The Executive Meeting of the Asian Conference of Religions for Peace (ACRP), held at the Best Western Premier Incheon Airport Hotel and Hanwha Resort in Jeonnam, Republic of Korea, June 11-15, 2012.
Delegates from 13 member countries of ACRP attended the meeting, which was chaired by Professor Din Syamsuddin from Indonesia as Moderator and Dr. Sunggon Kim from South Korea as Secretary General of ACRP.
On Monday, June 11 th in the evening there was a welcoming reception co-hosted by SG of ACRP Dr. Sunggon Kim and SG of Korean Committee on Religions for Peace (KCRP), Dr. Byun Jinheung.
On Tuesday, June 12th in the morning the delegates left Best Western Premier Incheon Airport Hotel in three buses for the Hanwha Resort in Jeonnam at the southern end of the Korean Peninsula. During the four hour trip national delegates witnessed the modern highways traversing the country with abundant electrical power supplied for the industrial development of Korea. It was said that the Koreans organized their country meticulously like the Germans!
Delegates to the Asian Conference Religions for Peace at Hanwha Resort
After arriving at the Hanwha Resort in Jeonnam, delegates immediately had to make themselves ready to attend the Opening Ceremony of the 26th General Conference of the World Fellowship of Buddhists in Yeosu, the native city and constituency of Dr. Sunggong Kim, SG of ACRP.
During the opening ceremony delegates listened to the eloquent speeches from the President of the World Fellowship of Buddhists, the President of the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism and the President of the Lay Buddhist Association of Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism, Dr. Eni Jeong Kim. There was also a message from the President of the Republic of Korea, His Excellency, President Lee Myung-bak. There was also a speech from Dr. Sunggon Kim, the SG of ACRP and also parliamentarian recently elected for his fourth term.
The Executive Meeting of ACRP was held on Wednesday, June 13th at Hanwha Mountain Resort in Jeonnam, about one hour’s drive from Yeosu City, the native city of Dr. Sunggon Kim and his assistant, Rev. Kim Tae Sung. During the meeting delegates discussed the budget and the future program of ACRP.
Because the last ACRP General Assembly was held in Manila in 2008 the next Assembly should be held in 2013. But Rev. Kyoichi Sugino, Deputy Secretary General of World Conference on Religions for Peace (WCRP) from New York told the meeting that the next WCRP General Assembly will be held in the first half of 2013 – that is why ACRP has had to postpone its 8th ACRP General Assembly until 2014.
Rev. Sugino will inform national chapters from New York about the venue and the exact timing ofWCRP General Assembly in the first half of 2013. In New York they are thinking of Doha, Qatar as the venue of the WCRP General Assembly but Rev. Sugino promised to give the information as soon as possible. The theme will be: Welcoming the Other: Action for Human Dignity, Citizens and Shared Wellbeing.
Regarding the venue for the next ACRP General Assembly in 2014, some suggested Indonesia as the place of the next ACRP General Assembly, maybe Bali. But after long deliberations the Indonesian. committees had come to the conclusion that because Indonesia had hosted the ACRP General Assembly in 2002, the option should be given to other countries, which had never previously hosted the General Assembly.
Pakistan received some priority as the next host for the general assembly but there are security issues which the Pakistani chapter said were negligible. The Secretary General, Dr. Sunggon Kim, will make a study about the feasibility of another country holding the next ACRP General Assembly in 2014. Decisions were also made to enhance the website program.
On Thursday, June 14th the delegates joined a tour again to Yeosu city to visit the MARINE WORLD EXPO 2012 where they had the opportunity to see the beauty of the sea shore city of Yeosu, which lies on the Pacific Ocean. In the evening there was a Farewell Dinner hosted by His Grace, Archbishop Kim Heejoong from the Archdiocese of Yeosu and also the President of the Korean Committee on Religions for Peace (KCRP), the host chapter.
Marine World Expo City, Yeosu, South Korea
Source: Theophilus Bela
Photo Credit: Asia Conference, Religions for Peace Asia, World Maritime News
