A Profile of the Summit Council
The Summit Council for World Peace is an association of current and former heads of state and government, as well as renowned world leaders, who have arrived at the summit of their respective fields, especially in the areas of religion, politics and economics. The Summit Council inspires its associates to utilize their leadership experience, statesmanship, and positions of influence and other resources for the purpose of establishing peace and reconciliation between nations, religions, cultures, races, classes, and ethnic groups assisting humanity to establish a global culture of peace.
The Summit Council works to promote close cooperation with the United Nations and other public and private international organizations with similar purposes and objectives. The Council is not affiliated with any government or political party. Its members may participate as individuals on a private basis, or as representatives of governments, international bodies and organizations.
Background
The Summit Council for World Peace was founded in 1981 by the Rev. Dr. and Mrs. Sun Myung Moon with the support and assistance of incumbent and former heads of state and government and other renowned world leaders. It is a non-profit, non-sectarian, independent goodwill organization that operates beyond the boundaries of politics and religion. The Council provides a forum and organization for world leaders where their wisdom and experience may be utilized, and their initiatives may be discussed and implemented in the service of world peace and the betterment of humankind.
During the period from 1997 to 2008, the Summit Council joined with the Interreligious and International Federation for World Peace (IIFWP) (later renamed the Universal Peace Federation or UPF) to help this organization expand its outreach and establish chapters in more 100 nations. In 2008, the Board of Directors of the Summit Council determined to once again reestablish its presence in America and around the world to fulfill the purpose and ideals of its original charter.
Projects
Of all the projects of the Summit Council, its most important is to act as facilitator, advocate and advisor for the building of the World Temple of Peace and Unity in Seoul, Korea – a common home for worship, dialogue and goodwill for all people of the world’s religions. This interreligious temple will avail itself as a unique resource to governments, intergovernmental organizations, international institutions, and civil society. It will help foster a more stable environment for the work of peace in the fields of religion, politics, and economics on the global, regional, and national levels.
Other important Summit Council projects include: For the eradication of world poverty, we have worked closely since 1992 with like-minded organizations, such as the Center for Economic and Social Justice (CESJ), dedicated to economic and social justice through the advocacy of the democratization of access to money and credit to create a global economy for the masses (www.cesj.org). The Summit Council also collaborates with the World Institute for Development and Peace (WIPD), a resource developer on ideas and technologies that expand opportunities and reform structures to empower individuals, especially the underprivileged, to participate in wealth-creation in the United States and around the world (www.widp.org).
To address the issue of environmental pollution and energy crisis in America and the world, the Summit Council is associated with Equitech International, LLC, a consortium of 23 sister companies headed by leading scientists formerly with Georgetown University, NASA and other advanced research centers and laboratories in America (www.equitechllc.com). This group seeks to enable America to lead in Advanced Renewal Energy Systems (ARES) (www.ARESystemsLLC.com) which will resolve the environmental degradation of sea, land, and air creating prime power and many other byproducts. By implementing Equitech’s technologies, the crisis of energy and the environment can be properly addressed, corrected and millions of jobs provided in America and around the world.
To address the impact of the U.S. mortgage crisis and lack of participation in the federal stimulus package for African-Americans and other minorities in poor and middle class communities across the country, the Summit Council’s Office of Interreligious Affairs is working with the American civil rights leadership and the National Black Leadership Roundtable (www.nblr.us), the national network vehicle of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), to offer solutions to enable 10 million minority citizens resolve the problems of foreclosures, loss of homes, etc.
To help bring reconciliation in the Middle East, especially the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, since 2003, the Summit Council has worked closely with the Middle East Peace Initiative (MEPI), a project of the Universal Peace Federation (www.upf.org) and the American Clergy Leadership Conference (ACLC) (www.aclc.info), highlighting the role of religion in reconciliation and the healing of historical grievances in the Middle East. Over six years, MEPI brought more than 10,000 “Ambassadors for Peace” to the Holy Land to support the efforts of peace in the region. MEPI promotes interreligious encounters, cooperation, dialogue, fact-finding trips, cultural initiatives, athletic programs, and service projects for communities and leadership in Israel, Palestine and Jordan.
The Summit Council works in cooperation with the Interreligious Federation for World Peace (IRFWP) to promote interreligious dialogue, integration, and common cause, and also supports the efforts of similar international institutions with comparable aims in interfaith activity (www.irfwp.org).
Funding
Funding for the Summit Council’s activities comes from the generosity of the Tongil Foundation, established in Seoul, Korea in 1963 by the Rev. Dr. and Mrs. Moon, and chaired by Dr. Kook Jin Moon. Additional support comes from other organizations, corporations and private individuals around the world. Although we are a nonprofit corporation registered in the District of Columbia, the Summit Council is not tax exempt as the majority of its funding is single-sourced.
Donate to our work
The Summit Council accepts general donations for its global work. You may also donate for a specific projected project you wish to see implemented, such as a forum, conference, fact-finding tour, or a mobilization of our human resources to address and call attention to specific problems in different areas around the world. Please contact us by phone at 202-269-5337 or by email at worldpeace@summitcouncil.org if you wish to fund a specific project.
Please make your check payable, preferably in U.S. dollars, to the Summit Council for World Peace. Our address is: 1112 16th Street, N.W., Suite 540, Washington, D.C. 20036 USA.