Mancham urges youths to be champions of peace and love

31.07.2004

Former President James R. Mancham has called on the world’s youths to regard themselves as champions of peace and true love.

Mr Mancham was speaking at the July 23 opening of the 10th World Culture and Sports Festival – Assembly 2004, in Seoul, Korea to a gathering of over twenty thousand people from one hundred and ninety one nations who were attending the event.

They included scholars, religious leaders, leaders of governments, diplomats, professionals and athletes who, according to Mr Mancham, had gathered in good faith “to contribute our share in the search for a better and more peaceful world”.

Making reference to the two thousand young athletes who were participating in the festival, Mr Mancham formulated the wish that they would regard themselves not only as champion in their fields of sports but also as “champions of peace and true love”.

“The world’s young need a vision that takes them beyond the pursuit of material greed and self-gratification. Too many of the world’s young enjoy too many material benefits while millions of others are living in poverty and hopelessness. Let us work together towards overcoming this tragic situation – at least towards narrowing the divide”, Mr Mancham said.

In his address Mr Mancham also spoke of the need to honour and promote traditional and spiritual values.

“We are living in difficult times, I would even say dangerous times. All around us, in all parts of the world, we witness the devastation of violence, the re-emergence of tuberculosis and malaria, HIV/Aids, family breakdown, poverty, corruption and crime. Moreover, we have been swimming too long in the ocean of ‘crisis of values’, where the highest priority is placed on the accumulation of wealth while neglecting to honour and promote traditional and spiritual values which remains the basis for our sense of social cohesions and wellbeing,” Mr Mancham said.

After his stay in Korea, Mr Mancham arrived in Nagoya, Japan on July 29 to discuss the potential of Japanese tourism to Seychelles.

His visit includes meeting with Mr Tsutomu Kobayashi, President of a major advertising agency in central Japan, and Mr Taiichi Ishida of the Ishida Foundation who are interested to promote Seychelles as a market for the Japanese visitors.

The visit to Nagoya was coordinated by Dr Jean-Claude Ahweng, who is presently a lecturer at Aichi Gakuin University after earning his Ph.D. from the prestigious Nagoya University in Japan.