WFWPI Presidential Transition Ceremony: Thank you, Dr. Julia Moon and Dr. Sun Jin Moon. Welcome, Mrs. Moriko Hori
Written by: Mion Tsuchiaka
In February 2023, a change in the leadership of the Women's Federation for World Peace was officially announced. It was sad to say goodbye to our International President and Senior Vice President, but at the same time, with excitement, we look forward to the new winds of change that will be brought to the organization. For this occasion, on March 10, WFWPI held the Presidential Transition Ceremony gathering 783 people on Zoom and YouTube. The ceremony, even though it was conducted virtually, had a homey atmosphere as old friends gathered together to greet the outgoing and incoming presidents.
The ceremony was divided into two programs, including acknowledgments of Dr. Julia Moon and Dr. Sun Jin Moon, and the introduction of Mrs. Moriko Hori. Mrs. Kefilwe Lebepe, the moderator of the event and team leader of the WFWPI Young Professionals Team, first gave the floor to International Secretary General Dr. Paris Moon, who officially opened the event and introduced the outgoing leaders with words of gratitude for the years they have served together in WFWPI.
Dr. Julia Moon has served as International President since 2019, developing administrative support for WFWP leaders and members to interact and communicate from the grassroots level to a higher level, creating an international platform for the organization. In 2019, she co-organized in collaboration with the Universal Peace Federation and the Office of the First Lady of Palau the “Asia Pacific First Ladies Summit 2019-Palau,” bringing together current and former First Ladies from around the world to affirm and uplift the role of First Ladies in contributing to peace and development. She has also created the WFWPI Global Committee and the WFWPI Virtual Café, a collaborative networking system for WFWP senior leaders, junior leaders and members that serves to build understanding by sharing knowledge, resources and strategies based on research and surveys. One of her successful accomplishments was the establishment of the Young Professionals Team, an international-level creative think tank that brainstormed, developed and proposed goals and directions for WFWPI. She also focused on maximizing metaverse and IT operations, making free education available to leaders and members, and opening the door to educational programs such as WFWPI webinars on women's entrepreneurship, peace and reconciliation and personal development. Topics included photography, videography, flower arranging, healing and meditation, business accelerators, finance and budgeting, digital arts, social network marketing and NFT. Finally, she has launched a funding project to support grassroots projects around the country in the areas of women's empowerment, authentic family values, climate change action and youth leadership.
Dr. Sun Jin Moon has served as WFWPI's International Senior Vice President since 2020, and with her passionate and powerful leadership, she has united the leadership and membership of WFWPI around the vision of its co-founders. She is particularly focused on climate action and education initiatives. In 2020, she launched the Giving for Good project that aims to conserve the Earth and all life through outreach, humanitarian aid and circular fashion. The initial inspiration for GFGI came at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, as she was reflecting on how to generate funds for WFWPI, while also responding to the co-founder, Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon’s deep heart for environmental sustainability. While watching an episode of “Tidying Up With Marie Kondo,” she was taken aback by the 80 trash bags that were accumulated from tidying up a single home. She then felt called to research what happens to the trash bags full of clothes. To her surprise, research showed that 60 percent of clothes doomed for landfills are made of non-biodegradable materials. In an effort to mitigate the carbon dioxide emissions from the trash bags filled with clothes, she was inspired to promote circular fashion as a way to decrease one’s own carbon footprint.
The program that followed featured a special video with messages from WFWP leaders to the former International President and former Senior Vice President. One of the representatives said, "We will continue to carry on the beautiful lessons you taught us. We are honored to have had you as our leader." After the video, Dr. Julia Moon gave a tearful final address, sharing her heart with the attendees. She said, "You all said that I was your role model, but in fact, you have been my role models, my mentors and my inspiration for the last four years. Working at WFWP has made me the better person I am today. I want to thank you all from the bottom of my heart for your beautiful hearts. I also want to thank the co-founders for the wonderful opportunity and blessing to work with all of you at WFWP. As a dancer, I have been on many different stages, but I know now that when I look back on my life 10 or 20 years from now, the best and most beautiful stage of my life will not be ballet, but WFWP."
To showcase and acknowledge all the work done during the tenure of Dr. Julia Moon and Dr. Sun Jin Moon, WFWP IHQ prepared a special video showing all the achievements in different areas of their NGO works done on the international platform. The video brought tears to the eyes of many of the participants as they recalled their memories of those days. The program of acknowledgments ended with entertainment by WFWPI Young Professionals from Argentina and the Philippines singing a cover of "Imagine."
The next program was the welcome and introduction of the new International President, Dr. Moriko Hori. She has served as the International Vice President and the National President of WFWP Japan since 2016. She oversees 800 chapters nationwide and focuses on community activities related to family and youth education. She is also the Director of Global Development and Aid projects for WFWP International and has worked on more than 110 humanitarian projects in 50 countries that contribute to the realization of the SDGs, particularly in the areas of women's empowerment, poverty eradication, AIDS prevention education, education assistance and medical assistance. Some of its projects have been selected by the United Nations as best practices (https://csonet.org). She graduated from Columbia University, USA with a Bachelor's degree in Cultural Anthropology. She also graduated from the graduate school of Waseda University, Japan with a degree of M.A. and finished her Ph.D. program in International Relations. Her specialty is Japan-Korea History, Education and Reconciliation Studies. She also serves as a senior researcher and on the board of directors at the Institute for Peace Policies.
Dr. Hori thanked the former presidents for building a strong foundation during the most difficult period in WFWP history, the COVID-19 pandemic, and said she was determined to follow in their footsteps and make the organization even stronger so that they can be proud. She added, "There are countless challenges and difficulties in the world, but as WFWP, we must create peace. The strong point of WFWP is that we have 127 chapters around the world, creating a wonderful international community, as one large entity that we can contribute to the world. I have been able to visit many developing countries and meet children and people whose lives have hope and a future because of WFWP projects. Peace is within us, and when we are happy and peaceful, our families will be peaceful, and eventually, our communities, countries and the world will be in peace. So I would like to ask you to bring peace within us, and expand it to your family and your community.”
To welcome a new president, WFWPI Young Professional from the UK sang a song “Hand in Hand” while presenting the WFWP worldwide activities on the screen. The program made everyone unite their hearts and powers into one to support the co-founders’ vision for peace and determine themselves once again for creating a better place for future generations in every country they live in.
The ceremony was closed with several representatives from the audience expressing their appreciation for the event. The chat box also received an unending stream of messages of love and appreciation for Dr. Julia Moon and Dr. Sun Jin Moon, as well as messages of welcome for Dr. Moriko Hori. Everyone was delighted and motivated together to continue the great work of WFWP around the world and to bring peace to our families, communities and the world.
