IAACP Webinar: Building Bridges via Cultural Exchange
- May 28
- 2 min read
IAACP, United States – A webinar organized by the International Association for Arts and Culture for Peace (IAACP) on May 28, 2026, featured videos, poetry and song to underscore its theme, “The Transformative Power of the Arts: Building Bridges via Cultural Exchange.”
The program began with the video “The Diplomacy of Beauty,” which chronicles the history of support for the performing arts by UPF's founders. Mr. David Eaton, global coordinator for IAACP, then introduced Mr. Randolph Remmel, co-founder of the New Hope Singers International, one of the founders’ earliest performing arts projects in the United States. Mr. Remmel shared several experiences with the New Hope Singers, including their concert tours in Asia and their performance at the Yoido Island Rally for Korean Freedom in Seoul, South Korea in 1975.
America poet and author Ms. Jennifer Jean then shared her experiences working with Arab poet Ms. Hanaa Ahmad Jabr, and their collaborative book of poetry, “Where Do You Live?” Ms. Jean read two of the poems from the book, and shared how these two poets from distinctly different cultures were able to learn and appreciate each other via their cultural exchanges.
Next, Mr. Eaton introduced singer and songwriter Ms. Laleh Nader. Since 1999 Ms. Nader has performed at several UPF events, and was commissioned as an Ambassador for Peace in 2009. She shared about her Iranian heritage and how blessed she feels to have been raised in the United States (her parents were born in Iran), and how she had the freedom to pursue a career in music that otherwise might not have been possible for her as a young woman in Iran. A music video of the song “Heart to Heart,” which she co-composed with Mr. David Eaton as part of the Middle East Peace Initiative CD in 2004, was presented in the webinar.
Mr. Eaton then shared a video highlight of the peace cantata, “Halelu: Songs of David,” that is a cross-cultural composition he created in partnership with Israeli singer Mr. David D’Or. The music is their effort to promote interfaith unity through music.
The program concluded with Laleh Nader’s song, “Sacred Circle,” with the main theme of the song:
There’s a Sacred Circle round our hearts.
In this prayer of peace is where we’ll start.
There’s a Sacred Circle in each life.
One Love, One Light, Together We Unite
By David Eaton, Global Coordinator, IAACP May 28, 2026
