The 4th Board meeting of the Ban Ki-moon Centre takes place in Vienna

August 30, 2019

“Half of my heart lies in Vienna,”

said Co-chair Ban Ki-moon at the beginning of the 4th Board meeting held on August 27-28th. Following the first Board meeting hosted in Seoul, the second in Alpbach, and the third in Kuwait, the fourth was hosted at the City Hall of Vienna in Austria.

Mayor of Vienna Michael Ludwig welcomed the BKMC Board members and expressed his appreciation for having the Ban Ki-moon Centre based in Vienna as well as its contributions to the city’s development in the field of multilateralism and its leading role in international affairs.

The participants included:

Ban Ki-moon, BKMC Co-chair & 8th Secretary-General of the United Nations
Heinz Fischer, BKMC Co-chair & 11th President of Austria
Márcia Balisciano, Director of RELX Corporate Responsibility
Irina Bokova, Former Director-General of UNESCO
Maurice Lévy, Chairman of Publicis Groupe
Ed Futa, Former General-Secretary of Rotary International
Ambassador Kim Won-soo, former UN High Representative for Disarmament Affairs
Ambassador Sadiq Marafi, Permanent Representative of Kuwait to the United Nations in Vienna
Andrea Pfanzelter, Senior Advisor of the KAICIID International Dialogue Centre
Michael Sheldrick, Co-founder and Vice President, Global Policy and Government Affairs at Global Citizen
Ambassador Shin Chae-hyun, Permanent Representative of the Republic of Korea to the United Nations in Vienna
Jean Todt, President of the FIA and United Nations Secretary General’s Special Envoy for Road Safety
Dimitri de Vreeze, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of DSM Netherlands
Monika Froehler, Chief Executive Officer of the Ban Ki-moon Centre for Global Citizens
Ambassador Choi Sung-ju, Ban Ki-moon Foundation for a Better Future

CEO Monika Froehler moderated the meeting, briefing the Board on the Centre’s past engagements and development. The Board discussed strategic methods for promoting the activities and projects of the Centre as well as effective ways to amplify the messages through the Centre’s various partnerships and affiliated offices. Ambassador Choi from the Ban Ki-moon Foundation for a Better Future based in Seoul also presented the Foundation’s vision and mission to the BKMC Board and discussed possible collaborations.

BKMC Board members actively participate in the parallel sessions of the GEEF 2019

February 15, 2019

At the Global Engagement & Empowerment Forum (GEEF) 2019 co-organized by the Centre, the IGEE, Yonsei University, KOICA, and Seoul Institute in Seoul on February 14-15th, some of the BKMC Board members who participated in the Forum featured at different parallel sessions.

Ambassador Sadiq Marafi of the Embassy of the State of Kuwait & Permanent Mission to the United Nations participated in the panel of the session for “Financing for the SDGs.” At the discussion, he shared recent contributions and achievements the Kuwaiti government has made in advancing each Sustainable Development Goal. He spoke about the Kuwaiti government’s donation of 1 million dollars to BKMC (2018), 3 million dollars to the IAEA in Vienna (2015), 500 million dollars to the Asian Infrastructure and Investment Bank as well as a number of other international organizations and governments that Kuwait has supported.

At the session entitled “Saving Children from the Horrors of War,” Senior Advisor Andrea Pfanzelter of KAICIID spoke about the important roles of international community in mediating cultural and religious conflicts, pointing out that

“Children are the single most vulnerable group in conflict-affected areas. Without adequate safety, justice and support they fall victim to the abuses of war, which destroys a society’s chance of recovery by eroding the social cohesion of a future generation.”

Director of Corporate Responsibility of RELX Group, Dr. Márcia Balisciano, moderated a session “International Young Scholars’ Perspectives: Spotlight on National Initiatives for the SDGs I” where speakers discussed various topics covered by the papers that the scholars have submitted. Senior professionals and experts in the relevant field exchanged their insights and knowledge with the young scholars and the audience. An award ceremony followed the session where the winners of the selected papers received awards.

For the “Youth as Partners to Achieve the SDGs” session moderated by Sam Okyere, a TV host in Korea, Co-founder and Vice President Michael Sheldrick of Global Citizen participated as an advisor to the youth presenters who presented their innovative ideas and project plans for advancing the SDGs. Sheldrick did not only mentor the students, giving them his insights on their projects, but also introduced existing mentoring programs and potential partners they could approach to further develop their projects.

This youth session introduced various student-led initiatives such as the Environmental Group “Yongreen,” “YeS” that works to free the world from urban waste, “Rhythm of Hope” for rescuing patients for disaster medical cost, “Education for Democratic Citizenship,” Medical Volunteering Club “Uichung,” and “YMDU” that aims to reduce inequality through Yonsei Hope Expedition.

Read more about the other sessions held during the GEEF 2019: geef-sd.org

Photo credit for the cover picture: BKMC / Others: IGEE

BKMC co-organizes the symposium on “Empowering Women and Supporting Youth in Development and Citizenship” in Kuwait

February 13, 2019

In cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the General Secretariat of the Supreme Council for Planning and Development of Kuwait, the Ban Ki-moon Centre for Global Citizens co-organized the symposium on “Empowering Women and Supporting Youth in Development and Citizenship” in Kuwait on February 12th, 2019.

At the opening, BKMC Co-chairs Ban Ki-moon and Heinz Fischer delivered a keynote.

Ban emphasized that “now is the time to mobilize the global business community as never before.”

“Realizing the Sustainable Development Goals will improve the environment for doing good business and building markets. Trillions of dollars in public and private funds are to be redirected towards the SDGs, creating huge opportunities for responsible companies to deliver solutions,” said Ban.

“Despite the challenges we currently face,” he concluded “if we join together in strong partnerships and move forward as global citizens, we can achieve our global goals and create a brighter future for all.”

Co-chair Fischer stressed that women’s empowerment

“must also be regarded as a global issue and put into the bigger picture. It is a key to peace, to eliminating all forms of violence, and to enabling families, communities, and nations to thrive.”

He also shared the deepest appreciation to the Centre’s Board member, Ambassador Sadiq Marafi, praising his commitment to supporting the Centre from the beginning and to all his collaborative initiatives to foster women’s empowerment.

Fischer added, “we are looking forward to intensifying our work with Kuwait and in particular with the General Secretariat of the Supreme Council for Planning and Development and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kuwait and to identifying further opportunities for cooperation.”

The 1st session of the symposium was entitled “Empowering Women,” featuring women leaders and representatives from both public and civil sector. BKMC Board members Irina Bokova, former UNESCO Director-General, and Andrea Pfanzelter, KACIID Senior Advisor, were featured as panelists of the session.

For the 2nd session entitled “Youth Role in Development and Citizenship,” representatives of a specialized center in supporting youth development in Kuwait and from the civil society, a graduate student from Kuwait University, as well as BKMC Board members were featured. The featured Board members of the Centre included Jean Todt, FIA President, Ahmad Alhendawi, Secretary-General of the World Organization of the Scout Movement, and Michael Sheldrick, Global Citizen Vice President.

The last session entitled “Role and Efforts of Private Sector in Empowering Women and Supporting Youth in Development” featured representatives from Zain Telecommunication, Kuwait National Bank, and private sector.

The 3rd BKMC Board meeting takes place in Kuwait

February 12, 2019

On February 11-12th, the 3rd Board meeting of the Ban Ki-moon Centre for Global Citizens took place in Kuwait. The ‘Why Group’ (Márcia Balisciano, Susan Myers, Arrey Obenson, and Michael Sheldrick) of the Centre presented a document based on their discussion on the “Why” of the Ban Ki-moon Centre, suggesting clearer vision and missions, measurable projects and investments, and the Centre’s position in correlation with its Co-chairs and Board members.

After discussion, the Board agreed on the following adjusted mission statement: