The documentary, “The Golden Rule: Do Unto Others…” was screened at the Indonesian Parliament House in Jakarta on March 12th, 2024. This film focuses on the commonality of every faith when addressing peaceful coexistence and civil behavior. The Golden Rule, which is also known as the Ethic of Reciprocity, is a universal value that instructs each individual to, “Do unto others as you would want to have done to yourself” as well as the converse, “Do not do to another what you would not want to have done to yourself.”
We are living in a time when so much of the world is immersed in violence, discrimination, intolerance, corruption and abuse. It is essential for us to be reminded to embrace this behavioral value that is crucial to civility and tolerance and is a priority within every religion.
This special Parliament House screening was attended by a diverse representation of religious clergy as well as faith based organizational leaders, government officials and several busloads of high school students. The screening was followed by an interfaith roundtable discussion that included Mr. Kakan Sukandin and Mr. K.H. Ucup Saputra from the Muslim faith, Mr. Cosmas Maurema from the Catholic faith, Pastor P.H Happy Munthe from the Christian faith, and Mr. Wayan Wira Saputra from the Hindu faith.
Together they affirmed the significance of the Golden Rule and the importance of including it in the educational curriculum for all ages.
As an acknowledgement of the timely importance of this film, the Visions of Peace Initiative together with the documentary received the “Organization and Film of Peace Award, 2024” collectively from the Muslim, Majelis Ulama Indonesia, from the Christian, Victory Foundation, and from the Hindu, Girinatha Foundation. The award recognizes the documentary as “an important film that brings light and peace to the world.”
Mr. Kakan Sukandin, representing the Indonesian Ulama Council stated, “This film is on a humanitarian mission to achieve world peace, by teaching tolerance and how to love other people as we love ourselves. I have the greatest appreciation for this documentary. I hope that after seeing this film that each of us can behave more peacefully towards one another both in our communities and in our country and help achieve a more global peaceful coexistence.”
Following the screening at the Parliament House, the documentary continued what is being described as its” peace and tolerance film tour” and included screenings at the Russian Cultural Embassy, the Cibubur Junction Cinepolis Cinema for media, diplomats, and students and at several schools including the MAN 4 Bogor, Sagamulya High School, and SMAN 1 Cigombong. During these multiple screenings, several thousand students and young adults were in attendance and participated in the Question and Answer sessions that followed afterwards.
The Sudanese Ambassador to Indonesia, Dr. Yassir Mohamed Ali, who attended the Cinepolis Cinema screening commented, “This film is very good and this film has many messages to convey. Not only to just one religion but to all religions in the world because the Golden Rule exists in all religions. To achieve world peace we, as Muslims, must apply this Golden Rule to our religion as part of civility for all humanity and it is very important for this Golden Rule to be taught in schools. The more we teach open-mindedness, tolerance, and the Golden Rule to the younger generation the hope for a better world will be more likely come true. It’s important for the younger generation to be taught what the Golden Rule is. They need to understand that the meaning of religion is love.”
Princess Cheryl Halpern, a founder of the Visions of Peace Initiative and also a co-producer, explained the decision to commission this documentary saying, “Tolerance, the willingness to accept behavior and beliefs that are different from your own is essential in order to achieve civility and respect for diversity. Unfortunately, tolerance is not included in the human genome. Tolerance must be taught to our children. We need to provide the education and support to enable our children to reject the intolerance, disunity and extremism to which they are exposed. This is the mission of the Visions of Peace Initiative.”
Princess Natasha Dematra, a co-founder of the Visions of Peace Initiative and co-producer of the documentary noted, “Through the Visions of Peace Initiative’s programs, Indonesian youth have learned to embrace the Golden Rule as the universal value of social civility. This documentary presents this core behavioral goal that is central to every faith. It is a value that must be embraced in our world where violence, prejudice and injustice is growing unabated.”
Since its founding, the not-for-profit Visions of Peace Initiative has been committed to motivating young Indonesians, ages 5 to 18, to use their artistic talents to spread ideas and share perspectives on tolerance, peace and respect for humanity.
Schools, orphanages and religious organizations, representing all faiths and ethnic denominations, have participated in the more than 100 Visions of Peace Initiative events and programs. By encouraging the youth to express their visions for peaceful coexistence through the arts, the Visions of Peace Initiative has helped identify areas of alienation and distrust between the young and has nurtured an attitude of greater openness, candor and tolerance from the participants. Recognition for the success of the Visions of Peace Initiative programs has been forthcoming through multiple nominations for the Nobel Peace Prize that have been made.
In January, “The Golden Rule: Do Unto Others…” made its world premiere screening at the Cinepolis Cinema, in Denpasar, Bali. This film was produced as a collaboration between the American award-winning HQ Creative production team, Indonesia’s award winning Angel Pictures and the Visions of Peace Initiative. Together, these production partners are committed to screening the important message of “The Golden Rule: Do Unto Others…” globally in a dedicated effort to foster a more peaceful and tolerant world.
