Heavenly Culture, World Peace, Restoration of Light (HWPL) is hosting peace initiatives in 170 different countries. In the United States, the organization took to the National Press Club in Northwest D.C. to encourage its mission of utilizing the freedom of the press to motivate world peace on Jan. 28. (Mya Trujillo/ The Washington Informer).
In collaboration with the Dominican College of Journalists, a thought-provoking event explored the vital role of US media in promoting international relations and peace journalism
Founded on the mission of fostering harmonious global relationships and resolving the world’s wars, HWPL is an international nongovernmental organization associated with the U.N. Department of Global Communications and the U.N. Economic and Social Council. The organization takes strides toward its ultimate goal by outlining legislation, hosting workshops and spreading peace education curriculum.
During the event at the National Press Club in Northwest D.C., HWPL members in person and abroad promoted peace reporting. They emphasized that journalists possess a responsibility to remain fair and accurate when covering conflicts and should strive to encourage amicable international relations.
HWPL encourages media outlets and their employees to remain steadfast to peace journalism and report with the mindset of mitigating violence, so the entire world is one step closer to the cessation of wars.
“If the media can’t spread a culture of peace, then truthfully no matter what happens in education, what happens in policy… anything else that happens, it’s not going to be successful,” said Reagan Durkin, director of the HWPL’s Washington, D.C., branch. “Journalism affects the culture. It affects the thoughts [and] ideology of the people, [and] it can divide or it can unify.”
Spreading such a culture requires the media to adhere to peace journalism’s standards of producing well-balanced stories when covering wars, avoiding showing bias toward violence and its perpetrators.
Members of HWPL note peace journalism is currently incredibly crucial, as there were 56 ongoing conflicts in 2024 — the most the world has seen since the second World War’s conclusion in 1945, according to the Global Peace Index produced by the Institute of Economics and Peace.
Digital storyteller Oral Ofori referenced wars in Gaza, Sudan and Ukraine, and conflicts in Nigeria, Syria and the Democratic Republic of Congo, weighing in virtually at the Jan. 28 HWPL event.
“In all of these, the media plays a crucial role in bringing international…topics to the public’s attention,” Ofori told the audience. “The demand for accountability has been brought to the attention of the world community.”
While some may consider Heavenly Culture, World Peace, Restoration of Light’s goal to end all wars as wishful thinking, members say increased peace journalism could make these dreams a reality.
One way to promote peace journalism, according to the organization, is keeping HWPL’s Declaration of Peace and Cessation of War (DPCW) in mind while reporting. The DCPW features 10 articles, including prohibition of the threat or use of force, freedom of religion and spreading a culture of peace.
“Truthfully, sometimes I feel like here in the United States, this kind of topic — peace journalism– isn’t well received,” Durkin told the Informer. “There’s a lot of tensions right now in our society, so this topic might not feel as pertinent.”
Regardless, she’s excited to see the ways peace journalism and HWPL’s initiatives will continue to improve the world.
A year after Dominican President Luis Abinader closed the border with Haiti, refusing refugees, HWPL hosted the Bilateral Peace Summit for the Dominican Republic-Haiti Border Region. This September 2024 summit granted government officials, media personnel and members of civil society from both countries the space to effectively cultivate conflict analysis and peace-building skills.
The bilateral event also took place months after Abinader drafted an update to the Law on Freedom and Expression, including a rejection of prior censorship and offering means of holding the media accountable when necessary. This amended law would work in favor of peace journalism.
“Peace journalism is highly significant because journalists worldwide are agents of change,” said Rommel Santos Diaz, publicity ambassador for HWPL in the Dominican Republic, via video at the National Press Club discussion. “At this moment, I think peace journalism is the most important tool a country can have.”
In an age where society and news are technologically driven, HWPL is also working to spread its mission through digital platforms, hoping to spread empathy across international communities.
“Social media platforms can be harnessed for constructive activism, allowing users to support peace initiatives, share stories of resilience and create awareness about peace-building efforts,” said Ofori. “So like my mother always told me, ‘Peace is not a place you arrive at. Peace is a journey — a continuous struggle to perfect it.’ And when we attain peace, we will fight harder to maintain it.”
SOURCE: washingtoninformer.com