The annual commemoration of the United Nations International Family Day was held in Universal Peace Federation - UK Headquarters on Thursday May 16th focussing on the theme presented by the UN Secretary General Hon. Ban Ki-Moon, "Advancing Social Integration and Intergenerational Solidarity". (Photo Link)

Mr Ahmed Shebani, Co Founder of the Libya Democratic Party quoted Mother Teresa, “The greatest disease in the West today is not TB or leprosy; it is being unwanted, unloved, and uncared for. We can cure physical diseases with medicine, but the only cure for loneliness, despair, and hopelessness is love. There are many in the world who are dying for a piece of bread but there are many more dying for a little love. The poverty in the West is a different kind of poverty -- it is not only poverty of loneliness but also of spirituality. There's a hunger for love, as there is a hunger for God.”  Mother Teresa, A Simple Path. (Photo Left of Dr Suman Datta Addressing Meeting.)        

Around the world similar programmes were held by UPF Chapters. More information and presentation materials are available from the International UPF website through this link.

A discussion on 'Faith Perspectives on the Family' from  four different religious representatives took place on November 6th in UPF-UK Headquarters. This was one of a series of conferences on issues concerning the family to be held in the coming months. The family is seen as a source of stability, love, nurture and education in many faiths. The Unification Movement is also well known for its desire to promote family as a source of societal, national and international change.

There are numerous issues of controversy relating to the family from faith perspectives. Interfaith perspectives of the family identify the commonality and differences in views of the family in relation to the search for God. The religious and cultural influence on family life has great implications for the development of society, culture, or economy. The differences between the protestant and catholic realms of the world, or the Jewish, Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist or Muslim religio-cultural spheres all have  shaped the character of nations and the role of the family within it.

Each faith representative was interviewed by Mrs. Mary Braybrooke JP who not only is a keen moderator but has a lot of experience of the family's position in different faiths.