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| From left, Jeju Peace Forum Director Han In-taek, swisspeace head of communication Isabel Prinzing and Director of swisspeace and the Basel Peace Forum Laurent Goetschel take part in "The International Basel Peace Forum: New Avenues to Promote Peace" at the Swiss Hanok in central Seoul, Friday. Korea Times photo by Kwon Mee-yoo |
By Kwon Mee-yoo
Swisspeace, a peace research institute based in Basel and organizer of the Basel Peace Forum, held a spin-off event in Seoul, discussing the topic of sustainable peace.
Organized with the Embassy of Switzerland in Korea, "The International Basel Peace Forum: New Avenues to Promote Peace" brought together experts from academia, business, NGOs and art to the Swiss Hanok in central Seoul, Friday.
Ambassador of Switzerland to Korea Dagmar Schmidt Tartagli introduced the event as "a special preview of the International Basel Peace Forum."
"Building sustainable peace is one of the priorities Switzerland has set for its mandate. 'A plus for peace,' 'a plus for humanity,' 'a plus for sustainable development,' 'a plus for multilateralism' and 'a plus for innovation' are the mottos Switzerland wants to follow during these two years," the ambassador said, noting that Switzerland has been elected as a non-permanent member of the U.N. Security Council for 2023-24.
Laurent Goetschel, director of swisspeace and the Basel Peace Forum, said the forum has the objective to stimulate exchanges, dialogues and the emergence of new ideas.
"Even though not all ideas emerging at the Basel Peace Forum will have a direct impact in a concrete context, there is the potential," he said.
In the panel discussion, Goetschel was joined by Jeju Peace Forum Director Han In-taek and Kim Dae-jung Peace Center Director Paik Hak-soon to discuss the challenges and opportunities of building peace around the world.
The second session offered insight into how art can be used to foster sustainable peace in the 21st century. DMZ Project Artistic Director Kim Sun-jung and SongEun Art & Cultural Foundation Artistic Director Laurencina Farrant discussed the role of art in peacekeeping.
Goetschel and Han took part in a debate exchanging thoughts on whether such innovative perspectives can make an impact in peacebuilding in today's rapidly changing geopolitical environment. Han was in favor of innovation, while Goetschel endorsed pessimism in the discussion.
The Swiss city of Basel also signed an MOU on city cooperation centering on innovation with Seoul, Thursday.
"Seoul is the economic and cultural center of South Korea and the majority of Korean universities are also located in the millions-strong metropolis. This offers interesting points of contact for the economic, research and innovation location of Basel," Beat Jans, president of the Grand Council of Basel-Stadt, said in a statement.
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