของ Expereo ทั่วโลกจะเป็นประโยชน์ต่อผู้ถือผลประโยชน์ร่วมทั้งหมดของเรา” George Cowan กรรมการผู้จัดการของ Breeze Networks กล่าว

การปรับใช้แอปพลิเคชันบนคลาวด์และเทคโนโลยี SD-WAN อย่างรวดเร็วทำให้ WAN บนอินเทอร์เน็ตเป็นศูนย์กลางของโมเดลธุรกิจของบริษัทข้ามชาติ Expereo มุ่งมั่นที่จะลดความซับซ้อนในการจัดหาและจัดการโซลูชันเครือข่ายดังกล่าว ในขณะเดียวกันก็รับประกันในเรื่องของประสบการณ์ลูกค้าที่ยอดเยี่ยม เพื่อตอบสนองความต้องการของคู่ค้า MSP และลูกค้าข้ามชาติ

เกี่ยวกับ Breeze Networks Ltd

Breeze Networks เป็นซัพพลายเออร์เอกชนในสหราชอาณาจักรในด้านเครือข่ายที่ใช้ SD-WAN และบริการจัดการรักษาความปลอดภัย บริษัทได้ก่อตั้งขึ้นในปี 2016 โดยทางบริษัทได้ให้บริการลูกค้าทั้งในภาคเอกชนและหน่วยงานรัฐบาลของสหราชอาณาจักรในการออกแบบและนำเครือข่ายระดับภูมิภาคและระดับโลกที่ใช้ SD-WAN ไปใช้เป็นจำนวนมาก ทีมงาน Breeze ได้พัฒนาความรู้และประสบการณ์อย่างกว้างขวางเกี่ยวกับผลิตภัณฑ์ SD-WAN/SASE ที่ดีที่สุด ซึ่งช่วยให้เราสามารถช่วยเหลือลูกค้าในเส้นทางการเปลี่ยนแปลงระบบคลาวด์ได้

เกี่ยวกับ Expereo

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Vitruvian Partners ได้เข้าซื้อกิจการ Expereo ในเดือนเมษายน 2021 บริษัทเงินทุนเพื่อการเติบโตระหว่างประเทศและบริษัทจัดการการซื้อกิจการได้เข้าซื้อหุ้นส่วนใหญ่ใน Expereo จาก Apax Partners SAS ซึ่งเป็นบริษัทหุ้นนอกตลาดชั้นนำของยุโรป

Sofia Pensado
sofia@grammatikagency.com

International Leadership Summit Addresses Korean Reconciliation, Religious Freedom, and New Peace Alliances in Africa and the World

Washington, DC, Aug. 14, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

UPF International Leadership Summit Addresses Korean Reconciliation, Religious Freedom, and

New Peace Alliances in Africa and the World

Condolences Expressed for late Prime Minister Shinzo Abe

 International leaders at the Universal Peace Federation’s (UPF) Summit 2022 and Leadership Conference affirmed their support for global peacebuilding, especially on the Korean Peninsula. Sessions addressed the universal right to religious freedom and called for more education of youth in Africa.

Some 350 world leaders from the 157 nations with diplomatic relations with either North or South Korea attended the August 11-15, 2022, conference, either in person or virtually, at Jamsil Lotte Hotel in Seoul, to discuss “Toward Peace on the Korean Peninsula: Toward a World Culture of Peace.” In his welcoming remarks, UPF Chairman Thomas G. Walsh expressed hope that the focus and vision for peace on the Korean Peninsula could be taken to a broader level, and that “the divided world be reconciled into one humanity and one global culture of peace.”

In addition to calling for peace, the leaders expressed deep condolences for the loss of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. UPF offered a video and floral tribute.

“My grandfather said the one thing people cannot go without is peace,” said Sheikh Mansour Diouf of the Murid Brotherhood in Senegal. “We are supposed to be brothers…” This sentiment was echoed by many of the religious leaders.

Korean reconciliation was a major theme, due to the passion of UPF co-founders, Rev. Dr. Sun Myung Moon and Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon, who were born in what is now North Korea. In 1991, anti-communist Rev. Moon went to Pyongyang to meet communist North Korea leader Kim Il-sung. The two men embraced as brothers and agreed to launch various projects together. That unity underscores the hope to bring peace to the 80 million people on the Korean Peninsula, despite decades of division, said Dr. Michael Jenkins, President, UPF International.

Along with the conference, UPF organized a Fact-Finding Delegation for Peace on the Korean Peninsula with US officials and South Korean leaders. Amb. Joseph DeTrani, Special Envoy to the Six-Party Talks with DPRK (2003-2006); Amb. Harry Harris, a US Navy admiral who served as US Ambassador to South Korea from 2018 to 2021; (Ret.) Gen. Walter Sharp, who led US forces, the UN Command, and ROK-US Combined Forces Command (2008-2011); and Dr. Alexandre Mansourov, Adjunct Professor at the Edmund Walsh School of Foreign Studies at Georgetown University, offered their assessments. (Full details will be available at UPF.org).

“Idealism must be rooted in realism,” said Amb. Harris. He praised South Korea President Suk-yeol Yoon for his intentions “to make the US-ROK Alliance the centerpiece of his foreign policy,” as that means outreach to Japan as well as military readiness.

Former US President Donald Trump, former Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Cambodia Prime Minister Samdech Hun Sen, Dr. Sok Siphana, head of Asian Vision Institute, and former Taiwan Vice President Lu Hsiu-lien offered remarks on the need to achieve peace.

Protecting religious freedom worldwide was another major theme. Religious freedom is “the most important single topic on the planet,” said US House Speaker Newt Gingrich (1995-1999). That is because it presupposes God’s existence and God’s bestowing rights to humanity, and this forms the basis of freedom, he explained.

Religious freedom is key to security concerns, added US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (2018-2021), recalling that he always left his Bible open on his desk for inspiration. “Nations that threaten others, like China and Iran” also “have death holds” on religious freedoms, he noted.

From Japan, lawyer Norishige Kondo of the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification (FFWPU) talked about “a serious crisis of religious freedom in our country.” He spoke of the surreal situation of Japan’s media transferring blame for the brutal assassination of Prime Minister Abe from the shooter to FFWPU. He discussed human rights violations against 4,300 FFWPU members, while FFWPU member Toru Goto talked about his kidnapping, 12-year confinement, and lawsuits against perpetrators.

Hon. Jan Figel, Special Envoy for the Promotion of Freedom of Religion, European Union (2016-2019), noted that while 84% of the world population claims religious affiliation, 79% live in countries “with high or very high obstacles to religious freedom.” Religious prejudice generates three evils—”intolerance, discrimination, and persecution,” said Dr. Massimo Introvigne, Managing Director of the Center for Studies on New Religions in Italy.

A third major highlight was about strengthening peace and prosperity in Africa

The growing power of Africa—where the average age is 20—brings opportunities for education, jobs, encouraging peace, and protecting the environment, especially desertification. “It is imperative for us: We must train our youth so that they can resolutely take charge of their destiny,” said H.E. Brigi Rafini, Executive Secretary of the Community of Sahel and Saharan States (CEN-SAD) and former Prime Minister of Niger.

At an afternoon International Youth Leaders Conference, leaders from Malawi, Nigeria, Eswatini, Cape Verde, Somalia, DR Congo, and Niger discussed the importance of vocational training and character education for African youth. This was followed by the signing of an agreement to raise “youth for peace.”

In a separate session, Imboni Dr. Uzwi-Lezwe Radebe, founder of the Revelation Spiritual Home in South Africa, joined Most Rev. Daniel Okoh, President of the Christian Association of Nigeria; Hon. Issaka Sourwema, Minister of Religious and Customary Affairs of Burkina Faso; H.E. Rev. Nevers Mumba, Founder of the National Christian Coalition in Zambia; and Dr. Nokuzola Mndende, National Chairperson of the Council of African Religion in South Africa, to discuss a resolution to protect religious freedom in Africa. This resolution was subsequently signed.

Other highlights:

—The 40th Anniversary of The Washington Times. Chairman Thomas P. McDevitt, President and Executive Editor Christopher Dolan, and Opinion Editor Charles Hurt spoke of The Times’ impact and its dedication to accurate news and the ideals of freedom, faith, and family.

—The 60th Anniversary of The Little Angels. The world-famous children’s folk ballet company founded by Rev. and Mrs. Moon gave a beautiful special performance to the delight of conference participants.

—Visionary Sessions on Peace, Family, Science, Media, Higher Education, Youth, and Religion. The HJ Academic Foundation hosted more than 50 academicians for stimulating discussions on topics such as a Unity of Science movement, Character Education and the University in the Next 100 Years, the God Conference and Heavenly Parent’s Holy Community, the Women’s Movement and Family, and CEN-SAD Conference on Youth Education.

—Resolutions: Summit leaders signed the Resolution for a Universal Peace Charter; a Declaration on the Universal Value of Religious Freedom; a resolution to promote interfaith cooperation within Africa; and an agreement between the CEN-SAD, UPF, International Association of Youth and Students for Peace (IAYSP) and the Sunhak Educational Foundation to develop vocational training and character education for African youth.

—A special program to commemorate the 10th Anniversary of the passing of the Rev. Dr. Sun Myung Moon. North Korean Premier Kim Jong-un sent flowers and a personal message to Mrs. Moon, said UPF International Director-General Dr. Yun Young-ho.

— The 5th THINK TANK 2022 Forum. Experts gathered to discuss concrete ideas on how to achieve reconciliation on the Korean Peninsula. The forum will be broadcast at a future date.

Among the more than 100 distinguished speakers were: Senegal President Macky Sall; H.E. Muhammadu Buhari, President, Nigeria; Hon. Mike Pence, US Vice President (2017-2021); Hon. Dan Burton, US Member of Congress (1983-2013); Beeland Interests Chairman Jim Rogers; Pastor Paula White-Cain, City of Destiny Church; Bishop Don Meares, the Evangel Cathedral; Hee-Taek Chung, President of the Segye Ilbo newspaper; H.E. Boris Tadic, President (2004-2012), Serbia; H.E. Yves Leterme, Prime Minister (2008, 2009-2011), Belgium; H.E. Ehud Olmert, Prime Minister (2006-2009), Israel; Hon. Neziha Labidi, Minister of Women, Family & Children (2016-2020), Tunisia; Hon. German Blanco Alvarez, Senator, Colombia; Hon. Grigore Novac, Member of Parliament, Moldova; Hon. Prof. Sunaina Singh, Vice Chancellor, Nalanda University, India; Mme. Adi Koila Nailatikau, First Lady (2009-2015), Fiji; H.E. Johnson Toribiong, President (2009-2013), Palau; Hon. Patricia Terrazas Baca, Member of Parliament, Mexico; Dr. Ann Higgins, President, World Dance Congress, Bahamas; Hon. Dave Laksono, Member of Parliament, Indonesia; Hon. Ross Robertson, Member of Parliament (1987-2014), New Zealand; and H.E. Jose Manuel Barroso, President, European Commission, (2004-2014).

For media inquiries:

William P. Selig
Communications Director
Universal Peace Federation
Ph: 240-274-1744
Email: wselig@upf.org
www.UPF.org

Attachment

• UPF ILC 2022

William P. Selig

Universal Peace Federation

240-274-1744 wselig@upf.org