NEW YORK — International leaders, peace advocates, faith representatives and young people gathered Sept. 24 at 777 United Nations Plaza in New York City for “War, Wonders, and Women,” an intergenerational program promoting peace, servant leadership, women’s leadership and the fundamental rights of children.
Held during the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly, the program was presented by the Africa-US Presidential Forum, World Peace Volunteers, Royal Love 777, Wonders from Ghana-Nekotech Center and the Federation of World Peace and Love. The organizations partnered with the Diaspora Affairs Office of the President of Ghana and the Ghana Tourism Authority.
H.E. Rev. Dr. Princess Asie Kabuki Ocansey, executive chair of the Africa-US Presidential Forum and a longtime advocate for education, migration reform and human development, co-hosted the program with Olufunmilola Serwa Babalola, known as Ara Ẹni, and Seth Osei of World Peace Volunteers. Ocansey was recently recognized as one of 100 iconic women leaders.
The afternoon program featured an intergenerational peace and love showcase inspired by Articles 5 and 7 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. A ceremonial ringing of the Bell of Peace underscored the gathering’s call for unity amid continuing wars, political unrest and humanitarian crises around the world.
The event also introduced the annual UNGA Global Servant Leaders for Peace Award. The inaugural honorees included H.E. Dr. Joyce Banda, former president of Malawi, for championing educational opportunities for young people, and H.E. Dr. Julius Maada Bio, president of Sierra Leone, for his leadership in human capital development.
A symbolic foot-washing ceremony emphasized humility as an essential quality of servant leadership and peacebuilding. Organizers announced plans for the ceremony to become an annual observance during United Nations General Assembly week.
“We must become very intentional about women’s leadership as a peace strategy, while also growing the next generation of global leaders and planting seeds of peace in them now,” Ocansey said.
She also emphasized the importance of ensuring that every child received a name, official birth registration and recognition of identity. According to UNICEF estimates cited during the program, more than 150 million children worldwide remained unregistered, with more than half living in sub-Saharan Africa.
The program launched 16 bilingual children’s books from the “Wonders from Ghana’s Volta River” series. The books, presented in Ghanaian and Nigerian languages as well as Swahili, Hindi, Chinese, Arabic and French, addressed children’s right to a name under Article 7 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Through the “Wonders Declaration: The Right to the Right Name,” organizers called upon Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama to include the restoration of identity and dignity in Ghana’s reparations agenda. The declaration connected the modern struggle of unregistered children with the historic loss of names, families, communities, inheritances and property experienced by Africans during the transatlantic slave trade and colonization. Mahama was honored with the Wonders Declaration Award for his leadership on reparations.
The gathering also marked the launch of the Royal Love 777 devotional and the Royal Priesthood of Global Servant Leaders for Peace, with the installation of the first 12 of 24 elders.
Additional initiatives announced during the program included intergenerational showcases, church naming ceremonies, children’s book readings, African games and music programs in the United States. The activities will support preparations for the Ghana@70 Global Kingdom Pilgrimage, scheduled for March 1–10, 2027, and a mass Ghana Naming Ceremony planned for New York during Black History Month in February 2027.
Presiding Bishop Jerry Ayiku Demmer of Absolute Word Church in Denver officiated, joined by Pastor William Tetteh and Yvonne Lamptey.
