Restoring Trust for Peace Now

UPF Summer Events 2026 invite practical contributions from regions, associations, and national chapters ahead of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly.

The Universal Peace Federation has launched UPF Summer Events 2026, a series of programs under the public theme “Restoring Trust: What Can Be Done for Peace Now?” ahead of the opening of the 81st session of the UN General Assembly in September 2026. The series invites UPF regions, associations, national chapters and peace initiatives to offer short reflections based on local experience, moral responsibility and UPF’s peace vision. 

The series began on June 18, 2026, with the International Summit Council for Peace (ISCP) webinar on “The Future of the Rules-based World Order”. The webinar examined the emerging global order, multilateral governance, artificial intelligence, environmental accountability and moral leadership. In that setting, Dr. Tageldin Hamad, president of UPF-International, emphasized that institutions gain legitimacy when rooted in service and that leadership gains credibility when guided by conscience and public responsibility. That standard guides the kind of examples UPF is asking its regions and associations to share this summer: evidence from their work that peace grows where justice, service, conscience and public responsibility are made visible.

The United Nations remains the central global framework for this effort. Sustainable Development Goal 16 (SDG 16) calls for peaceful and inclusive societies, access to justice, and inclusive institutions at all levels. Aligning with the 2026 High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development and the lead-up to the 81st session of the UN General Assembly, this series can illustrate how institutional trust, justice and inclusive decision-making reinforce each other. This is especially relevant as member states continue implementation of the Pact for the Future and the broader reform agenda for multilateral cooperation, with the partnership logic of Sustainable Development Goal 17 as a practical reference.

Trust in public life grows when people practice dialogue, fair treatment, restraint in conflict, service to others and respect for human dignity.  Parliamentarians and local government leaders, faith communities, youth networks, women’s associations, educators, media professionals, families and local leaders can contribute to peacebuilding and responsible governance through these practices.

The founders of UPF, Dr. Hak Ja Han and the late Rev. Sun Myung Moon, taught that lasting peace begins with a vision of humanity as one family under God. For UPF, this vision functions as a public ethic that connects family, community and global responsibility. UPF connects this vision to public life through three ideals: interdependence, mutual prosperity and universal values. Interdependence takes practical form through shared security. Mutual prosperity takes practical form through equitable participation. Universal values take practical form through institutions that protect dignity and responsibility. 

UPF invites its regions and associations to bring forward concrete examples from their own work, showing how values become public action. Contributions may include conflict mediation, interfaith service, youth leadership, community recovery after crises and public education for peace. Interfaith dialogue can demonstrate how religious communities build trust across differences. 

Through this summer series, UPF supports continued collaboration among the United Nations system, governments, civil society, faith communities, educators, media professionals, families and youth, in strengthening the conditions that make a culture of peace possible.

UPF International July 15, 2026