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May 06, 2009
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The first-ever World Civic Forum kicked off yesterday in Seoul with the expressed purpose of tackling a range of social issues including poverty, education and climate change. “The WCF 2009 calls for the attention of the global society to the ever-glaring aporia facing humanity in the 21st century,” Choue In-won, president of Kyung Hee University, said in an opening address to 1,000 governmental and academic leaders from 80 countries. “It is our hope that the university community and international society will join in the spirit of global consensus and agreement and together search for a better future for humanity and planet Earth.” The biennial international forum, co-hosted by Kyung Hee University and the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, runs through Friday at COEX in southern Seoul under the theme “building our humanitarian planet.” Sha Zukang, United Nations under- secretary general for economic and social affairs, and Prime Minister Han Seung-soo also gave opening remarks. Hans d’Orville, assistant director-general for strategic planning at the Unesco, and Hong Seok-hyun, chairman of the JoongAng Ilbo, followed with keynote speeches. The forum will feature a roundtable discussion on the future of universities, which promises to be a hot topic. “The WCF is the first of its kind to be co-organized by an educational institution and the UN,” said Kim Eui-young, chairman of the forum’s steering committee and professor of political science at Kyung Hee University. “Universities should no longer live in an ivory tower but should serve social responsibilities by forging partnerships with other institutions.” There will be a dozen discussion sessions on numerous topics, and participants will attempt to map out a blueprint for achieving the UN Millennium Development Goals for all countries. The development goals aim to reduce extreme poverty by 2015. Invited speakers at the sessions include Paul Kennedy, one of the world’s most respected and provocative historians and a professor at Yale University, and John Ikenberry, a professor of politics and international affairs at Princeton University. The ties between Kyung Hee University and the UN date back to 1999, when the Seoul-based private university convened the Seoul International Conference of Non-governmental Organizations. The two parties signed a memorandum of understanding for the WCF in 2005 to commemorate the university’s 60th founding anniversary. By Seo Ji-eun [spring@joongang.co.kr] z` |
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