Atlanta, GA – There’s an added bonus for 250 young people taking part in Atlanta’s youth employment program this summer. In addition to a welcome pay packet they will take part in GPFF’s Character Competency Program, which may prove more valuable to them than the cash in the long run.

Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed announced the program, along with the Georgia Teenwork Program that provides city jobs to 1,700 young people, to media and hundreds of youth at the city council chambers Tuesday morning. The mayor’s office said this marked the launch of a pilot collaboration involving federal, state and city agencies, and the non-profit world represented by GPFF.

Can interfaith cooperation resolve identity-based conflicts? This question was the catalyst of discussion for a gathering of distinguished speakers and guests at a Global Peace Leadership Forum in Washington DC, on March 19, 2010. If a poll had been taken at the close of the meeting, concerning this question, the answer would surely be a resounding "Yes!"

Mr Jim Flynn, Senior Vice President of the Global Peace Festival Foundation (GPFF), began the forum by asserting that interfaith peacebuilding can provide a new paradigm based on the premise that there are common universal principles amongst the world's religions which lead to shared values that are essential resources to transcend divisions. The theme of GPFF, "One Family under God," is not a simple slogan but a core defining value, a fundamental orientation through which people of all faiths, races, and cultural backgrounds can find a common identity and a basis for respect and accommodation.