The Sound of the Bell of World Peace and Love Reverberates in Vienna
Ten Visionary Leaders Make Wishes for World Peace
(By Doris Chen, Vienna) On October 10, the Federation of World Peace and Love hosted the 2018 World Leader Summit of Love and Peace at the Grand Hotel Wien in Vienna, the world capital of music and an international city of peace. The summit was attended by nearly 100 honorable guests from 16 nations, and visionaries from all fields exchanged their views on love and peace, a culture of peace, and global sustainability.
During the summit, a ceremony of ringing the Bell of World Peace and Love was held, and it was the first time that the ceremony took place in Vienna. The sound of the Bell continued to reverberate as ten visionary leaders rang the Bell and made their wishes for world peace, including Mr. Ernst Woller, First President of the Vienna Provincial Parliament; H.H. Prince Bernard Ndouga from Cameroon; Dr. Werner Fasslabend, former Minister of Defense of Austria; H.E. Mrs. Roxanna de los Santos de Piantini, Alternate Ambassador of the Dominican Republic to Austria; H.E. Dr. Hassan Wario Arero, Ambassador of Kenya to the UN; H.E. Mr. San Lwin, Ambassador of Myanmar to Austria; H.E. Mr. Paul Shihengo, Chargé d'affaires at the Namibian Embassy in Austria; H.E. Dr. Mohammed bin Saleh Al Gheilani, Permanent Observer of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf to the UN in Vienna; H.E. Mrs. Maria Cleofe Natividad, Ambassador of the Philippines to Austria; and H.E. Mokhtar Naoun, Alternate Ambassador of Algeria to Austria.
Dr. Werner Fasslabend, former Minister of Defense of Austria, wished “freedom for the people all over the world without war!” Dr. Fasslabend said it was a wonderful ceremony, which created an atmosphere of joy, peace, love, togetherness, and positivity. He thinks that the event is extremely necessary because what the world needs is an optimistic view of the future and such a view can shape a peaceful world. Having worked very hard to prevent wars between nations, Dr. Fasslabend thinks that raising people’s awareness about the necessity of peace is important because the more people are convinced of its importance, the more people will be ready to work for it. Attaining world peace will be easier this way, added Dr. Fasslabend.
Mr. Ernst Woller, First President of the Vienna Provincial Parliament, stated, “May the sound of this bell encourage all of us to carry love and solidarity into our fields of work and living and spread from there around the world, especially to those who are in greatest need of it.” Mr. Woller said that he was happy to attend the event and that it was a wonderful evening of love and peace. He thought that the summit provided a great opportunity to meet wonderful people from around the world and the event served as a good way to foster world peace. He said that he enjoyed ringing the Bell, which was a new experience to him.
H.H. Prince Bernard Ndouga from Cameroon shared his best wishes: all truly live together in peace. His Highness thought that everyone should do his or her part to make the world more peaceful. His Highness remarked that the cause of human suffering is selfishness, so he was thankful to Dr. Hong for selflessly encouraging people to work for world peace.
H.E. Mrs. Roxanna de los Santos de Piantini, Alternate Ambassador of the Dominican Republic to Austria, wished “peace for the Dominican Republic for all over the world and to the universe today, tomorrow and forever.” Her Excellency shared that “peace and love is the very best of the world. We need to love each other every day.” Her Excellency expressed her appreciation for the opportunity to participate in the event and stressed that “love is everything.”
H.E. Dr. Hassan Wario Arero, Ambassador of Kenya to the UN in Vienna, wished that “love and peace spread all over the world, to all the children.” Ambassador Arero said that the event was wonderful and that he enjoyed FOWPAL’s performances. His Excellency shared, “Most importantly, I just realized the power of love, the power of peace.” Ambassador Arero said that he would carry the message of love and peace everywhere and that in all his work he would make sure he contributes to the betterment of the world.
H.E. Mr. San Lwin, Ambassador of Myanmar to Austria, stated, “If there is love, there will be real peace. When you make peace with yourself, you make peace with the world. Wish you keep the peace within yourself.”
H.E. Mr. Paul Shihengo, Chargé d'affaires at the Namibian Embassy in Austria, wished “the world to continue enjoying peace and love.” His Excellency shared that “peace and love is really a good thing. Without it, we are not going to survive.” His Excellency said, “I felt love and peace when I was ringing the Bell. . . . I was motivated to continue to promote love and peace worldwide when I rang it.” His Excellency encouraged everybody in the world to work together for peace.
H.E. Dr. Mohammed bin Saleh Al Gheilani, Permanent Observer of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf to the UN in Vienna, wished that “the world will become a better place to live on.” His Excellency said the event was fantastic and stressed the importance of peace by saying, “Without peace, no body can enjoy anything.” He also said that the FOWPAL youth brought hope to people and helped improve the world.
“For peace, albeit elusive that we will all strive to achieve for human kind,” said H.E. Mrs. Maria Cleofe Natividad, Ambassador of the Philippines to Austria. Her Excellency expressed her appreciation for Dr. Hong, Tao-Tze, President of FOWPAL, for the wonderful event by saying, “I’m truly inspired and I’m very very blessed that I’m here tonight to share this wonderful moment with you. The messages I have heard here tonight are truly inspiring--messages of love and peace, hope, and understanding.”
H.E. Mokhtar Naoun, Alternate Ambassador of Algeria to Austria, wished that all can live together in peace. His Excellency thought that the event was very inspiring. His Excellency was happy to find more peace promoters in the world as Algeria is dedicated to the goal of peace. His Excellency mentioned that Algeria proposed a resolution titled “International Day for Living Together in Peace” at the UN General Assembly in 2017, which received support from over 100 nations and was passed. His Excellency knew that FOWPAL also emphasized the importance of living together in peace and harmony with one another.
To date, 328 prominent leaders from 103 countries have rung the Bell of World Peace and Love, including 38 heads of state and government, 7 Nobel Peace Prize laureates, UN ambassadors, and visionary leaders from various circles. FOWPAL believes that the kind wishes of the bell ringers will collectively advance our world towards peace.