Being A “Human Rights City”
The Kim Daejung Convention center will be hosting the 2013 World Human Rights Cities Forum (WHRCF) from May 15 through 18. This year’s theme is “Sustainable Human Rights City for All: Guiding Principles for a Human Rights City.”According to the forum’s website, WHRCF’s goal is “to address the challenges in the process of making a human rights city a reality, with a special focus on effective institution building and mechanisms.” The participants will exchange ideas for creating future principles to these challenges, as identified by interested parties, such as policy makers, civil servants and academics.
The Metropolitan City of Gwangju has organized this forum, in cooperation with the May 18 Memorial Foundation and the Korea Human Rights Foundation, along with the support of other local, national and international organizations.
Close to 300 participants are expected to take part, “composed of representatives from ‘human rights cities,’ UN human rights experts, civic and human rights NGOs, local parliamentarians, as well as academics both from Korea and abroad.” Two well-known keynote speakers, current UN Secretary General Ban Gi-mun and Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi, will present at the Forum.
Three workshops will focus on human rights issues for invited participants, while the community is invited to attend workshops on May 16 and 17.
Korean and English will be the official languages, and the opening ceremony, the main session and many other sessions will be presented with simultaneous interpretation in both languages.
Special events are included in the schedule. On May 15 the finalists for the 2nd Annual Global Essay Contest for Human Rights will present their essays before a panel of judges. The contest is intended to “promote youth participation in building a human rights city by inviting them to share their ideas and experiences.”
Participants are encouraged to attend the rally on the eve of May 18 People’s Uprising. The following day they may also attend the 33rd Commemorative Ceremony of the May 18 Democratic Uprising, held at the May 18 National Cemetery, as well the presentation of the Gwangju Prize for Human Rights, an international award given to a person “who has demonstrated outstanding performance for the advancement of human rights.”
According to the website, the 2013 WHRCF is “a sign of continued commitment of the people and the municipal government of Gwangju, as well as an invitation to all like-minded mayors and human rights advocates, to the vision of a Human Rights City for promoting solidarity and cooperation towards a universal culture of human rights.”