The second BKMC x UNESCO APCEIU collaborative online course is now available on GCED Online Campus!

February 21, 2020
Today on February 21st, 2020, the Ban Ki-moon Centre for Global Citizens is pleased to officially launch its second collaborative online course with UNESCO APCEIU on GCED Online Campus. Those who are interested in learning about the issues surrounding gender equality and how to effectively tackle the issues and contribute to empowering women and girls are cordially invited to take the course. This course provides global citizens an opportunity to learn from global leaders, experts and advocates from across sectors: international organizations, universities, NGOs, governments, and corporations. While our first course introduced the overall concept of global citizenship and the SDGs, our second course focuses on the topics of gender equality and women’s empowerment with a combination of the series of lectures by renowned international experts on concepts, theories and thematic areas, interviews with scholars, UN representatives, change makers, case presentations of innovative approaches and practices by global citizens all around the world. Understanding the 5th SDG – the multifaceted issues around it and the efforts put forth worldwide to achieve it – is the foundation for this course. Particularly, the course aims to examine and critically reflect on the revolving issues around both gender equality and women’s empowerment with sustainable development by providing a platform where learners can virtually meet and learn from one another. It brings a critical eye to gender inequality and how it is addressed in the field of sustainable development. Learners will be able to deepen their understanding of gender equality and women’s empowerment, exchange and embrace different perspectives, and challenge their own assumptions. The course invites those who see themselves as global citizens as well as who aspire to assume active roles in bringing meaningful changes to oneself and so the society they are in. “Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment: A Pathways to Sustainable Development” is comprised of five modules: (1) Introduction to Gender Equality and Women’s Rights (2) Gender Equality in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (3) Women’s Empowerment (4) Critical Issues on Gender Equality (5) Plan for Action Paving the Way to Equality After completing all courses, students will received a Certificate issued by UNESCO APCEIU and the Ban Ki-moon Centre for Global Citizens. Requirements for the completion are as followed: 1) Watch all lectures / videos 2) Participate in Form / Discussion 3) Take a quiz 4) Final Assignment 5) Course Evaluation Please invite those around you, who see themselves as global citizens as well as who aspire to assume active roles in bringing meaningful changes to oneself and to global society! Register HERE.

100 Seconds: Global, National Leaders Answer Questions about Doomsday Clock Asked by Georgetown Students

January 28, 2020
Neha Malik
Neha Malik
Neha Malik (SFS’23) was one of many students posing questions on campus the afternoon of Jan. 23 to former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, former Irish President Mary Robinson and former California governor Jerry Brown about the advancement of the “Doomsday Clock” time. The three leaders revealed the new time of 100 seconds to midnight, the closest ever to what is considered the apocalypse, earlier that day at National Press Club event. The Doomsday Clock was created in 1947, when it was declared to be seven minutes to midnight by the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, an organization that warns the public how close the world is to destroying itself.

A Disturbing Reality

“The fact that the Doomsday Clock hands now sit a mere hundred seconds from midnight signals really bad news indeed,” Robert Rosner, who chairs the Bulletin’s Science and Security Board, said at the Press Club. “What we have called the ‘new abnormal’ last year, a dismal state of affairs, in the realms of nuclear security and climate change, now it’s become an apparently enduring, disturbing reality.” The Bulletin and The Elders, an independent group of global leaders working together for peace, justice and human rights, cited those issues, as well as cyber-enabled information warfare as reasons why the clock moved from two minutes in 2018 and 2019 to the current time. Brown serves as executive chair of the Bulletin, while Robinson and Ki-Moon serve as chair and co-deputy chair of The Elders. “I think the problem is that today we unveiled the reality of the Doomsday Clock being closer than ever to midnight, the apocalypse…” Robinson said at the Georgetown event, “and tomorrow the world will just continue with business as usual. That to me is the big, big worry.”

Matrix Moment

Malik, whose roots are in Pakistan, asked what could be done to change what she sees as a lack of global leadership on these apocalyptic issues and an unfair burden on young people.
Neha Malik holding a microphone
First-year student Neha Malik asks her question at the Doomsday Clock event.
While the leaders at the Georgetown event lamented a lack of global vision on these issues, Malik says she “would have liked to see more suggestions on that front.” Ki-Moon, for example, said many heads of state come to the United Nations and say they will help solve global issues, but are “hostages to domestic issues,” and that “by the time they fly out of JFK airport, they just forget everything.” Malik, a first-year student from Ashburn, Virginia, saw being at the event as a unique privilege. “It was kind of a matrix moment where I realized how lucky I am to go to Georgetown,” said Malik “because not every school has the opportunity like this to be able to stand in front of the former secretary-general of the United Nations … or the former president of Ireland and so many other important politicians and researchers.”

Thinking the Unthinkable

The three leaders were joined at the Georgetown event by Rachel Bronson, Bulletin president and CEO, in a conversation moderated by Desha Girod, who directs the university’s Master of Arts in Conflict Resolution Program.
An audience of mostly students sits and stands in a packed room
Students and others packed the room for Georgetown’s “How Can We Turn Back the Hands of the Doomsday Clock?” event.
That program and 12 other Georgetown schools, centers, institutes and initiatives sponsored the event. “It’s time to disabuse ourselves of the taboo that we can’t think of the unthinkable, because that’s what we’re facing,” Brown told the audience, after talking about how quickly the world could face a nuclear holocaust. “The horror is there. We have the capacity to stop that, but in order to exercise that capacity, we have to wake up.” He added that politicians of both parties, business executives, religious leaders and educational leaders also needed to “wake up.” “That’s where you come in,” Brown told the audience of young people. “I think you’re in the best position to understand our predicament, which is really your predicament. So that’s why I’m here today, to wake up ourselves, but to share that awakening with everyone.”

No START, No Budget

Jessica Rogers standing at a podium with others sitting in chairs.
Jessica Rogers, a second-year master’s student in Georgetown’s Security Studies Program, asks a question.
Jessica Rogers (G’20) a graduate student in Georgetown’s Security Studies Program who has interned at the State Department’s Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation, asked how to make people more aware of the threat of nuclear apocalypse. Brown suggested that the House of Representatives refuse to approve the federal budget unless the New START nuclear treaty is extended, and suggested a new slogan – “No START, No Budget.” “They stopped it for the wall, they stopped it for this. They stopped it for that,” Brown said. “This is human survival.”

Faith and Hope

Much of the conversation focused on fear about what the future will bring and concern about complacency, but Brown and Robinson also exchanged thoughts on hope versus faith.
Desha Girod, Ban Ki-Moon, Mary Robinson, Jerry Brown and Rachel Bronson sits on a stage with Georgetown University banner behind them
From left: Desha Girod, Ban Ki-Moon, Mary Robinson, Jerry Brown and Rachel Bronson talk on stage.
Robinson, noting that she’s seeing a lot of positive work around the world on fighting climate change, said she likes to be what the late Archbishop Desmond Tutu called a ‘prisoner of hope.’ “ “I think hope is a very dangerous virtue,” Brown said. “Oh, nonsense,” Robinson replied. Brown then countered that faith, as expressed by Tutu and Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was more appropriate. “I think we agree,” Robinson said.  
Original article: https://bit.ly/2Ob71Op

Co-chair Ban Ki-moon attends Brookings’ Alan and Jane Batkin International Leaders Forum

January 27, 2020
“We must educate the next generation in global citizenship. We must increase their understanding of climate change because they are our future leaders.”
On January 24, Co-chair Ban Ki-moon attended and spoke at the Alan and Jane Batkin International Leaders Forum hosted by Foreign Policy at Brookings Institute. During this occasion, Co-chair Ban addressed the climate threats and its implications, climate justice, and climate leadership. In his international leadership roles, Co-chair Ban has been a prominent advocate of bringing climate change to the top of the global agenda, promoting sustainable development and highlighting how environmental degradation has disproportionately affected people in developing countries, especially women. Stressing the importance of multilateralism, Co-chair Ban said,

“A ‘me vs. you’ mentality has no place in climate action. It is about ‘all of us vs. climate change’.”

He also said,
“If we do not solve the problem of climate change we will all be losers. I urge President Trump to return to the Paris Agreement.”

“We need disruption. We need to get urgent on climate. We need a new sense of global citizenship”

He also called world leaders and young generation to harness the mindset of global citizenship to cope of global challenges. Mary Robinson, Chair of The Elders and former President of Ireland, said,
“The climate crisis must be the top priority for all leaders in 2020. It is not hyperbole to say that the fate of humanity as a whole rests on decisions taken this year.”
The event was opened with Brookings Vice President and Director of Foreign Policy Bruce Jones’ introductory remarks. Following remarks by Co-chair Ban and Chair of The Elders Mary Robinson, Brookings Senior Fellow and the SK-Korea Foundation Chair in Korea Studies Jung H. Pak joined them on stage for a conversation on climate change, human rights, adaptation measures, and global leadership in the face of a climate emergency.

Climate threats and climate justice: Action and adaptation for sustainable development – Part 1

Climate threats and climate justice: Action and adaptation for sustainable development – Part 2

© Ralph Alswang / Alswang Photography

Co-chair Ban Ki-moon’s Speech at the 2020 Doomsday Clock Announcement Event

January 24, 2020

Speech by Co-chair Ban Ki-moon

The 2020 Doomsday Clock Announcement

Washington, US

January 23, 2020

  Thank you Mary, and thank you to Governor Brown, Rachel Bronson and all the team at the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, and all the distinguished guests gathered here today. As Mary Robinson has said, it is an honor to be here today to unveil the Doomsday Clock. But is with a solemn sense of duty, with a moral responsibility, and with a frightening sense of what is happening. These are perilous times. The alarming rise in tensions in the Middle East threatens war, and a return to nuclear weapons development in Iran. The world waits to see how North Korea will respond to stalled negotiations over its nuclear ambitions. I am struck by the news released from North Korea that it would not be committed to previously made commitments, to nuclear disarmament, and the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. This is surprising and very, very shocking. Also, the situation in Kashmir between nuclear-armed Pakistan and India remains unpredictable and highly dangerous. Such tensions demand responsible global leadership, but instead over the last year we have seen precisely the opposite. We have seen the termination of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, division and uncertainty regarding the upcoming Review Conference of the Non-Proliferation Treaty, and, most worryingly, the absence of any meaningful negotiations between the US and Russia to extend New START. It would send a deeply negative message to the world if New START is allowed to expire in February 2021. This would not only eliminate remaining constraints on deployed nuclear arsenals, but also remove the monitoring and inspection capabilities which have provided both sides with increased transparency regarding nuclear capability. On the Nuclear Proliferation Treaty, The Elders believe the world must seize the opportunities presented by the review conference that begins in April. This treaty is the backbone of the multilateral consensus on nuclear arms control, and yet disagreements and frustrations between its signatories mean there is a significant risk that the conference could conclude without an agreed outcome – a scenario that would undermine the treaty and could even trigger withdrawal by member states. Alongside the potential expiry of New START, this is a disastrous scenario for the world. It exemplifies the failures of global leadership, and the weakness of the multilateral system in the face of isolationist politics that sees diplomacy as a zero-sum game rather than a means of finding common solutions to common challenges. At a time when world leaders should be focused on the clear and present dangers of nuclear escalation and the climate emergency, we are instead witnessing denial, disregard and dangerous brinkmanship. The existential risks of climate change and nuclear war are increasing just as the decision-making frameworks to address them are unravelling. From the Paris Agreement to the JCPOA; despondency over the Non Proliferation Treaty to impotency at the UN Security Council – our mechanisms for collaboration are being undermined when we need them most. To echo Mary Robinson – we must see urgent action on the climate crisis in 2020. All countries must come to COP in Glasgow in November with clear plans for delivering carbon net-zero commitments by 2050. We must see an immediate end to the investment in, and exploration of, fossil fuels. We must heed the demands of the young people on our streets and listen to the science. We cannot negotiate with nature. We must listen to the warning of nature. The US must somehow begin to demonstrate leadership at the federal level too. Without it, we cannot hope to meet the targets that will keep global warming to manageable levels. Without US leadership there will be no winners from this climate crisis, only losers. In the end, we will only overcome these existential threats by working together, and to do so the world needs to re-energize multilateralism. I do believe there is an opportunity for this in the coming year. 2020 marks 75 years since the end of Second World War and the birth of the nuclear age – and, indeed, the founding of the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists. It also marks the 75th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations. This is an opportunity for the world to renew its commitment to multilateralism. It is a time for world leaders to bring a new mindset to the key moments ahead of us in 2020 – to create the foundations for a just transition to a carbon net zero economy and redouble the efforts towards a world free of nuclear weapons. We can overcome the existential threats we face, but we must act, together, now. No country, no individual, no matter how powerful or how many resources, can do this on their own. We need to hold hands and work together. Thank you.

Mary Robinson and Ban Ki-moon make announcements at the 2020 Doomsday Clock event

January 23, 2020
“There is an opportunity in 2020 for the world to renew its commitment to multilateralism – to create the foundations for a just transition to a carbon net zero economy, and redouble our efforts towards a world free of nuclear weapons,” said Co-chair Ban Ki-moon.
On January 23, together with Mary Robinson, Chair of The Elders and former President of Ireland, BKMC Co-chair Ban Ki-moon, who also serves as Deputy Chair of The Elders, joined experts from the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists for the unveiling of the Doomsday Clock in Washington DC, an annual assessment of the existential risks faced by humanity. The Clock’s hands were moved forward to 100 seconds to midnight – the closest to midnight they have been since they were first set in 1947. The decision takes into account the precarious state of nuclear arms controls, the growing threat of climate disaster, and how these can be compounded by disruptive new technologies.
“Our planet faces two concurrent existential threats: the climate crisis and nuclear weapons. We are faced by a gathering storm of extinction-level consequences, and time is running out,” Mary Robinson said.
Ban Ki-moon and Mary Robinson specifically called on President Trump to respond to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s offer to open negotiations on New START, which will expire in February 2021 unless the agreement between Washington and Moscow is extended. Following the termination of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty in July 2019, the end of New START would mean there was no remaining arms control treaty in force between the United States and Russia, raising the prospect of a new nuclear arms race. The Elders reiterated their proposals for a “nuclear minimization” agenda as the best way of making progress towards complete disarmament by the five Permanent Members of the UN Security Council and all other nuclear powers. Ban warned that the threat of catastrophe is being exacerbated by attacks on, and disregard for, the multilateral rules-based system:
“The existential risks of nuclear conflagration and climate change are increasing just as the decision-making frameworks to address them are unraveling. From the US withdrawal from the Paris Agreement and the Iran Nuclear Deal to deadlock on nuclear disarmament talks and division at the UN Security Council, our mechanisms for collaboration are being undermined when we need them most.”
On the climate emergency, The Elders Chair Mary Robinson called for a change of mindset if the world is to tackle the threat effectively:
“The science of the climate crisis makes it imperative that we take urgent action in 2020.  We need a change of mindset in politics, finance, business and civil society, one that enables us to keep temperature rises at or below 1.5°C, whilst protecting the rights, dignity and livelihoods of those affected by the shift to a carbon neutral economy. Not to do so will be a death sentence for humanity.”
Co-chair Ban Ki-moon believes 2020 is a crucial year to defend and revitalize the multilateral system’s ability to address the threats of nuclear and climate catastrophe, as the world marks the 75th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations. Source: The Elders © The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists

One Young World hosts its annual summit in London for 2019

October 26, 2019
The One Young World (OYW) Summit 2019 was held in London, the United Kingdom on October 22-25th. The opening kicked off with a remarkable speech given by Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex, and was highlighted by the joint admittance of the North and South Korean delegates, holding hands and waving flags together, which showed the true meaning of cooperation and harmony. The Summit featured world leaders and change-makers such as UN Youth Envoy Jayathma Wickramanayake, The Elders Chair Mary Robinson, and North Korean Human Rights Activist Yeonmi Park as speakers, who will also feature on the upcoming online course that the Ban Ki-moon Centre is co-developing with UNESCO APCEIU. Wickramanayake emphasized that we can make this world better and more sustainable in the leadership of young people and that we need to engage youth in achieving the SDGs by “not just participating but leading the global change and development.”
“Young people are making the change; We have the responsibiliity to make the humanity drive towards progress,” said Wickramanayake.
The Summit provided an interactive platform for young advocates and leaders from different sectors and all parts of the world. Among the other key speakers were Dr. Jane Goodall, Singer-songwriter and the UNEP Global Goodwill Ambassador Ellie Goulding, Singer-songwriter and Activist Bob Geldof, First Lady of Colombia María Juliana Ruiz, BKMC Partner DSM’s CEO Feike Sijbesma, and the youth advocates and ambassadors of the One Young World. Dr. Goodall said to the gathered youth participants,
“You have a role to play. You might not know it yet, but you do.” “Together we can, together we will!”
One Young World identifies, promotes and connects the world’s impactful young leaders to create a better world, with more responsible, more effective leadership. The annual summit convenes the brightest young talent from every country and sector, working to accelerate social impact. Delegates from 190+ countries are counseled by influential political, business and humanitarian leaders such as Justin Trudeau, Paul Polman and Meghan Markle, amongst many other global figures. At the end of the Summit, Delegates become One Young World Ambassadors. According to the OYW, 20.9 million people have been positively impacted by Initiatives led by its Ambassadors since 2010. They return to their communities and organizations with the means and motivation to make a difference, accessing the global network of 10,000+ young leaders to accelerate existing initiatives or establish new ventures. Learn more about the Ambassador Community here. On the margins of the Summit, the Ban Ki-moon Centre filmed an interview with Park who shared her emotional and inspirational story which will be included in the Centre’s online course on the topic of gender equality and women’s empowerment that will be launched early next year. Watch the speech by UN Youth Envoy: Source: One Young World

Ban Ki-moon stresses on multilateralism at the UN Security Council

June 13, 2019
On June 12th, upon the invitation of the United Nations Security Council, BKMC Co-chair Ban Ki-moon attended the Council’s meeting with Mary Robinson, Chair of The Elders and former President of Ireland, and Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, former President of the Republic of Liberia. Robinson pointed that nuclear weapons and the climate change are the two greatest existential threats to our planet now. “It is in the interests of the P5 to get serious about disarmament if they wish to maintain the near-universal international commitment to preventing nuclear proliferation, particularly in the lead up to next year’s NPT Review Conference,” added Ban.
When the Security Council can cooperate and speak with a strong common voice, “its decisions can have a decisive impact,” Ban Ki-moon told the Chamber as a former Secretary-General of the UN.
“This strong, common voice is needed more than ever at this current time, when the deceptive allure of populism and isolationism is growing across all continents, from North and South America to Africa, Asia and Europe” he stated.
Ban highlighted areas where the Security Council can show effective leadership to support the work of the Secretary-General and improve general conditions for peace and conflict resolution.
Conflict prevention and mediation are two of “the most important tools at our disposal to reduce human suffering” current SG of the UN Antonio Guterres said.
He noted some “encouraging signs,” such as successful constitutional transfers of power in Mali and Madagascar; the rapprochement between Ethiopia and Eritrea; the revitalized agreement in South Sudan; and, after decades of dispute, “the designation of the Republic of North Macedonia to be internationally recognized”. Read more: https://news.un.org/en/story/2019/06/1040321

Ban Ki-moon concerns about “what is happening over multilateralism”

June 11, 2019
On June 11th, 2019, a morning briefing session was held by the Council on Foreign Relations in New York, US. President Richard Haass of the Council moderated the session and introduced the high-level speakers:
  • Ban Ki-moon, BKMC Co-chair and a member of The Elders
  • Mary Robinson, Chair of The Elders and former President of Ireland
  • Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, former President of Liberia
On stage, the world leaders discussed on the topic of “Leveraging Multilateralism to Prevent Conflict.” Asked about the current tensions regarding North Korea’s nuclear program, Ban regretted failure of Hanoi Summit and called for more concerted trust-building between the US and North Korea, stressing the need for more focus on humanitarian crisis and food shortage.
“As a global citizen, I am deeply concerned and angry at what’s happening over multilateralism,” said Ban. He praised the US leadership on climate change under former President Barack Obama and expressed his concerns on withdrawal from the Paris Agreement under the current US government.
Robinson explained why climate change and nuclear threat are two priorities existential threats to humanity. On the current issues in Sudan, Sirleaf said that “the will of the people must be respected” but that this requires strong institutions that can withstand pressures to retain military rule and oppression. Learn more about the Council on Foreign Relations: https://www.cfr.org/ Source: The Elders

The Elders delegation meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping

April 1, 2019
The delegation of The Elders met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing, China on April 1st, 2019. The delegation consisted of Chair of The Elders and former President Mary Robinson of Ireland, Deputy Chair of The Elders and BKMC Co-chair Ban Ki-moon, and former President Ernesto Zedillo of Mexico. During the meeting, President Xi pointed out that the world today faces profound changes unseen in a century, while the prospect of international cooperation, solutions to global challenges and the future of human society were being thought on by more and more insightful people.
The Elders delegation expressed that China has played a responsible and constructive role at a crucial moment when multilateralism is faced with challenges, adding that China has adhered to the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter and taken an active part in the cause of peace and development in Africa. Source: https://www.fmprc.gov.cn/mfa_eng/zxxx_662805/t1650933.shtml Photo by Xinhua