Reported by Lily Chen

In recognition of Universal Children’s Day, the “International Forum on the Awakening of Conscience VI” was held at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona (Cal Poly Pomona) on Nov. 22. Attendees of the forum included children, youths, college students, educators, and people who care about children’s well-being; the panelists included Dr. Tony Torng, member on the Walnut Valley Unified School District Board; Dr. E. Anneli Adams, executive director of Global Initiatives at the International Center of Cal Poly Pomona; Nicholas Huang, counselor of APAPA Southern California Region Youth Leadership; Dr. Annie Lee, anesthesiologist at Olive View UCLA Medical Center and Miss Taiwanese American 2012; etc.

The United Nations General Assembly adopted the Declaration of the Rights of the Child on November 20, 1959 and the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the same day in 1989. Starting from 1990, each year the United Nations holds activities on Nov. 20 to raise awareness for children’s protection, education, safety, welfare, etc. In support of the Universal Children’s Day, Tai Ji Men Qigong Academy (TJM), the Federation of World Peace and Love (FOWPAL), and the Association of World Citizens, NGO in consultative status with ECOSOC and associated with the UN DPI (AWC), and the English Language Institute at Cal Poly Pomona co-hosted the “International Forum on the Awakening of Conscience VI” on Nov. 22 at the Student Center of Cal Poly Pomona, continuing the positive energies of the global movement of An Era of Conscience.

UN statistics shows that in 2013 approximately 6.3 million children lost their lives before reaching the age of 5 and in 2012, there were 168 million children between the ages of 5 to 17 engaged in child labor.  Additionally, in Pakistan nearly 300,000 children have been out of school since July, 2014 due to military conflicts.  Over 5.5 million children have been affected by the Syrian Civil War.  It is estimated that in Syria nearly 3 million children are out of school and one million children are now living under siege or in areas that are inaccessible due to intense violence, and over 10,000 children have died in the conflicts since January 2014.

Therefore, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon issued a statement for this year’s Universal Children’s Day, stating that as we celebrated the 25th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, “We must recommit ourselves to advancing the rights of every child, especially those who have been left behind… While accountability for the rights enshrined in the Convention lies with governments, we all have a common responsibility to uphold and protect those rights, which are fundamental to the strength of our societies.  Together, let us stand up for the rights of children everywhere, for a more just and equitable world, and for a brighter future for all.”

Dr. Hong Tao-Tze, initiator of the movement of An Era of Conscience, Zhang-men-ren of Tai Ji Men and president of FOWPAL, gave welcoming remarks and presented an essay entitled “Global Awakening of Conscience for the Protection of Children’s Human Rights.”  Dr. Hong emphasized that the most important thing as we raise and educate our children is to awaken the conscience in the world’s people, especially children. He stressed in his essay, “Cultivating children to follow the inner moral compass is far more important than other things in the upbringing of children. The compass encompasses many good qualities such as courage, good communication, tolerance, forgiveness, wisdom, and peace. Children can carry the compass inside their hearts for life, and it can guide them along the right path of life and enable them to grow and to succeed. They will become the kind of visionary that is not selfish or short-sighted but has a broad worldview and cares about people. They are able to utilize wisdom to resolve conflicts and work for the common good to benefit Mother Earth and all humanity. Conscience is the core value of what makes a human being human.  Conscience is children’s most precious asset. Conscience is the foundation upon which mutual benefits and collective prosperity will be built.”

Mr. Daniel Lesho, director at Cal Poly Pomona English Language Institute, attended the “International Forum on the Awakening of Conscience” in celebration of International Love and Peace Day held at Tai Ji Men Qigong Academy on Sept. 14, 2014.  In October Mr. Lesho took a trip to Taiwan and paid a visit to Tai Ji Men Qigong Academy in Taipei, which furthered his understanding of Tai Ji Men and the movement of An Era of Conscience.  Mr. Lesho said that the movement raises people’s awareness about how they behave and treat others and “that’s something we can all benefit from and something we can definitely learn from.  It’s wonderful to see a group that is open and talking about these things.” At the beginning of the forum, Mr. Lesho gave a welcoming speech to all participants and expressed his gratitude to Tai Ji Men for bringing the event to Cal Poly Pomona campus. “Over the time, I’ve learned more about your organization and your goals.  We just decided to support you as best as we can. I think it’s great for us in the United States here to be exposed to a movement like this,” said Mr. Lesho, “I hope that this can be a beginning of a fruitful partnership and relationship between our two organizations.”

Dr. E. Anneli Adams, executive director of Global Initiatives at the International Center of Cal Poly Pomona, reflected on the history of mankind and said “When I looked at that transition from the hunters and gatherers all the way to where we think we are today, there is one thing that unites us.  It’s how and what we educate our children with.  It’s both about the approach we do; it’s the values that we integrate into what we convey to them. It is about transforming and transmitting the core values from one society to another. By knowledge transfer, we can give children something immediate that helps them.  But if we educate the heart in addition to the brain, we provide the children and that given generation with tools that help them not just on daily basis but throughout their lives.”

Dr. Tony Torng said that as member on the Walnut Valley Unified School District Board he works with other board members to define how to educate the next generation.  Dr. Torng stated, “I have to do a good job for my board.  I totally agree with the Era of Conscience movement.  We have to educate everybody.  Everybody has to do his own job.  We don’t want children to be just like academic geeks.  We hope them to go outside and help people.  We all try to teach our kids that we really care about our community.” Dr. Torng emphasized that we need to encourage children to do volunteer work and get involved in the community. “Children are future leaders in this movement.  They can help not just themselves but the world,” said Dr. Torng.   We just started to come together, and we have to keep working together to make this movement a success, added Dr. Torng.

Dr. Annie Lee, Miss Taiwanese American 2012, is currently an anesthesiologist at Olive View UCLA Medical Center.  She stated at the forum that the Era of Conscience starts with ourselves on our daily basis. She shared her personal story to emphasize that we can positively affect children by giving them encouraging words, listening to their concerns, and showing them how to be a better person by example.  She was born with a congenital heart problem and had heart surgery at 2 and then again at 12.  At that time she was really ashamed of having the surgery and the scar.  Her pediatric cardiologist said, “Annie, why are you ashamed of having the surgery or the scar?  You should be kissing it every day because it saved your life.” “That was a light bulb moment for me, and I realized I really should just embrace who I am and really proud of the life-saving experience,” said Dr. Lee. Besides practicing medicine, she is active in the community and is currently the president of the Taiwanese American Professionals, LA, a non-profit, non-partisan organization that promotes leadership and professionalism in Los Angeles.

A powerful wave of hopeful and peaceful energy was brought to the event as a group of children and youth presented a song entitled “Love and Peace Song.” The beautiful song cleansed the hearts of all participants and encouraged everyone to bravely move forward on his/her life journey.

Since International Love and Peace Day (Sept. 15), a series of “International Forum on the Awakening of Conscience” has been co-organized by TJM, FOWPAL, and AWC. The forum has consolidated the wisdom of conscientious experts, scholars, and people to awaken the conscience in more people and inspire more kind words and good deeds around the globe.  The conjoined positive influences have instilled powerful energies to help stabilize the world.  The organizers encourage everyone to jointly promote the movement of An Era of Conscience and inspire more people to follow their conscience and show their care to the world and children. This way, the ripple effects of goodness will keep expanding, and children can grow up in a world free from sorrow, fear, war, and pain.

Attendees of the event include children, youth, college students, educators, and people who care about children’s well-being.

Director Daniel Lesho at Cal Poly Pomona English Language Institute states that An Era of Conscience raises people’s awareness of how they behave and treat others and that’s something we can all benefit from. "It’s great for us in the United States here to be exposed to a movement like this."

Dr. E. Anneli Adams, executive director of Global Initiatives of the International Center at Cal Poly Pomona, states, "If we educate the heart in addition to the brain, we provide the children and that given generation with tools that help them not just on daily basis but throughout their lives."

Dr. Tony Torng, member on the Walnut Valley Unified School District Board, encourages children to do more volunteer work and get involved in the community.

Dr. Annie Lee, Miss Taiwanese American 2012, shares her personal story and encourages people to set a good example for children.