FOWPAL gathers global leaders in Toronto to push conscience, transparency and peace

FOWPAL brought former heads of state, peace advocates and other leaders to Toronto on Oct. 2 for a summit focused on peace, trust and environmental sustainability. The gathering centered on a declaration of transparency and integrity and on how conscience could shape global action.

Why it matters: - The summit framed peace, accountability and sustainability as linked challenges that require collective action from governments, civil society and future leaders. - The event put conscience, transparency and integrity at the center of a broader argument about how to reduce conflict, strengthen trust and protect the environment. - The gathering brought together leaders from more than 10 nations, widening the reach of the message across regions and sectors.

What happened: - The Federation of World Peace and Love organized the World Leader Summit of Love and Peace in Toronto on Oct. 2, 2026. - The summit brought together Jerry White, co-leader of the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize-winning International Campaign to Ban Landmines, five former heads of state and government, and other peace advocates. - Former Prime Minister of Bhutan Jigmi Y. Thinley endorsed the Declaration of Transparency and Integrity. - Dr. Hong presented the FOWPAL Peace Bell Award to Thinley and gave symbolic works of art and gifts to distinguished leaders. - The summit ended with a performance of "We Are One World" and a cultural presentation by FOWPAL youth members.

The details: - Dr. Hong, Tao-Tze said sustainable peace rests on three basic elements: integrity, transparency and conscience. - Dr. Hong said sustainable peace is a shared responsibility that no single nation or organization can achieve alone. - Dr. Hong said integrity builds trust, transparency allows truth to flourish, and conscience helps leaders stay on course when interests collide. - Dr. Pakalitha Bethuel Mosisili, former prime minister of Lesotho, backed the Declaration of Transparency and Integrity and tied peace and sustainable development to the values behind policy. - Rosalía Arteaga Serrano, former president of Ecuador, said the key question around AI is not only what it can do but what society should allow it to do. - Arteaga said shaping the future is a human and ethical responsibility, and she stressed the role of education and teachers in shaping conscience and values. - Anthony Thomas Aquinas Carmona, former president of Trinidad and Tobago, praised Dr. Hong's push for the International Day of Conscience. - Carmona said peace depends on justice, equity, the rule of law and institutional accountability. - Jigmi Y. Thinley said today’s global turmoil is tied to consumer-driven development that has harmed the environment and society and to nations’ failure to recognize interdependence. - Thinley urged leaders to unite the world through transparency and integrity and to mobilize collective action. - Dr. Ivo Josipović, former president of Croatia, called on society to choose love over hate and expand education that resists hate, totalitarianism and human rights abuses. - Jerry White said integrity means living true to values and conscience acts as a moral compass; paired with transparency and accountability, those principles connect "being, seeing, and doing." - Jonathan Granoff, president of the Global Security Institute, called conscience an inestimable value and said nuclear weapons should be eliminated. - Granoff proposed a 21st-century golden rule: treat the lives and well-being of future generations as people want to be treated. - Dr. Werner Fasslabend, former minister of defense of Austria, called for rule-based political structures grounded in conscience. - Henry R. Ori, former minister of education, science and culture of Suriname, said true sustainability requires a moral architecture and clear ethical commitments from leaders. - Massimo Introvigne, editor-in-chief of Bitter Winter, said changing a turbulent world starts with cultivating conscience in each person. - Willy Fautré, director of Human Rights Without Frontiers, called for a shared commitment grounded in conscience, transparency, integrity and peace. - Hans Noot, associate director of Human Rights Without Frontiers, described conscience as an inner guiding force, transparency as its public expression and integrity as the discipline to live by those principles.

Between the lines: - The summit linked moral language with policy concerns, signaling an attempt to move peace advocacy beyond symbolism and into governance, education and environmental stewardship. - Several speakers tied the message to current debates on AI, nuclear weapons, institutional accountability and human rights. - FOWPAL used the event to reinforce its broader campaign around conscience as a public ethic, not just a private value.

What's next: - Representatives said they hope to translate the summit’s moral message into daily action for a sustainable global home for future generations. - The declaration and the speeches set up further advocacy around transparency, integrity and conscience in public life. - FOWPAL’s continued work around the International Day of Conscience and related initiatives is likely to remain part of that effort.

The bottom line: - FOWPAL used the Toronto summit to cast peace, sustainability and good governance as one challenge: building institutions and personal habits grounded in conscience, transparency and integrity.