The Ban Ki-moon Centre sends its sincere appreciation to all its friends, partners, and supporters

January 3, 2019

During the last days of the year 2018 and the first days of the year 2019, BKMC Co-chairs Ban Ki-moon and Heinz Fischer and CEO Monika Froehler met with the supporters, donors and potential partners of the Centre in Vienna, Austria. Among them was Sauli Niinistö of Finland during his visit to Austria.

Some of the Board members of the Centre residing in Austria, Ambassador Sadiq Marafi of the Kuwaiti Embassy and Ambassador Shin Dong-ik of the Korean Embassy, hosted a BKMC get-together at their residence where Senior Advisor Andrea Pfanzelter at KAICIID was also present as a Board member of the Centre. The Ban Ki-moon Centre took the opportunities to show its gratitude to both the Republic of Korea and the State of Kuwait as well as individual Board members that have continuously shown their greatest support to the Centre last year.

The Co-chairs also expressed the Centre’s appreciation to CEO Jongbum Park of Youngsan Group that is one of the few private donors of the Ban Ki-moon Centre for Global Citizens with a commitment to make annual donations to empower women and youth. Youngsan, based in Vienna, has achieved steady growth every year in the fields of production, trading and distribution and has become a responsible company that fulfills social responsibilities and duties through various social contributions.

CEO Monika Froehler said, “the Ban Ki-moon Centre for Global Citizens has just celebrated its first anniversary. Thanks to all of our partners, friends and collaborators for their support on our journey. A global citizen mindset is essential for the implementation of the SDGs. We are eager to work with you and build on what we achieved.“

The Ban Ki-moon Centre sends its wishes for the best of luck and lots of happiness to everyone for the new year 2019.
Watch Co-chair Ban Ki-moon’s season’s greetings: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENAEuGpSd-E

 

CEO Monika Froehler meets with IOC Director General Christophe De Kepper

November 20, 2018

Director General Christophe De Kepper of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), who is also a Board member of the Ban Ki-moon Centre for Global Citizens, welcomed CEO Monika Froehler in Lausanne, Switzerland on November 19th, 2018. During the meeting, further collaboration was discussed while exchanging updates on the work of BKMC and the IOC that includes the IOC Executive Board meeting and the Olympism in Action Forum held in Buenos Aires and the launch of the “Sport for Protection Toolkit.”

The “Sport for Protection Toolkit: Programming with Young People in Forced Displacement Settings” was launched during the Olympism in Action Forum in Buenos Aires, Argentina on October 5th, 2018. The toolkit was created by the IOC, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, and Terre des hommes to be used by the Olympic Refugee Foundation to guide organizations and stakeholders to better understand and implement effective sport for protection programming on site.

The IOC established the Olympic Refugee Foundation in 2017 to “reaffirm the commitment to supporting the protection and empowerment of vulnerable displaced people through sport and through the creation of safe spaces,” said the IOC Preisdent Thomas Bach. He added that the “recent announcement of the Refugee Olympic Team for Tokyo 2020 will again put the spotlight on the continuing global refugee crisis and the role sport can have in protecting vulnerable youth around the world.”

Young people make up the majority of the estimated 68.5 million refugees and internally displaced persons worldwide, often living in precarious conditions. Sport is a powerful driver for social change, uniting people, promoting a culture of peace and fostering youth development, education and social integration.

Source: https://www.olympic.org/…/projects-for-young-people-affecte…

The Global Fight against Corruption and the Notion of Global Citizenship

November 20, 2018

A colloquium on the topic of “The Global Fight against Corruption and the Notion of Global Citizenship” was co-organized by the Ban Ki-moon Centre for Global Citizens and its partner International Anti-Corruption Academy (IACA) in Laxenburg, Austria this morning. The event attracted more than 70 attendees from students to professors in academia, delegates from the Embassies, and other stakeholders from different sectors.

BKMC Co-chairs Ban Ki-moon and Heinz Fischer and IACA Dean & Executive Secretary Martin Kreutner delivered a keynote during the event moderated by Senior Coordinator Richard Eames of IACA. During the Q&A session, the participants actively engaged themselves in the discussions, bringing up questions and sharing ideas. Co-chair Ban said that “anti-corruptions and global citizenship go together hand in hand,” emphasizing that organizations from all different sectors must cooperate.

He added that transparency and accountability is important for any type of organization or company, following the 10 principles that the United Nations Global Compact has set. Co-chair Fischer said that for a state or an organization to be stabilized based on the Rule of Law, they have to “fight corruption.” He added that “corruption is a poison for democracy and for Economic Growth” of any country, emphasizing that it must be cleaned up for a country to prosper.

“There is still a way to go in addressing issues of corruption. What’s important is extending knowledge, focusing on implementation, and encouraging ownership. We need to have the courage of using our own understanding to achieve the common good,” Kreutner concluded. On the margins of the colloquium, BKMC Co-chairs and CEO Monika Froehler also had a bilateral meeting with Kreutner.

President Alexander Van der Bellen invites BKMC to the 100th Anniversary of the Republic of Austria

November 16, 2018

On November 12th, 2018, the Republic of Austria celebrated its 100th anniversary, and Co-chairs Ban Ki-moon and Heinz Fischer and CEO Monika Froehler of the Ban Ki-moon Centre for Global Citizens attended the event upon the invitation of President Alexander Van der Bellen.

A hundred years ago on this day, Austria was reborn as a republic state from the embers of World War I and the Austro-Hungarian empire. The Austrian government marked this special day with an official ceremony at the State Opera House which was attended by distinguished guests, including the political, economic and cultural elite.

President Van der Bellen as well as Chancellor Sebastian Kurz and Vice-Chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache made speeches calling for democratic consensus and for the respect of differing political opinions.

“Only a liberal democracy fights for joint solutions that benefit all… democracy means civilized debate and confrontation,” said the President.

With the Centre’s strong relationship with the Austrian government, BKMC Co-chair Ban Ki-moon together with Madam Yoo Soon-taek also had a bilateral meeting with the President and First Lady Doris Schmidauer on November 15th, 2018, following up their previous meeting held in August in Alpbach, Austria.

The International Day of Peace 2018 celebrated in Korea

September 10, 2018

To celebrate the International Day of Peace on September 21st, the Korean Organizing Committee for UN International Day of Peace (KOCUN-IDP) organized a three-day event on the topic of “Together Finding the Korean Peninsula Solutions for Building Peace in Northeast Asia.”

The Ban Ki-moon Centre for Global Citizens’ Board member Ambassador Kim Won-soo, Former Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations, featured at a panel discussion during the event at Kintex in Goyang, Korea. CEO Monika Froehler delivered remarks and interacted with youth participants discussing the meaning of global citizenship and how peace can be achieved in Korea through reunification. KOCUN-IDP also hosted a reception at the National Assembly of Korea.

The International Day of Peace was established in 1981 by the General Assembly of the United Nations. Two decades later, in 2001, the General Assembly unanimously voted to designate the Day as a period of non-violence and cease-fire. The United Nations invites all nations and people to honor a cessation of hostilities during the Day, and to otherwise commemorate the Day through education and public awareness on issues related to peace.

Source: https://www.peaceday.kr/programs-2018

CEO Monika Froehler moderated a plenary session at the GCED conference

September 9, 2018

During the two-day International Conference on GCED held in Seoul, Korea on September 5-6th, 2018, the BKM Centre’s CEO Monika Froehler moderated a plenary session to facilitate and present experts’ talks on global citizenship education.

The session invited socially influential people to the stage one by one, who shared their ideas and views on achieving global citizenship. The speakers shared genuine stories about the power of the education on global citizenship that transforms lives.

The speakers featured on the plenary session were:

Photo: UNESCO APCEIU

CEO Monika Froehler Conducts Workshop at the Regional Academy on the United Nations 2018

May 11, 2018

CEO Monika Froehler of the Ban Ki-moon Centre for Global Citizens was invited to give a lecture-workshop at the Regional Academy on the United Nations (RAUN) held at the Vienna International Centre today. RAUN is an international and multi-disciplinary program that allows youth to discuss issues related to the UN and international affairs. Participants are Master and PhD students who get to conduct group research projects in close cooperation with an international organization like UNDP, UNODC, UNIDO, UNEP, IOM, OSCE etc. This year’s theme is “Innovations for Development: Towards Peaceful, Sustainable and Inclusive Societies.”

During the workshop, 48 students learned about the Ban Ki-moon Centre’s vision and work and participated in group works on the topic of global citizenship. The students were split into working groups to brainstorm and exchange ideas about the concept of global citizenship and how to effectively promote it. One speaker of each group presented on the outcomes of their discussion. The winner team was awarded the Ban Ki-moon Centre pin.

The first sessions of this year´s RAUN class were held in Bratislava and Vienna from May 9-11. The RAUN scholars will continue their journey to Budapest in September and come back to Vienna from 15-18 in January 2019. The academic responsibility for the program is carried by the RAUN project manager headquartered in Vienna.

With assistance from mentors, UN practitioners and guest lecturers, the participants will write research papers which will be published through RAUN. Their research will result in the students developing their knowledge in respective areas, integrate theoretical knowledge on policy situations, advance practical thinking, obtain methodological tools for research, and advance their competence to analyze.

Source: http://www.ra-un.org/