World Education University to train and raise world leaders

Rev. Che-hui Lee,
National Messiah to Canada
20 November 2002

Sun Moon University overseas campus in Canada has generated international interest since its establishment as the World Education University. Initially starting out in 2000 as the World Education Institute under the True Parents' motto "Love God, Love Humanity, Love Your Country," it began by offering an English language learning program to Sun Moon University's theology students.

The World Education Institute's humble beginnings consisted of renting a part of the Toronto Church building. However, thanks to True Parents, we now have a building capable of accommodating 1,200 people equipped with excellent educational, sporting and recreational facilities on 6.6 hectares (16.5 acres) of land in Hamilton City near Toronto, finally befitting a university campus.

The campus will become fully operational in 2003 and will serve the purposes of the "3+1" program of Sun Moon University (three years in Korea one year overseas) and to provide training for second generation members of Unificationist families. It will start out by focusing on language education, particularly the learning of English in a native environment, before going on to facilitate official degree programs in the near future.

About Canada

It has the world's largest land surface area second only to Russia, and its only neighbor is the United States of America, with which it has a common border stretching over nearly 9,000 km (including about 2,500 km with the State of Alaska to its west). Being sparsely populated with little more than thirty million, approximately eighty-five percent of which is concentrated within 300 km of its southern border with the U.S., Canada welcomes some 300,000 new immigrants each year, opening its doors wide as a nation of unlimited opportunities and great diversity of cultures.

Canada's innumerable lakes account for fifty percent of the world's surface water, and the beauty of its natural environment is very well known to the world, with the Niagara Falls and the Rocky mountains numbering among its highly popular tourist destinations. As a member of the G8 together with America, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and Russia, Canada enjoys the highest living standards in the world today.

Educational Environment

A must for the youth living in the age of globalization, especially the second generation members of Unificationist families responsible for completely settling in the age of the Cheon Il Guk is the mastery of the English language. Few people would disagree with Canada as an optimal choice location for acquiring English language skills.

Canada's cost of living is relatively lower than that of the U.S. or Britain, and is also one of the safest places in the world with a good natural environment. Visas to Canada are also more readily obtainable. Above all, Canadian English is considered to have a neutral characteristic between classical British English and modern American English, and therefore easily learnt and used.

Currently, Korean students are reported to be spending in the region of US$800,000,000 on overseas language courses annually, US$100,000,000 of which in Toronto alone. This statistic attests well to the standing of Canadian English.

World Education University

Within the first three years, our university's education programs are bearing much fruit under the tender loving care and nurturing approach of its staff for the students. Along with the regular curriculum, special training programs have also been developed to raise up future world leaders from among the second generation members of our Unificationist families.

The language program does not end with classroom lectures but continues by giving students real life opportunities to practice what they learnt in their classrooms. This aspect of the program has been one of our strengths compared to other schools. Students learn from qualified and experienced native-speaking lecturers twenty hours per week (four hours daily, Monday through Friday) in their ESL program and participate in after-class programs such as movie nights, live music concerts, field trips, reading club, discussion groups and cross-cultural education.

From Spring Term early next year, the Hamilton campus will be running advanced language laboratories and a highspeed internet service, besides a library, multi-media and music rooms, cooking facilities, a cafeteria, a playing field, tennis courts, an indoor basketball court, a game room for ping pong and billiards), a movie theater, and a dormitory.

Near the campus are vast apple, cherry, grape and peach orchards. Lake Ontario is not far off and the Niagara Falls are but a half-hour's drive away, altogether making for a most romantic pastoral setting.

FFWPU-CANADA