H.E. Rodrigo Carazo Odio, Co-Chair, Board of Presidents, Summit Council; President of Costa Rica (1978-82)
Dear Friends,
Let us remember that peace is a way of life; it needs human beings who know faith, demand effort, and are willing to work with humility.
For those who follow God’s teachings, action must be oriented towards a humble respect toward others. This compels us to do what is right, even if it is unpopular, or even when group pressure expects expediency.
Today’s modern civilization leads many people to focus completely on material acquisition, neglecting the human duty which is to make it possible for everyone to advance and progress and to live in peace.
We must live a life of passion, discipline, will, and vision, avoiding a life that ends in regret or omissions that emerge out of fear.
We must also avoid becoming, as Einstein noted, bystanders who watch our lives pass by.
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Dr. Antonio Betancourt, Secretary General
The Summit Council has been very active and had a strong Washington, DC and international presence through the 1980s to 1997. From 1997, we chose to work under the auspices of the Universal Peace Federation (www.upf.org) in order to help it become a well-established international non-governmental organization in more than 100 countries. Indeed, we helped UPF to achieve that goal. In mid-2008, we decided it was time for us once again to take our place in the history-making of the world, particularly in the area of peace and development as we did in the ‘80s and ‘90s.
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The World Economy – Strengthening Democracy through Credit and Ownership
IN 1992, upon the collapse of the Socialist and Communist experiment in the Soviet Union, after more than 70 years of a state command economy, there were great pronouncements that capitalism had triumphed over Communism and socialism . Today, 17 years later we see clearly that peace and justice have by no means prevailed in the post-Cold War world.
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1. Dignity and empowerment begins with the human person, not any institution. Social justice obligates each person to work with others to perfect the social order to support the dignity and empowerment of every person.
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Premise: The Buckminster Fuller Challenge as mission: “How do we make the world work for 100% of humanity in the shortest possible time through spontaneous cooperation without ecological offense or the disadvantage of anyone?”
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May 21, 2009
With the advent of the Obama administration a year after Raúl Castro’s succession to the presidency in Cuba, a new window of opportunity in U.S.-Cuban relations has opened. Long-entrenched positions on both sides that have persisted despite seismic shifts in the global political terrain appear ripe for adjustment or even fundamental change, especially if Track II diplomacy can complement official diplomacy.
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March 17, 2009
The Summit Council for World Peace has been supporting efforts toward the peaceful unification of the Korean Peninsula since 1991 when the Chairman of its Board of Presidents, H.E. Rodrigo Carazo, former President of Costa Rica (1978-82), and Secretary General, Dr. Antonio Betancourt, first visited the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). During the decade of the 1990s, the Summit Council organized several high-level conferences on U.S. relations with the two Koreas, created an International Commission for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea, and facilitated U.S.-DPRK dialogue during the Clinton and Bush administrations.
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INTRODUCTION
January 27, 2009
H.E. Rodrigo Carazo
The program was opened by Summit Council Secretary General Dr. Antonio Betancourt with an explanation of the history of the Summit Council for World Peace having been active in the 1980s through 1997, then shifting its attention until last year to support the establishment of the Universal Peace Federation (UPF) as a substantial international organization. Now with a newly-established relationship with the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification International (FFWPUI) and the Tongil Foundation, the Summit Council will resume its activities in contributing to peace-building through religion and spirituality along with politics, economics, and other spheres of professional activity.
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by Dr. Norman A. Bailey
March 31, 2009
In 1862, in the midst of the American Civil War, the Congress passed and President Abraham Lincoln signed the most important piece of economic legislation in the history of the United States and probably the world. The government of the United States transferred to its people a huge territory, which they paid for with their work -- that is, their value-added.
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H.E. Rodrigo Carazo Odio
Peace is not merely a matter of noble sentiments. It requires, by its very nature, some measure of precise and diversified knowledge, both theoretical and practical. That is why it is urgent that human beings’ intelligence and culture be directed towards peace. What is involved is marshalling all of our intellectual faculties, all of the cultural and scientific heritage of humankind, in order for them to become instruments of peace. What this implies, finally, is preparing and training humankind’s will and intelligence for peace. Peace is made, not found. Peace is not rest. It is not another word for fear. It is the pulse of life.
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Paul Chamberlin
What can religious people do to alleviate suffering in North Korea and help relieve persistent tension on the Korean peninsula?
As a Christian, a few measures come to mind for Christians to achieve these important goals. How much they apply to members of other religions is for them to decide. But first, I want to touch on some impediments.
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June 4, 2009
Today, in Cairo, Egypt, President Barack Obama gave a major address to Muslim communities around the world. Although he did not offer any major initiatives in the Middle East peace process, he addressed seven key issues that he believes the U.S. and Muslim world must work on together.
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May 11, 2009
The Times Online (London) reported on May 11, “America is putting the final touches to a hugely ambitious peace plan for the Middle East, aimed at ending more than 60 years of conflict between Israel and the Arabs, according to Jordan’s King Abdullah, who is helping to bring the parties together.
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April 24, 2009
His Majesty King Abdullah II of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan became the first Arab leader to visit President Obama last week, and gave a major address on “The Middle East: End the Process, Make the Peace” at a Statesmen’s Forum at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington on April 24.
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April 19, 2009
Affirming their “renewed spirit of cooperation, integration and solidarity,” the Western hemisphere’s leaders concluded the Fifth Summit of the Americas chaired by Trinidad and Tobago with a consensus to advance joint solutions to address the most pressing challenges facing the region.
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April 18, 2009
On April 18, U.S. President Barack Obama met with the leaders of the 12 members of UNASUR (Union of South American Nations), a grouping of all the independent countries of South America, currently chaired by Chilean President Michelle Bachelet, modeled on the European Union
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April 17, 2009
U.S. President Barack Obama addressed the leaders of the nations of the Western Hemisphere at the Fifth Summit of the Americas, and called for a “new sense of partnership” among the people of the Americas. He also said his administration is prepared to engage with the Cuban government, in order to seek a new beginning.
Read the full text of President Obama’s remarks
April 6, 2009
Visiting his first Muslim-majority nation as U.S. President, Barack Obama told the Turkish Parliament in Ankara:
“[America] seeks broad engagement [with the Muslim world] based upon mutual interests and mutual respect. We will listen carefully, bridge misunderstanding, and seek common ground. We will be respectful, even when we do not agree.And we will convey our deep appreciation for the Islamic faith, which has done so much over so many centuries to shape the world for the better – including my own country."
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April 3, 2009
The G-20 Summit Meeting concluded yesterday in London. The decisions made by the leaders of the world's largest economies at the London Summit have now been published in a communiqué. Find out more about the decisions on issues such as financial regulation, economic growth, global trade and helping the world’s poorest.
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On March 26, leaders from one of the most poverty-impacted communities in the U.S., the City of East St. Louis and 14 surrounding communities in Southern Illinois, came to Washington, D.C., to launch a comprehensive stimulus solution of their own -- an advanced renewable energy system to be owned by every local citizen -- and to call for its support as a viable antidote to the unprecedented financial crisis in the United States.
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On March 20, President Obama released a video message to the people of Iran celebrating Nowruz. Translated "New Day," Nowruz marks the arrival of spring and beginning of the New Year for millions of Iranians. The President acknowledged the strain in U.S.-Iranian relations over the last few decades.
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