“Treat others as you would want to be treated”—this timeless message echoed powerfully during the Golden Rule Day 2025 celebration hosted by INSAF CC, Global Youth CC, and the URI SEAPac Region on April 5th, 2025.
Peacemakers, youth leaders, and interfaith activists from across Malaysia and around the world gathered online to reflect on the importance of the Golden Rule and how we live it in our daily lives.
Among the key speakers was Issac S Thomas, Vice Chair of the URI Global Council and Global Trustee for the URI Multiregion. Issac joined URI at the age of 13 in Kerala, India, as part of the South India Sri Lanka region.
He was one of the first participants in URI’s Young Leaders Program and later became the Youth Ambassador for the region. In 2017, he founded the Global Youth Movement CC and has since led various interfaith youth initiatives, including the “1 Billion Youth for Peace” campaign.
Issac’s message was clear and heartfelt:
“Peace doesn’t begin in conferences or declarations. It begins in our daily choices—in the way we treat others, especially those different from us.
The Golden Rule is not just a moral teaching—it is a lifestyle, a practice of leadership, and the foundation of peacebuilding.” Quoting various sacred texts that echo this rule—from the Bible to the Quran, from Hinduism to Buddhism—Issac emphasized that every major faith tradition teaches us to treat others with kindness, fairness, and dignity.
He also highlighted the work of URI across the globe in bringing this principle to life through interfaith dialogue, community healing, youth empowerment, and peace education. He shared how URI’s Cooperation Circles like Voices for a World Free of Nuclear Weapons continue to bring moral and spiritual urgency to issues of global concern, and how the 1 Billion Youth for Peace movement is mobilizing young people to take personal and collective action for a peaceful world.
“People often think peace is someone else’s job. But peace begins with you and me,” Issac said. “If we want to live in a world where everyone is treated with dignity, we must start by living that principle ourselves. That is what the Golden Rule demands of us. And it is not optional—it is essential.”
The program also featured youth reflections, interfaith stories, and grassroots testimonies from across the region. Attendees were inspired to recommit to the Golden Rule in their homes, schools, workplaces, and communities. It was a celebration not just of shared values, but of shared responsibility.
Golden Rule Day 2025 served as a moving reminder that the path to peace is paved by small, daily actions rooted in empathy, compassion, and respect. It affirmed that URI’s global family remains united by a simple truth that has the power to transform lives
