BKMC Board members get welcomed by South Korean Prime Minister Lee Nak-yeon in Seoul

February 20, 2019

Upon their visit to Seoul, South Korea to participate in the Global Engagement & Empowerment Forum (GEEF) 2019, some of the Board members of the Centre were welcomed by South Korean Prime Minister Lee Nak-yeon on February 15th, 2019. Prime Minister Lee has also welcomed the BKMC Board last year on the occasion of the Centre’s first Board meeting held on the margins of the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics.

During the meeting this time, Prime Minister Lee and Ambassador Choo Jong-youn, who is Diplomatic Advisor to the Prime Minister, were informed of the Centre’s implemented projects with the fund received from the Korea Foundation at the end of last year. Including the GEEF 2019 that took place on February 14-15th, the Centre exchanged its successful ongoing and upcoming projects in close partnership with its partners in Korea. BKMC Co-chair Heinz Fischer, who is former President of the Republic of Austria, and Prime Minister Lee also discussed the peace process in Korea, including denuclearization in the Korean peninsula.

Other BKMC Board members who were present at the meeting were Ambassador Sadiq Marafi of the Kuwaiti Embassy in Vienna, Ambassador Shin Dong-ik of the Korean Embassy in Vienna, Dr. Irina Bokova who is former Director General of UNESCO, Dr. Márcia Balisciano who serves as Director of Corporate Responsibility of RELX Group, and Monika Froehler, CEO of the Centre.

The Ban Ki-moon Centre for Global Citizens looks forward to further strengthening its close relationship with Korea throughout pursuing the upcoming cooperative projects with its partner organizations in Korea.

Photo by the Prime Minister’s Office

BKMC hosts a plenary session on women’s empowerment at the GEEF 2019

February 15, 2019

The 2nd Global Engagement and Empowerment Forum on Sustainable Development (GEEF) was successfully organized by BKMC, the IGEE, Yonsei University, KOICA, and the Seoul Institute in Seoul, South Korea on February 14-15th, 2019. At the Forum, the Centre hosted a plenary session “Women’s Empowerment for Inclusive and Sustainable Development.”

The session intended to raise awareness of the benefits of empowering women worldwide and to create an enabling environment for them to play a more active role in society by taking a much more proactive and collaborative approach on all levels. It gathered leading female high-ranking officials and professionals from across the globe to share their experiences and insights on the immense potential of women to bolster economic growth and the importance of women’s leadership and empowerment, even during difficult times.

President Lee Mi-kyung of KOICA set the tone with the topic “Back to Basics with Women,” and the panel discussion was moderated by Professor Oh Joon of Kyung Hee University, who is former Korean Ambassador to the UN. The panel featured a stellar line-up of the high-level speakers:

Helen CLARK: 37th Prime Minister of New Zealand
Armida Salsiah ALISJAHBANA: Executive Secretary of UNESCAP
Irina BOKOVA: 10th Director-General of UNESCO, BKMC Board Member
KWON Insook: President of Korean Women’s Development Institute
Kati IHAMÄKI: Director of Corporate Sustainability at Finnair
Sabine MACHL: Representative and ASEAN Liaison of UN Women Indonesia

During the panel discussion, Helen Clark said,

“I think that it is very hard to be what you can’t see. In so many places around the world, women and girls look at decision makers, and they don’t see themselves reflected because there are very few women in the parliaments and there are very few women leaders.”

The session did not only provide a platform for such leaders and professionals from different sectors to be connected and create synergies to pursue sustainable solutions, but also built up a bridge between the international community and aspiring global citizens who want to become change makers. The audience discovered how strengthening women’s societal impact and position advance the interconnected global goals. By facilitating conversation and debate among the high-level speakers, the session delivered synergized ideas to expedite the pursuit of gender equality and the consolidation of the rights of women as human rights.

BKMC Board member Irina Bokova also stressed that:

“We have to show them that we say we are feminists, so we are defending this agenda. This is not against men; we are not against them. We want to partner with them because we think that it is the best agenda for society to address societal issue. It is not just an issue of social justice or historic justice. Yes, it is. I agree it is, but it is one of the best ways to achieve this cohesion and this prosperity of a society, of communities and of the family.”

The GEEF is an international forum annually organized by the Centre and its partner the IGEE of Yonsei University. To learn more about this landmark event of the Centre, check out the website: geef-sd.org

Photo by the 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:

“The Ban Ki-moon Centre – working with global citizens across boundaries to create a better and safer future.”

The Centre will continue to put efforts in achieving its goals by

* Focusing on implementing the project plans

* Measuring deliverables

* Dividing responsibilities between the affiliated offices

* Branding and consolidating the Centre’s activities

* Fundraising for 2020 budget objective

National Assembly Speaker Marzouq al-Ghanim welcomes the BKMC in Kuwait

February 11, 2019

On February 11th, Marzouq al-Ghanim, Speaker of the Kuwaiti National Assembly welcomed the Centre’s Co-chairs Ban Ki-moon and Heinz Fischer and the Board members Daniele Bodini, Irina Bokova, as well as Ambassador Sadiq Marafi who organized the visit. Before meeting the Amir of the State of Kuwait, the group had a brief discussion and a tour around the Bayan Palace.

Ban Ki-moon Centre for Global Citizens at the 2018 Future Consensus Forum

November 8, 2018

“2018 Future Consensus Forum: Next Civilized City and Sustainable Development” was co-organized by BKMC partners Yeosijae (Future Consensus Institute), Tsinghua University, and Institute for Global Engagement and Empowerment (IGEE) in Beijing, China on November 3-5th, 2018.

The Ban Ki-moon Centre for Global Citizens’ Co-chair Ban Ki-moon delivered a keynote at the opening session of the forum, highlighting the importance of sustainable cities both as the greatest inter-connected challenge and the key enabler of the SDGs. It was received with strong endorsement by the audience which included parliamentarians, mayors and academicians from across the world. Ban also addressed the issues and solutions during media interviews.

A special discussion hosted by the Centre was moderated by Ambassador Kim Won-soo, who is former UN High Representative for Disarmament Affairs and a Board Member of the Centre. Featured speakers of the discussion included:

Jean Todt: President of FIA; BKMC Board Member
Irina Bokova: former Director General of UNESCO; BKMC Board Member
Wu Hongbo: Co-director of the Institute for Sustainable Development Goals of Tsinghua University (TUSDG); former United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs
Liu Song: Vice President of Alibaba Group

Professor Myongsei Sohn of Yonsei University, who serves as Executive Director of IGEE, also participated in a panel discussion during the second plenary session focusing on the digital era and the next civilized city. The audience actively engaged in the discussions on topics including transportation in smart cities and the reinforcement of road safety, the importance of education in the field of sustainable city planning, policy decision and solidarity, and the role of technology needed for sustainable city.

The Future Consensus Forum aims to
– seek for ways to make the development of future cities sustainable by analyzing the issues modern cities face;
– share the importance of developing a city centered around small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and venture businesses using creativity;
– share the images of a newly civilized city that will realize sustainable society led by digital advancement.

Watch live-streamed video of the forum this year: https://zhibo.ifeng.com/video.html?liveid=122854&fbclid=IwAR0Hx99TMWhomj6Dkd3Z0nmJyVzHiDBMZoO-3gE56BfYayRkc6hPLGOvstU
Videos of the previous forums can be found on the YouTube channel of Yeosijae: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCr8DHn5gQVeJvlOkaaFWnDg

Photo: Yeosijae

Ban Ki-moon Centre featured at a plenary session at EFA 2018

August 28, 2018

Ban Ki-moon Centre for Global Citizens’ Co-chair Heinz Fischer, who is also Honorary Chair of Alpbach-Laxenburg Group and the Centre’s Board member Irina Bokova, Former Director General of UNESCO featured at a plenary session during the political symposium held at European Forum Alpbach on August 28th, 2018.

The session was hosted by Alpbach-Laxenburg Group in cooperation with IIASA and had a panel discussion on “reconciling (bio)diversity protection and effort to mitigate climate change.” On the panel, also featured were David Nabarro, who served as Special Advisor to the United Nations Secretary-General on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and Climate Change, Patricia Espinosa Cantellano, Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, and Kristin Vala Ragnarsdottir, Professor of Sustainability Science at the University of Iceland.

Tag: Irina Bokova