CEO Monika Froehler moderates a session on “Voices of Youth” at the 4th GCED Conference

September 4, 2019

On September 3rd-4th, BKMC CEO Monika Froehler attended the 4th International Conference on Global Citizenship Education that was co-organized by UNESCO APCEIU, Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Korean Ministry of Education in partnership with UNESCO in Seoul, South Korea.

“I dream of a world in which young people are heard and empowered to be the changemakers they want to be,” said Froehler.

She moderated a plenary session “Voices of Youth” with youth representatives.

  • Olha Bondarenko, Member of the Financial Department, European Youth Parliament Ukraine
  • Diego Manrique, Core Member & Coordinator, GCED Youth Network
  • Priscilla Kini, Gender and Research Lead, Open Dove Children’s Foundation

The panelists touched the participants of the Conference with their inspiring stories.

Bondarenko from Ukraine spoke about her experience as an internally displaced person and how it led to her volunteer work with Afghan and Syrian refugees.

Being an IDP herself and having lost her home in Eastern Ukraine, Olha movingly spoke about forcibly displaced children and her own experience of teaching GCED.

Manrique from Guatemala shared his deep insights on how to network with youth for GCED.
“GCED to me is simply a tool with a lot of potentials,” he said.

Kini from Ghana expressed her love for promoting peace with children. She has reached hundreds of kids in Ghana and helped them overcome conflicts.

APCEIU Director Hyun-mook Lim said, “GCED will support humanities with slow but unstoppable advancement to peace.”

The Conference also hosted a booth on the “GCED Online Campus” by UNESCO APCEIU. In partnership with the APCEIU’s Office of Education and Training, the Ban Ki-moon Centre has co-developed two online courses this year.

As one of them titled “Becoming Global Citizens for a Sustainable Society” will be launched on the Online Campus platform later in this month, the booth displayed promotional materials and more information on the course. Lots of the Conference participants were curious to know more about this course as well as the other course on gender equality.

Learn more about the Conference: http://gced.unescoapceiu.org/conference/
Learn more about the GCED Online Campus: http://gcedonlinecampus.org

© UNESCO APCEIU

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 & Eugenie Berger

A global monumental journey and its voluntary reports by BKMC CEO Monika Froehler

July 24, 2019

“The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are an action plan for people, planet, peace, and prosperity that are indivisible and connected. But how do we know if we are on track?”

EU Umweltbüro published its magazine EUropainfo which includes an article on “a global monumental journey and its voluntary reports” written by the Ban Ki-moon Centre CEO Monika Froehler and Consultant Nadine Gürer.

“It is evident that we need targeted action to leave no one behind,” Froehler quoted Co-chair Ban Ki-moon’s famous catchy phrase.

“The Action plan is a demonstration of the SDG mainstreaming approach adopted at Federal level capturing the latest activities, instruments and projects of the Austrian Federal Ministry for Sustainability and Tourism’s eight departments.”

The magazine also features other articles on how much Austria, ranking the 5th place on the SDG Index, has advanced in achieving the SDGs and what are the strategic plans of its government. The Ban Ki-moon Centre has hosted an event in partnership with the Swedish Embassy in Vienna where the topic was discussed with the public.

Read the article on the previous event at the Swedish Embassy: https://bankimooncentre.org/europe-and-the-sdgs
Learn more about the EU Umweltbüro: https://www.eu-umweltbuero.at/

BKMC attends the UNESCO Conference on ESD and GCED

July 8, 2019

At the UNESCO Forum on Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) and Global Citizenship Education (GCED) held on July 2-3, 2019 in Hanoi, Vietnam, BKMC CEO Monika Froehler said:

“In today´s world too many leaders are just focused on their country first. Global citizenship is the opposite. It is putting collaboration before confrontation,” featuring as a speaker on a panel discussion.

With the theme “Learning and Teaching for Peaceful and Sustainable Societies: from early childhood to primary and secondary education,” concerned stakeholders coming from all regions met to learn about and debate on the latest information on the trends, issues and data related to GCED and ESD.

ESD and GCED are part of the 2030 Agenda and were built into the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4 on education. Target 4.7 prioritizes ESD and sustainable lifestyles, human rights, gender equality, promotion of a culture of peace and non-violence, global citizenship and the appreciation of cultural diversity.

“Set commitments and targets for global citizenship and sustainable development education. Update curricula!”

said H.E. Prof. Dr. Phung Xuan Nha, Minister of Education and Training of Vietnam, who attended the forum.

Froehler pointed out that “the data on GCED and ESD is missing” and that “we need to work together to establish meaningful indicators,”

agreeing to what UNESCO sees as essential to advance a value-based and holistic approach to learning that is truly transformational in taking ESD and GCED forward (UNESCO 2015). For effective teaching and learning, UNESCO stresses that all three learning dimensions need to be developed:

  • Cognitive: To acquire knowledge, understanding and critical thinking about global, regional, national and local issues, the inter-connectedness and inter-dependency of different countries and populations, as well as social, economic and environmental aspects of sustainable development;
  • Social and Emotional: To have a sense of belonging to a common humanity, sharing values and responsibilities, empathy, solidarity and respect for differences and diversity, as well as fell and assume sense of responsibility for the future;
  • Behavioral: To act effectively and responsibly at local, national and global levels for a more peaceful and sustainable world.

Froehler concluded that

“Global Citizenship – no matter which definition you are looking at – always has a component of ‘ACTION’ in it.”

© APCEIU

CTBTO Youth Group visits the Centre to talk about the SDG implementation

June 28, 2019

“Half of the world is below age 25, and also half of the world is also women. Not only to have the youth as token voice but also to have youth at the table – is the key.”

BKMC CEO Monika Froehler said to the representatives of the CTBTO Youth Group that visited the Centre today. The group was briefed on the Centre’s mission and work and discussed on the topic of the SDG implementation and rooms for improvement.

Coming from all different countries such as Russia, Mexico, Iran, Egypt, Austria, the US, etc., the young leaders gathered raised issues on the lack of education provided on the SDGs, lack of local, national and regional strategies for implementing the SDGs, and lack of acknowledgement of the notion of global citizenship or awareness on global issues such as climate change.

“Only 7% of humankind knows of the notion of global citizenship,” said Froehler.

She stressed that young people and individuals should take concrete actions, no matter how small they may be: from signing petitions to talking to local politicians and to gathering youngsters to inform them of knowledge and to make changes together. Global Citizen was given as a good example of young people taking actions. It started as a small NGO founded by a couple of young people who made their small steps counted and grew their NGO to now a big entity that has influence on making social and political changes in the international community..

Froehler quoted former President of the United States John F. Kennedy: “Ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country.”

Our Present – Our Future: Forum on Global Citizenship and Youth Inclusion

June 26, 2019

Young people under the age of 30 accounts for over half of the world’s population. Connected to each other like never before, young people have the capacity to learn from one another’s contributions to the resilience of their communities, proposing innovative solutions, driving social progress and inspiring political change. They are also agents of change, mobilizing to advance the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to improve the lives of people and the health of the planet.

The Youth Forum on Global Citizenship and Youth Inclusion for the SDGs Peace and Security held at the CTBT Science & Technology Conference on June 24 emphasized yet again that multilateralism must include the younger generations to foster sustainable solutions to complex global challenges.

The Forum formed an integral part of the landmark conference. After welcome remarks by CTBTO’s Executive Secretary Lassina Zerbo, Dr Heinz Fischer was asked to deliver a special address, encouraging the young audience to be changemakers:

Dear friends,

Dear next generation,

Unless we raise our eyes above the horizon and take action now, we are facing a climate catastrophe.

Unless we reduce inequalities between and within countries, and reduce nationalism and xenophobia, we will risk war.

So please challenge your leaders, your friends, your colleagues – and even yourselves.

Inspire those around you to care about the world we share.

We should not forget that you are not only the future, you are the present!

Monika Froehler, CEO of the Ban Ki-moon Centre, moderated an interactive panel discussion of young leaders who addressed the challenges they had faced to promote change and shared their insights about youth platforms that work to include young voices in the discussions.

The Forum encouraged active participation by the audience through an interactive online presentation. Through several surveys, the audience was able to share their opinion, make statements, ask questions, and tell a bit about themselves.

Find the results from the online presentation-survey here:

  

“Empowering Unwed Mothers in Korea”

June 19, 2019

“My mother pitied me, yet she did not allow me to come near her neighborhood.”

“I cried buckets over the miserable reality I was facing, in front of a doctor I’d never met before.”

Young unwed mothers Ka Young Jo and Kye Eun Lee openly and bravely shared their stories with the audience at the Human Library of a session hosted by the Ban Ki-moon Centre for Global Citizens at the JCI Asia-Pacific Conference 2019 on June 19th.

On the topic of “Empowering Unwed Mothers in Korea,” the Centre co-organized the forum with Intree, an unwed mothers’ club in Korea, and the Seoul Young Leaders Club of Rotary. The session aimed to address existing social stigma as well as societal and political challenges faced by unwed mothers in Korean society.

Introduced by President Choi HyungSuk of Intree, Secretary General Arrey Obenson of JCI, who also serves as a Board member of the Centre, and BKMC CEO Monika Froehler welcomed the participants, emphasizing on the importance of empowering women through cooperation.

“What would you like your child to see in the future?” asked Froehler to the gathered audience, answering her own question that she would like to show her child a society that “does not stigmatize unwed mothers anymore” when she visits the country again.

 

Chairperson Hyekyung Lee of the Korea Foundation for Women expressed her appreciation when giving a congratulatory remark:

“It is delightful that the Centre has selected the topic of the issues of unwed mothers. The Ban Ki-moon Centre’s engagement with JCI, Intree and SYLC makes a huge impact,” said Lee.

The first section entitled ‘Human Library’ was moderated by MC Myoung Ryoon Kim, a women’s right activist, who facilitated heartfelt conversation with two young unwed mothers. For the second section, representatives from academic, private and public sectors gave presentations on the best-practice examples of supports for unwed mothers and discussed areas to improve in the Korean government’s policies towards them:

  • Heekyung Jo Min, Executive Vice President & Head of CSR, CJ CheilJedang
  • Hyeyoung Kim, CEO of Korean Institute for Healthy Family (KIHF)
  • In Gyun Baek, Executive Director of Business Administration Division, KDB Bank
  • Jung Hyeun Sung, Professor of Social Welfare, Hyupsung University
  • Lisa Kuzunishi, Special Researcher, Rikkyo University
  • Simone Eun Mi, Adoption Human Right’s Activist

       

Professor Sung talked about challenges and stigma that Korean unwed mothers face daily, stressing that providing them with psychological supports needed for each phase of pregnancy, childbirth, and child-rearing is also important. Dr. Kuzunish suggested residence as a solution to social issues, using the cases of single-parent families in Japan. The “Hello Dream” project of the CJ Welfare Foundation as well as the Triangle project of the KDB Welfare Foundation were introduced to the unwed mothers who were attending the session.

KIHF CEO Kim presented the current policies on single mothers and their children and the integrated framework. Simone Eun Mi shared that she was born to a Korean mother, who later became a single mother, and then was sent for an adoption to the Netherlands by her father. She shared perspectives of the overseas adoptees born to a single mother in Korea.

“[Some] society sees the unwed mothers as problems. For me, I see them as solutions,” said

At the end of the session, as a women’s right advocate, JCI Youth Peace Ambassador, UN Youth Champion, and a singer-songwriter, Tennille Amor also delivered a message on the importance of making the voices of women and girls heard and performed two meaningful songs that she wrote: “Bad Name” and “I am a Girl.”

Watch the music videos:

 

“Partnering with Young People for Prevention: Sustaining Peace and Addressing Violence, Crime and Corruption”

June 12, 2019

On June 12th, 2019, the 49th IPI Vienna Seminar took place at the Federal Ministry of Austria for Europe, Integration and Foreign Affairs (BMEIA) in Vienna, focusing on the role of young people as agents of peace and social change at the global, regional, national and local level.

Welcome remarks were delivered by Karin Proidl, Director of International Organizations at the BMEIA and Adam Lupel, Vice President of the International Peace Institute (IPI), who stressed the importance of cooperating with youth for addressing violence, crime and corruption and promoting peace.

“We need to give young people face from different levels and make their voices heard,” said BKMC CEO Monika Froehler at the first session on “The United Nations in Vienna: 40 years of Promoting Peace and Security.”

According to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), our world is home to 1.8 billion young people between the ages of 10 and 24, and the youth population is growing fastest in the poorest nations. Out of these, Froehler mentioned, “408 million young people live in conflict zones.” In addition, within this generation are 600 million adolescent girls with specific needs, challenges and aspirations for the future. Froehler rightly pointed out that gender inequality adds to the barrier for youth in participating in peace-building process, which is why empowering both women and young people is equally important.

“We cannot achieve sustainable peace if young generation is not included,” said Samuel Goda, Special Representative of the OSCE CiO Special Representatives on Youth and Security, at his keynote. As a youth representative, he stressed “young people need to have ownership” in tackling global issues.

A number of other youth representatives from different sectors spoke at the seminar, including Nour Barakeh who is Collaborator of SDG 5 Thrive! and Suad Mohamed who serves at the Austrian Red Cross and Diakonie Refugee Service.

Froehler introduced active youth activists such as the UN Youth Envoy as well as existing youth initiatives such as the United Network of Young Peacebuilders (UNOY) to support and partner with them. She also strongly recommended a book titled We are Here.

Learn more about the seminar: https://www.ipinst.org/…/IPI-Vienna-Seminar-2019_Agenda_Par…
Source: https://www.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/pub-pdf/EN-SWOP14-Report_FINAL-web.pdf
Outcome report and pictures: https://www.ipinst.org/2019/06/49th-ipi-vienna-seminar-partnering-with-young-people-for-prevention#3

Ban Ki-moon Centre promotes the SDG 4 in partnership with the GEMS

May 22, 2019

On May 22nd, 2019, the Ban Ki-moon Centre for Global Citizens signed an MOU with the GEMS Education in Berlin, Germany.

Our collaboration with the pioneering education company will specifically focus on the promotion of SG4, quality education and GCED. BKMC Co-chair Ban Ki-moon also accepted the ambassadorship for the Model United Nations (MUN) at GEMS World Academy schools, including GEMS World Academy – Dubai.

The former Secretary General will hold this position for 3 years, where he will share his knowledge and expertise with students form all around the world.

Co-chair Ban and CEO Monika Fröhler were happy about the outcome of the fruitful meeting and meeting with representatives from the GEMS: Chairman Sunny Varkey, Head of Mergers & Acquisitions, Asad Zafar and Shanta Retnasingam, Special Advisor of the Chairman.

Chairman Varkey is also the founder of the Varkey Foundation and the Global Teacher Prize. We’d like to take this opportunity to express our sincere appreciation to the Varkey Foundation that announced to make annual voluntary contributions to the Centre.

Learn more: http://www.gemseducation.com/

 

 

 

“Europe and the SDGs: Best-practices and Recommendations”

May 21, 2019

The Ban Ki-moon Centre for Global Citizens and the Embassy of Sweden in Vienna co-hosted the event on “Europe and the SDGs: Best-practices and Recommendations” on May 21st, 2019 in Vienna, Austria. The event gathered representatives and experts from both public and private sectors and provided an open-discussion platform where the best practices and the recommendations on the SDG implementation were discussed.

H.E. Ambassador Mikaela Kumlin Granit of the Swedish Embassy and BKMC Co-chair Heinz Fischer delivered welcome remarks.

Fischer pointed out that “now it is time to look at the current implementations by governments and business in Europe and how they can be improved.”

He mentioned that the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Agenda 2030 that were adopted by the United Nations when Co-chair Ban Ki-moon was serving as Secretary-General of the UN and that it is crucial to cooperate to advance the 17 Goals. Then he added the efforts to achieve the SDGs should not be done by competition but in collaboration.

“The Agenda 2030 presents not only the opportunity to make sustainable development reality, but it also gives us significant responsibilities,” said Fischer.

Following the welcome remarks, Sabine Schneeberger, Director at the Coordination DG of the Austrian Federal Chancellery delivered a keynote. She said that the Austrian government has integrated the 2030 Agenda into their programs, requiring all its ministries to incorporate the principles of the Agenda.

The event was divided into two panel discussions that were moderated by CEO Monika Froehler of the Ban Ki-moon Centre:

Panel I – Government Best-Practices

  • Inger Buxton, Deputy Head of the Global Agenda Department at the MFA, Sweden
  • H.E. Ambassador Sylvia Meier-Kajbic, Federal Ministry of Europe, Integration and Foreign Affairs, Austria
  • H.E. Ambassador Pirkko Hämäläinen, Ambassador of Finland to Austria and Permanent Representative to the International Organizations in Vienna
  • Kvetoslav Kmec, Director for Strategic Planning at the Deputy Prime Minister’s Office, Slovakia

Panel II – Business and CSO Best-Practices

  • Helena Lindemark, Founder and CEO of Sustainable Development Sweden AB
  • Dr. Gabriela-Maria Straka, Director of CSR & Corporate Affairs, Grüne Brauerei Göss, Austria
  • Bernhard Zlanabitnig, member of SDG Watch Austrian Steering Committee; Director of EU-Umwelt Büro
  • Markus Haas, Head of Export Finance, International Projects, and Financial Institutions at the Austrian Economic Chambers (WKO)

The audience also actively engaged themselves in the discussions, bringing different perspectives and expertise to the floor.

Emphasizing the importance of acting promptly to advance the SDGs and to facilitate the collaboration between private and public sector, Froehler said that it is also crucial that individuals contribute to the sustainable development of all, no matter how small each contribution may be.

She concluded “because I think, on an individual level, on a national level, and on the international level, there is so much to gain” and that one should try to convert “pain” into “gain.”

Watch the recorded video of the first panel: https://www.facebook.com/BanKimoonCentre/videos/2366321576931251/
and the second panel here: https://www.facebook.com/BanKimoonCentre/videos/343893992935647/

Photos: Harald Klemm