| National Cricket player Mahabbob Aalam (right) receiving Youth
Ambassador for Peace award,with the Rt. Hon.Vice President of Nepal
Shri Paramananda Jha left) and YFWP President and Constituent
Assembly member Hon. Ek Nath Dhakal. |
The Himalayan nation of Nepal has recently made the transition from a traditional Hindu monarchy to a modern parliamentary democracy. Historic elections in 2008 brought rebel insurgents into the political process, while seven political parties signed a comprehensive 12-point peace agreement ending a ten-year-old civil war that had left at least 13,000 people dead. Major education initiatives and leadership training by YFWP have significantly contributed to the emergence of a peaceful, politically pluralistic Nepal. Ongoing programs, such as the South Asia Peace Initiative; Young Ambassadors for Peace programs; character education, leadership and good governance conferences; and intercultural exchange projects are making substantial contributions to the peace process in Nepal, according to YFWP-Nepal President Ek Nath Dhakal. Dhakal, 35, was recently elected to Parliament with a number of other Young Ambassadors for Peace, and is also on the Constitutional Drafting Committee. He has long argued that the involvement of the youth sector is critical to sustained peace and development in Nepal. “Youth constitute the major portion of the world’s population,” Dhakal observed at a recent conference in Paraguay. “More importantly, we have endless energy; we love challenges and thrive in a pioneering environment. The Youth Federation for World Peace is teaching and guiding young people to redirect their lives and use their strength so that they are not part of the problem—rather they are the solution.”
Peace takes root
YFWP’s principles of service and interfaith cooperation are taking root in Nepal, which has long supported a large Buddhist minority and has a deep-rooted awareness of the importance of the family as a building block of a peaceful society, a core principle of YFWP. Yet Nepal is not immune from many of the problems of other modern states. “Politicians commonly put themselves above their party and even their own nation,” Dhakal told the Universal Peace Federation’s regional director Robert Kittel. “They seek personal wealth more than national prosperity. To bring things back on the right track we must understand the core principle of living more for others than for ourselves. The greater good must always be placed in the higher position. I am confident that if we can apply the principle of unselfish giving to our nation’s legal framework, then we can truly address the fundamental problems of this nation.”
YFWP initiatives  | Hon. Krishna Prasad Sapkota presenting a Young Ambassador for Peace award.
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YFWP is tackling the challenges of a newly democratic Nepal with initiatives throughout the country. On January 6, 2009, for example, YFWP-Nepal organized the one day interaction seminar at Kathmandu, “Institutionalize the Democratic Culture in New Nepal: A Seminar on Democracy in Federalism,” with Mr. Susil Koirala, the Acting President of Nepali Congress Party, attending as a chief guest. Eighty young people participated, as well as members of Nepal’s Constituent Assembly and other youth leaders. Just two days later, 70 people were appointed as Youth Ambassadors for Peace at a Kathmandu forum, and on January 20, some 250 young leaders from different sectors attended an education summit presided over by the Rt. Hon. Paramananda Jha, Vice President of the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, as a chief guest. On January 22, another 22 young leaders were named Young Ambassadors for Peace, with Constituent Assembly Member Hon. Krishna Prasad Sapkota attending as a featured guest.
Building a peaceful Nepal
These initiatives and others have won broad support among Nepal's new governing coalition, with leaders across the political spectrum voicing their conviction that YFWP has an important role to play. Constituent Assembly representative Honorable Rabindra Adhikari has said that the Youth Federation for World Peace is the “bone marrow for the New Nepal.” Another representative emphasized that YFWP education about family values and peace should be included in school curricula. 
| Left: Children wait to welcome Rt. Hon. Vice President of Nepal Shri Paramananda Jha. Right: Young leaders
from throughout Nepal receive certificates as Young Ambassadors for Peace. |
“We can change the world and put the history of suffering, injustice, poverty, corruption, and pollution of the earth behind us,” Dhakal believes. “The ideals that the saints and sages of history have lived and died for will now be realized. Young Ambassadors for Peace can be role models to realize God’s original ideal, “One Family Under God.” For more information on YFWP’s peace initiatives and leadership programs in Nepal, contact our chapter at
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