Cheongju, South Korea – The Heavenly Culture, World Peace, Restoration of Light (HWPL) is set to host the 11th Anniversary of the September 18th HWPL World Peace Summit from September 18-19, 2025, in Cheongju, South Korea. Under the theme “Uniting for Peace and Fulfilling Humanity’s Duty Together,” this year’s event will bring together high-level attendees from around the world to celebrate 11 years of progress and chart a path forward for global peace.
The event will welcome over 770 distinguished attendees including presidents, prime ministers, speakers of national assemblies, chief justices, government ministers, and leaders from educational, religious, and media sectors. The summit will review HWPL’s key peace initiatives and achievements over the past year and present them to the international community.
The upcoming summit builds on the foundation laid at the inaugural HWPL World Peace Summit in 2014, where global leaders signed two foundational agreements: Agreement to Propose the Enactment of International Law for the Cessation of Wars and World Peace, and the World Alliance of Religions Agreement emphasizing that “everyone should become a messenger of peace. These agreements became a significant milestone for the proclamation of the Declaration of Peace and Cessation of War (DPCW) in 2016, Legislate Peace program, religious harmony, and the role of civil society.
A major highlight of the past year has been the growing support for the DPCW, a legal instrument for sustainable peace. During the last year, resolutions endorsing the DPCW have been adopted by multiple legislative bodies, including in the cities of South Fulton and Fairburn, and Stonecrest and the counties of DeKalb and Fulton in Georgia, USA. Additionally, the DPCW has been endorsed in the provinces of Bayan-Olgii, Khovd, Bulgan, and Orkhon in Mongolia, the city of Yorosso in Mali, Calauan in the province of Laguna, Philippines, and the city of Bemasoandro, Madagascar. Most notably, the Latin American and Caribbean Parliament (PARLATINO), a union of 23 countries, adopted a resolution, that fully supports the principles of the DPCW and recommends that member states officially endorse it.
Other significant developments include the expansion of interfaith dialogue through scripture study, which has increased public participation, and HWPL’s peace education is in the process of being adopted into the public school curriculum of Timor-Leste, with about 70% of higher education institutions actively cooperating toward this. The ‘Together: Connecting Korea’, a peaceful unification campaign on the Korean Peninsula, has also expanded its cooperation with local governments.
Over the past year, HWPL’s membership has grown significantly from 500,000 to 700,000. This growth reflects a shared commitment to the vision expressed by Chairman Man Hee Lee at the 9th anniversary of the DPCW this March: “We are not strangers to peace. We are the people involved, and we ourselves are peace. So let us lead this global community to a world of peace.”
In addition to the main event in Cheongju, local anniversary events will be held in 78 countries until October, with a total of over 15,000 participants expected to attend. These regional events underscore the summit’s goal of strengthening local peace networks and engaging a wider global community in fulfilling a common mission for peace for humanity.