The Third Regional Preparatory Meeting for the GEEF 2020 Took Place at the Margins of the 4th Board Meeting

August 31, 2019

The third regional preparatory meeting for the upcoming Global Engagement and Empowerment Forum (GEEF) on Sustainable Development took place at the margins of the 4th Board meeting of the Ban Ki-moon Centre in Vienna on August 28th, 2019. Manager Gyeongseok Yang and Dr. Taein Park from the Ban Ki-moon Center for Sustainable Development of the Institute for Global Engagement and Empowerment (IGEE) at Yonsei University joined the Board meeting during which they had a presentation.

The presentation included the outcomes of the previous GEEFs and specific plans for plenary and parallel sessions as well as inviting speakers. Having the previous two preparatory meetings, the GEEF Secretariat together with the Ban Ki-moon Centre came to more concrete ideas and strategic logistics for the upcoming Forum. On behalf of the IGEE, Manager Yang expressed his deepest appreciation for the participation of the BKMC Board members in the previous Forums.

“The first two GEEFs could be successful thanks to the commitment and contribution of the Ban Ki-moon Centre Board members,” said Yang.

Following up on the presentation, the representatives from the IGEE came to the Ban Ki-moon Centre’s office and discussed further details of the objectives and logistics for the Forum with BKMC CEO Monika Froehler and Program Officer Julia Zimmerman. Under the theme of “Planet and Partnership,” GEEF 2020 will focus on some of the most pressing global challenges such as climate change, sustainable cities, youth activism, and more. The next regional preparatory meeting will be held at the margins of the UNGA meeting in September 2019 in New York, USA.

GEEF 2020 will be held on February 26-27th next year at Yonsei University in Seoul, South Korea.

Co-chair Ban Ki-moon congratulates James Lynch on taking his new position as the Head of the UNHCR Korea

August 2, 2019

UNHCR Korea has a new representative, James Lynch, who serves as the Head of the office starting from this month, August 2019, as the successor of Naveed Hussain. He paid a visit to the Ban Ki-moon Foundation For a Better Future in Seoul on July 30th to meet with Co-chair Ban Ki-moon.

Ban congratulated him on taking a new leadership role at the UNHCR Korea, and the two discussed on the topic of both domestic and international refugee issues and the role of the UNHCR office in Seoul. Lynch has been working with the UNHCR for 30 years and has served in countries like Thailand, Kenya, Croatia, Iraq, Sri Lanka, and Lebanon.

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is a global organization dedicated to saving lives, protecting rights and building a better future for refugees, forcibly displaced communities and stateless people. The Agency works to ensure that everybody has the right to seek asylum and find safe refuge, having fled violence, persecution, war or disaster at home.

Nobel laureate Rae Kwon Chung visits the Ban Ki-moon Centre

July 19, 2019

On July 19th, 2019, the Centre had a pleasure of welcoming Professor Rae Kwon Chung, a Board member of the Ban Ki-moon Foundation for a Better Future (보다 나은 미래를 위한 반기문 재단), to the Centre in Vienna, Austria.

He was greeted by Co-chair Heinz Fischer and CEO Monika Froehler and was briefed on the Centre’s work. As a former ambassador for climate change, Chung exchanged his ideas on the necessity of renewable energy revolution for the fight against climate change and also spoke about sustainable develeopment and the Asia Super Grid.

Chung was awarded the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize as a member of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). He is also the author of the “Green Growth” concept, whereby countries should enable natural assets to deliver their full economic potential on a sustainable basis.

Tag: Ban Ki-moon Foundation for a Better Future