A documentary film about the international peacebuilding efforts for Mindanao in the Philippines, one the world's long-term conflicts sparked by violence that left over 120,000 deaths and millions of displaced persons since the 1960s was released and screened in the Philippines.

In celebration of the National Peace Consciousness Month, a peace documentary titled “Great Legacy” premiered in a cinema in Davao City on the evening of September 6, 2022. Around 500 representatives from the government, education sector, media, as well as civic society leaders, religious leaders across the country and peace advocates from Mindanao have attended.

The documentary was produced by SMV Media Group, a broadcast company based in Seoul, South Korea, in collaboration with Heavenly Culture, World Peace, Restoration of Light (HWPL), an international non-profit organization affiliated with the UN ECOSOC advocating for global peace. The film showcased HWPL and actors who engaged in peace-related activities in Mindanao.

Davao City Mayor Baste Duterte congratulated by saying, "By showing people documentaries and films on peace, we may encourage more to be one with us in our peacekeeping and peacebuilding efforts for our communities."

HWPL’s peace movement in the Philippines started when HWPL Chairman Lee Man-hee, a Korean war veteran and peace activist, visited Mindanao several times since 2013. He mediated a civilian peace agreement signed by Archbishop Emeritus Fernando Capalla and then Maguindanao Governor Esmael “Toto” G. Mangudadatu on January 24, 2014 in General Santos City. Before the audience of 300 people including politicians, university professors, religious leaders, and students, the representatives on that day promised to cooperate in ceasing the conflict and building peace especially in the Mindanao region which has long suffered the aftereffects of war.

This agreement became the starting point of HWPL in raising public awareness about peace not only in Mindanao but throughout the Philippines, based on the universal principles of mutual understanding, respect, and harmony. HWPL’s peace initiatives include law enactment for peace, interfaith dialogues, peace education, and youth and women empowerment, which has brought leaders in different countries to support peace in Mindanao.

In the film, Martin Lee Hojian, former chairperson of the UN Human Rights Commission of the United Nations, praised HWPL led by Chairman Lee, and the Filipino people who had a keen passion for peace. Also, Nabil Tirmage, Asia Pacific Broadcasting Development Organization program manager, said that the civil peace agreement in 2014 is an “amazing case of realization of peace that the world should study”.

“The conflict in Mindanao has been a major variable in not only in Southeast Asian but global situation. The establishment of peace in Mindanao was a global task and required constructive intervention from the international community. In particular, it will be possible to understand through this documentary film that the efforts at the private sector, like HWPL in Mindanao, are the foundation for peace to settle down,” said an official of HWPL.

SMV Media Group announced that the documentary film will be accessible through various channels in different countries including broadcasting stations and multiplex theater.

This year marks the 72nd anniversary of the outbreak of the Korean War. A terrible war, which is on the scale of the world war, devastated the country and caused millions of casualties. The war has forced Korean Peninsula to spend decades in confrontation and tension up until now. In the peninsula, which is divided in two, young people are still holding guns and aiming at each other. Moreover, as the recent war in Ukraine has had a big impact on the daily lives of the Republic of Korea, which is on the other side of the globe, people are once again feeling the need for peace.

Analysis of past Israeli-Palestinian and northeastern African conflicts mentions in many cases that knowing the cause of the conflict is a very important factor, and that the approach of ethnic-religious elements is inevitable for conflict resolution and sustainable peace. Also, the need for a peaceful process has been further raised as Russia's recent blockade of grain exports has been criticized as a criminal act that incites food shortages in countries such as Africa and the Middle East.

In a statement by the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, "I call on political, religious and community leaders to reject violence and speak up against those who try to inflame the situation. We must all work toward restoring hope and the prospect of a political resolution to this conflict." As mentioned, the voices of leaders play an important role in achieving peace. As can be seen in the Eritrean-Ethiopian case, international organizations such as the African Union provide a better opportunity to mediate the peace process in conflict zone, and the leader's decision could lead to the end of the war.

In this reality, there is an international peace organization in Korea that leads the change so that the global village may be imbued with a culture of peace, named Heavenly Culture, World Peace, and Restoration of Light (HWPL). As a veteran, HWPL Chairman Man Hee Lee witnessed the horrors of the Korean War and presented answers for peace and life in the world of conflict and death. Urging everyone in the world to become one in peace, he always shouts 'We Are One!'. The representative achievement of the peace steps he and HWPL have made is the fruit of contributing to peace in Mindanao, the Philippines, ending its 50-year history of conflict.

Mindanao was a region of the largest armed conflict in Southeast Asia. The Mindanao conflict clearly shows the crisis, faced by the global community, of rampant conflicts based on ethnic, religious identity that emerged in the 21st century. Mindanao's peace was a matter of direct connection to global security issues beyond the Philippines and Southeast Asia.

Efforts were made to resolve the dispute after it caused massive casualties. It’s the Mindanao peace agreement. International private organizations, along with the governments of Japan, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the United Kingdom, supported the peace agreement, including Malaysia, the mediator of the official peace agreement between the government and the MILF. In addition to the official process, international organizations such as the European Union, Organization of the Islamic Cooperation and various private organizations have begun to establish peace by supporting it and providing humanitarian aid. Nonetheless, the signing of a peace treaty never ended the conflict. Mindanao's peace demonstrated the need for a fundamental and long-term approach across politics, economy, society, and culture to prevent a recurrence of war. Hence, HWPL, based in South Korea, began a journey of peace to Mindanao which is directly linked to world peace. The civic peace agreement mediated by the HWPL was Mindanao's declaration of permanent peace. Since then, HWPL and all involved, including local politics, religion, and civil society, have been cooperating for peace.

Regarding the achievements made in Mindanao since 2013, when the civil-level peace agreement was signed, Man Hee Lee, Chairman of HWPL, consistently says, "It’s what God did" and "God accompanied us," not personal achievements. With mysterious and miraculous powers leading to the cooperation of the global community, he always emphasizes, "Let all the global community become advocates of peace and leave peace as a legacy of future generations." The possibility of peace emphasized by the HWPL will come as a reality when people of the world decide to join and become one in peace. Global family members of peace wish this process will pave a way for the world to become a global village filled with news of peace rather than war, as “We are One” resonates around the world.

Press-release of the HWPL

The Chairman of Parliament, Mr. Irakli Kobakhidze held the meeting with the President of the Senate of Philippines, Aquilino Pimentel III. The parties discussed bilateral relations. Mr. Kobakhidze offered set up of Friendship Group for intensification of inter-Parliamentary cooperation.
The parties noted importance of Friendship group cooperation, exchange visits and sharing experience. Mr. Kobakhidze introduced the ongoing reforms in Georgia and expressed commitment for sharing experience.
The parties discussed cooperation in various spheres, including tourism. Mr. Irakli Kobakhidze participates in the IPU 136th Assembly in Bangladesh. Simultaneously, he holds the bilateral high rank meetings.

LUXEMBOURG/CAPE CANAVERAL, FLORIDA, 4 March 2016 -- SES S.A. (NYSE Euronext
Paris and Luxembourg Stock Exchange: SESG) announced today that its SES-9 satellite was
successfully launched into space on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from the Cape Canaveral Air
Force Station, Florida. SES-9 roared into space at 6:35 pm East Coast time 00:35 am on 5
March Central European Time and separated from the second stage of the SpaceX rocket 31
minutes later.
SES-9 uses a chemical bi-propellant thruster to conduct major post-launch manoeuvers,
completing its journey to its orbit at 36,000 kilometers above the Equator with an electric
propulsion system. The on-orbit maneuvering throughout the 15 year nominal lifetime of the
satellite will be done entirely by electric propulsion. SES-9 is planned to commence its services
in the third quarter of this year.
SES-9 is SES’s largest satellite to serve the Asia-Pacific region. It weighed 5.3 tonnes at the
launch and has 57 high-power Ku-band transponders – equivalent to 81x36 MHz transponders’
It thus provides significant expansion capacity to serve the buoyant and fast-growing video,
enterprise, mobility and government sectors across Northeast Asia, South Asia, India, Indonesia
and the Philippines. SES-9 will be co-located with another SES satellite, SES-7, at the prime
orbital location of 108.2 degrees East, and will replace the NSS-11 spacecraft at that position.
SES-9 was built by Boeing Satellite Systems International.
“SES-9 is an important building block in our strategy to grow in dynamic regions and four prime
sectors -- video, enterprise, mobility and government,” said Martin Halliwell, Chief Technology
Officer of SES. “Co-located with SES-7, the new satellite will reach 22 million TV homes and is
designed to deliver high-performing connectivity to homes, enterprises and institutions across
Asia. With its dedicated mobility beams, it will help us to capture new opportunities in the
buoyant markets for maritime and aeronautical connectivity. The successful launch of SES-9
also takes us an important step further in our excellent relationship with SpaceX as a launch
provider of growing importance, and is further proof of SpaceX’s professionalism and impressive
performance. I congratulate the SpaceX and SES teams, who together have done an excellent
job.”
More information on the launch and the spacecraft:
SES factsheet: www.ses.com/ses-9-factsheet
SpaceX factsheet: http://www.spacex.com/sites/spacex/files/spacex_ses9_press_kit_final.pdf